01
How to start it
Step on the brake, press the engine start button on the console or steering column; wait for the cluster to confirm ready before shifting out of P.
Prowler
CuratedDerived trims
253 hp, RWD, and 3.5L V6 define the Plymouth Prowler. It is listed at 2,862 lb with a starting price around $44K. The catalog lists 0–60 mph in 5.9 seconds and a 126 mph top speed.
Research links
Trims
Choose a trim · 1 available
Tap a trim to open its full page — specs, features, build configurator and a maintenance schedule tailored to that trim.
Features
What this car offers
Safety & driver assistance
- ABS
- Dual front airbags
- Three-point seatbelts
Performance hardware
- Performance brake package
- Manual throttle and clutch control
- Passive performance suspension
- Mechanical limited-slip differential
- No launch control or selectable drive modes
Cabin & technology
- Analog instrument cluster
- Sport upholstery
- Physical audio and climate controls
- Period-correct factory audio
- Mechanical key and immobilizer
- No factory smartphone mirroring or remote software updates
Safety rating
4/ 5
Value score
9.5/ 10
Performance, build, and ownership-cost composite.
Overview
About the Plymouth Prowler
The Prowler is Plymouth's answer to a question the segment keeps asking: how much performance can you make usable? 253 hp, RWD, and 3.5L V6 define the Plymouth Prowler. It is listed at 2,862 lb with a starting price around $44K. The catalog lists 0–60 mph in 5.9 seconds and a 126 mph top speed.
Under the bonnet sits a 3.5L V6, sending 253 hp to a RWD driveline. That's enough for 5.9 seconds to 60 mph and a 126 mph maximum — figures that say as much about the gearing and aerodynamics as they do about the engine. At roughly 2,862 lb it carries about 11.3 lb per horsepower, which is the number that actually predicts how it feels on a road rather than on a spec sheet.
Mechanically it's a conventional, well-understood package rather than an experiment, which is a large part of why it works as an everyday car.
Sports cars live or die on feel. Grip, steering weight, gearshift quality and how progressively the chassis lets go matter far more here than a headline power figure. At around $44,225, the Prowler is priced as a car people genuinely use, and our value score of 9.5/10 reflects what you get for that against its direct rivals rather than against the market as a whole.
What keeps it interesting is the coherence of the whole package rather than any single specification.
How to use
Owner's walkthrough
Practical guide for everything a new owner asks on day one — starting the car, finding the gear selector, drive modes, infotainment, driver aids, and easy-to-miss features.
02
Where the gear selector is (and how to use it)
Console-mounted shifter with R-N-D-S notches; paddles behind the wheel for manual gear control. If you ordered the manual, the gate is dog-leg first-down on most performance variants — read the shift-knob diagram before you pull away cold.
03
Drive modes
If equipped, the car has at most a single 'Sport' button that firms the dampers and quickens throttle response — there is no scrollable mode menu, no Individual setup, and no software-defined dynamics.
04
Instruments
Analog tach and speedo with a small digital LCD strip for trip, odometer, and warning messages. No fully reconfigurable digital cluster and no head-up display on most trims.
05
Infotainment & voice control
Factory audio is CD-based, sometimes with an optional in-dash navigation screen (DVD-ROM map disc). No CarPlay, no Android Auto, no app integration — Bluetooth phone pairing only appeared on the very last cars of this era.
06
Driver assistance
Driver assistance is limited to the basics — ABS, traction control, and electronic stability control on most trims, with optional radar cruise control on late-era luxury cars. There is no lane-keep assist, no automatic emergency braking, no blind-spot monitoring, and no surround-view camera; drive with the same situational awareness you'd use in any analog performance car.
07
Fueling
Premium unleaded (91 or 93 octane) is required on Plymouth performance models — the engine timing is set for it and lower octane causes audible knock and reduced power. Fuel-cap release is a button on the driver door panel; the cap is capless (just push the nozzle in).
08
Keys
Smart-key fob with remote lock/unlock and rolling-code immobilizer. No phone-as-key, no shareable digital credentials, no remote app start.
09
First-week tips & easy-to-miss features
A few things every new owner tells us they wish they'd known on day one:
- Download the brand app (Manufacturer app) and pair it with your VIN before your first long trip — remote climate, charging/fuel-level checks, and remote lock-status save you walking back to the garage in winter.