2015 Chrysler 300C Platinum
MSRP $42,395.00
“The Chrysler 300C is the penultimate American sedan, combining a luxurious ride with Hemi V8 muscle. This design may not be for everyone, but for the right person, there is nothing else.”
Avg
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Smooth Hemi V8
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Excellent new interior
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Surprisingly eager handshake
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Comfortable ride
Against
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High price for luxury equipment
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Numb steering wheel
The rear-wheel drive full-size sedan seems to be a dying breed. Even Ford and GM have abandoned this once-proud American tradition, shifting their full-size offerings to front-wheel-drive platforms. This leaves the Chrysler 300 and its stablemate the Dodge Charger, standing as the last bastion of the postwar American dream. Fortunately, the biggest Chrysler isn’t just a symbol; it’s also a very fun car.
This is not to say that it is perfect; after all, there are some very good reasons why full-size V8 sedans are going the way of the polar bear. But the Chrysler 300, especially in its V8 guise, proves that – certain impracticalities aside – owning a massive Hemi-powered yacht isn’t just worthwhile… it’s a matter of life and death.
Full speed ahead
During the week with the car, I received an ominous text from a friend that she needed a ride to the hospital. Running to the car and barely resisting the urge to do a Dukes of Hazard-esque melodramatic bonnet flick, I engaged both of the car’s sport modes and set off.
Peter Braun/Digital Trends
Peter Braun/Digital Trends
Fortunately, my Chrysler 300C press demonstrator was equipped with the optional 363-horsepower, 5.7-liter Hemi V8 — the perfect engine to launch a daring rescue mission. With the transmission in Sport mode, throttle response is firmer and shift times on the excellent eight-speed gearbox are reduced from 400 milliseconds to 250 milliseconds — so fast it’s almost imperceptible.
Pushing the thin pedal to the floor sends the 300 forward on a wave of torque, 394 to be exact, accompanied by a pleasant growl from the engine room. However, American car companies have long known how to cram big V8 engines into big cars. What makes the 2015 Chrysler 300 stand out is its handling.
After exiting the freeway and entering a series of twisty roads, I was impressed to find that the big 300, while not exactly learned for a sports sedan, is persistent, competent and even eager. In Sport mode, the otherwise light steering is taut – although heavy or light, it remains quite stiff – and the suspension settings become more aggressive. The result is a bit like a heavyweight boxer who has studied footwork.
Once I screeched to a halt in front of my friend’s apartment, the 300 was ready to change personality. While speed may have been desirable for a quick arrival, comfort was paramount for transporting a person with a temperature of 103 degrees.
Breathe a sigh of relief
After gently helping my sick friend into her seat, I activated the heated seats and the 300’s heating system, which I’m guessing was designed to melt bones. With the climate control set to cook, it was time to show off the car’s core capability: effortless comfort.
Separated from Sport, the gearbox is relaxed and strives for maximum smoothness. And the suspension does its best to convince you that it’s a giant pile of marshmallows. This is a great trick on the highway or when you’re moving majestically through traffic. My plague-stricken friend was soon almost asleep in the passenger seat.
Unfortunately, in Comfort mode, there’s a degree of body roll, as the car digs into those marshmallows in a corner. Combine that with the slippery skin and the ride can get a bit … unsettling.
Luxury looks at a luxury price
While I waited for EMS to roll in, it gave me time to think about the Chrysler 300. From a dynamic perspective, it achieves what it sets out to do: it straddles the line between cruiser and muscle car. However, perhaps its biggest success is its exterior styling.
With its LED lighting and revised grille, the Chrysler 300 exudes an air of refined menace.
The biggest changes to the car come in the interior, which is almost completely new. Gone are cheap, ill-fitting plastics and lousy fake wood. A fully equipped 300C like my press demonstrator boasts real open-pore wood, leather laces and a nice two-tone color scheme. It’s not quite as nice as you’ll find on high-end Cadillacs or Audis, but it’s not that far off either. On the other hand, at $46,890 it wasn’t much cheaper.
The exterior design hasn’t changed that much from the last generation car, but the changes Chrysler has made are good. With its LED lighting and revised grille, the Chrysler 300 exudes an air of refined menace.
This is the car that every self-respecting mobster and killer should drive. They’d better be criminal masterminds though, because 300 can be depressingly expensive.
Image used with permission of the copyright holder
The base V6-powered 300 can be had for just $32,000 MSRP. If a buyer wants leather and a V8, they’ll be stuck with higher trims. The 300C Platinum starts at nearly $46,000. Even there, buyers will have to pay extra for options like adaptive cruise control and blind spot monitoring. The 300 might be worth the money, but at that price it’s uncomfortably close to extremely tempting options like the rear-drive V8 Hyundai Genesis or even the scaled-down Cadillac CTS.
Compared to those options, the Chrysler 300 has a lot going for it.
Conclusion
More specifically, the 300 lacks a real sports sedan. Despite its abilities as a luxury ambulance and laugh-out-loud pseudo-muscle car, the offerings from Europe or Cadillac will simply eat the 300 alive in the turns. Chrysler buyers will of course spend less, but not as much as they would hope.
So what to do with 300? On the one hand, given its price and size, it’s reasonable to compare it to other luxury offerings, but it also misses the point a bit.
The appeal of the 300 is that it really is unlike anything else on the market. It offers charisma, comfort and fun, instead of entering the race of sports sedans.
The niche of the 300 model may not be large. However, sales figures confirm that it exists. And for people like me who appreciate what it has to offer – whether it’s cruising in style or acting as a makeshift ambulance – there really is no substitute.
Tall
- Smooth Hemi V8
- Excellent new interior
- Surprisingly eager handshake
- Comfortable ride
Falls
- High price for luxury equipment
- Numb steering wheel
Categories: GAMING
Source: newstars.edu.vn