2005 Chrysler 300C Reviews

Mainstream sedans are traditionally on the sedate side in style and are aimed at sensible souls who don't want to stand out from the crowd. Not so the Chrysler 300C, this big American machine is aimed at grabbing attention from any angle and it comes as no surprise it's been labelled 'gangsta car'. Now approaching its

Ewan Kennedy road tests and reviews the used Chrysler 300C.

Chrysler 300C is a big, bold, very American machine with aggressive styling that explains its nickname of ‘the gangster car’.

There was a time when American cars reigned supreme over the Australian motoring landscape. It was a time when bigger was believed better and the biggest was best, when automotive prestige was measured by the metre.It’s not so long ago the local market was split into two camps, the British and the American, from which the locally built Holden and Falcon both sprung.British cars were typically small, cramped and underpowered, and regarded by many as unreliable, whereas American cars were large and comfortable with slow-revving, understressed engines that were able to cover long distances with ease, and they were reliable.Many Australians in the 1940s and ’50s aspired to own an American car of the sort that was being built and sold by Holden and Ford. But by the time Chrysler released the 300C in 2005, there had been a seismic shift in the local market and American cars were largely regarded as massive gas guzzlers that were poorly built and less refined than those built by the Europeans and Japanese that had come to dominate the market.But the 300C had a number of things going for it that would help it find its niche in the market. American cars still had a following here, even if it was relatively small, it was built and backed by DaimlerChrysler, and it was very distinctively styled.MODEL WATCHThere has been a lot of discussion about styling in recent times. It centred on the criticism that all cars looked similar, if not the same.It was a fair cop, although designers would argue that the demands for fuel-efficiency and effective packaging locked them into a certain style that meant all cars would resemble each other to some degree.Then along came Chrysler with a different set of styling rules, one that said a car could look different and still meet the demands for aerodynamics and packaging.The 300C was a surprising hit. With its big, bold chrome grille, tall slab sides and chopped roofline it could only have come from America, but it caught the imagination of a section of the local motoring public.Time spent in a 300C and it quickly became evident that it was a head turner. People might not necessarily have known what it was, but they sure took notice of it and wanted to find out.The 300C was a big car in the true American style, but it wasn’t typical of the big cars that once defined, and almost destroyed, the American car industry.This one had Mercedes-Benz stamped all over its mechanical package, if not its styling. Benz owned Chrysler at the time and there was plenty of cross-pollination going on, even if there were few parts that could be interchanged between the brands.Mercedes’ influence was largely behind the scenes in the way things were done rather than a direct parts swap. As a result the 300C boasted more sophistication than most other American cars could.Chrysler was aiming to steal a slice of the big car market from the likes of the Fairlane/LTD and Statesman/Caprice with the 300C, and it succeeded mostly to the detriment of the big Fords.Under the bonnet was either a 183 kW 3.5-litre single overhead camshaft V6 or a 250 kW 5.7-litre Hemi V8 that boasted cylinder deactivation to save on fuel bills.When appropriate the V8 engine’s electronics would switch off a number of cylinders and the engine would cruise on four cylinders. Plant the foot and all eight cylinders would answer the call with a howl that gladdened the heart of any old-time petrolhead.The aim of the cylinder deactivation – it was called MDS – was to save fuel and Chrysler claimed it was good for 10 to 20 per cent.The V6 model was given a four-speed auto, but the V8 got a five-speed auto with a slapstick manual change,On the road the 300C was surprisingly un-American in its dynamics. Instead of the expected sloppiness it steered with precision and feel, braked confidently, and the handling was well balanced and reassuring.Not such a surprise was the 300C’s ride, which was comfortable and absorbent with good isolation and little noise intrusion, even on its 18-inch wheels and tyres.Inside, the 300C was reserved, well laid-out, nicely finished and easy to use. It was also relatively roomy and very well equipped.Standard equipment included climate controlled air, cruise, fog lamps, CD stacker, remote central locking, full electrics and full leather trim.IN THE SHOPIt’s early days in the lifespan of the 300C, but owners report few problems so far. Nothing major has come to light; the issues owners have reported are fairly minor and have been quickly addressed by Chrysler.The build quality is of a much higher standard than expected, no doubt the result of Mercedes-Benz setting a high benchmark for its then-American offshoot.From all reports the 300C appears robust and reliable so simply drive the car and note any noises, vibrations or odours that don’t seem as through they should be there.The softish ride can result in damage to the underbody and suspension if driven too fast over speed humps so make note of any knocks or noise coming from the suspension.Given that a number of 300Cs have been modified, and lowered in particular, check for damage as a result of bottoming-out on the road, kerbs and driveways.Replacing very low profile tyres of the type fitted to large diameter alloy wheels like the aftermarket wheels often fitted by owners can be expensive so check the price of the tyres before deciding on a car with big wheels.IN A CRUNCHMass is a great protector when it comes to a crash and the 300C is well endowed in that area coming in at more than 1800 kg.Being a large car the 300C is not as agile as a smaller one, but its chassis is well balanced with ESP helping out, its brakes, which are ABS-assisted, are powerful, and its steering lets the driver know what’s going on, so it has a powerful primary safety package.Bags all round complete a modern safety arsenal that will provide good occupant protection come crash time.AT THE PUMPA heavy car with a big V8 isn’t a recipe for low fuel consumption so be prepared for a shock at the pump.The cylinder deactivation system on the Hemi V8 is a mitigating factor in the V8’s favour, but the 5.7-litre V8 will still be thirsty.Expect 15 L/100 km around town and 12 on the highway for both V6 and V8 models.OWNER’S VIEWShane Hann first noticed the 300C when on holiday in Canada in 2005. He had no idea what it was, but absolutely loved the look of it with its blunt, aggressive front and chop-top side view. When he returned home he researched the car on the net and determined that he would buy one if Chrysler ever imported it. When they did he was one of the first to place an order. Back then these cars were still relatively unknown, and the amount of looks and comments were astounding, the 300C turned more heads than just about any car on the road. Talk about stroke the ego, he says. He still loves driving it; he loves the attention it gets and the envious looks from P-platers! He has done a few mods to the car, namely changing the exhaust so the Hemi can really sing, fitting 22-inch rims, and dropping the ride height by about 35 mm. The power is plentiful and the car accelerates much quicker than most people expect. It has a very comfortable ride and is actually quite a luxurious and comfortable car inside.Richard Satora loves his 2006 V8 300C. It has real road presence, he says, unlike any car on the street at the moment and sometimes people are mesmerized as you drive by, and it’s not unusual for complete strangers to give you the thumbs up. The cylinder shutout system is now on everyone’s menu and it does make the fuel consumption pretty good for a big car like this. Like Shane, Richard has modified his 300C with a body kit and exhaust system, as well as lowering it and fitting it with 22-inch wheels. Richard says he was always a Holden man, but the Chrysler has won him over for a few more years.Paul Carton is still grinning after two years and 30,000 km at the wheel of a 300C. He says it’s big and comfortable, but oozes power, and he loves driving it. He gets under 15 L/100 km commuting and around 11 on the highway run, and he says he’s happy with that. On the downside he discovered the softness of the front end when he drove over a speed hump for the first time, and there have been a couple of minor issues with the boot lid badge and a sticking door handle, both of which were promptly fixed.LOOK FOR• Plenty of admiring glances• Head turning styling• Hemi V8 performance• reasonable fuel economy for a heavy V8 car• Comfortable ride• Reassuring handlingTHE BOTTOM LINEStriking looks turn heads like no other, but the beauty of the 300C is more than skin deep.RATING79/100

Drive the 300C and people are going to talk to you ... at the lights, in the carpark, at the service station ... and they are going to stare.Boy, do they stare. Stare and point, that is.But, remember: everyone is entitled to their own opinion.You will find plenty of people like your choice in cars; others will tell you in no uncertain terms why your parents should have been far more careful with birth control.Love the look or hate the look. That's what Chrysler wanted in designing the 300C and that is just what they have achieved.Personally, I love it.But I also think the big-butt look of the Renault Megane is pretty neat.The 300C is an imposing car. It has road presence far above its $59,990 price tag for the 5.7-litre Hemi V8 model.At just on 5m long, weighing in at 1873kg and designed to celebrate straight lines and corners, the 300C also gives the impression that it will handle almost as well as the large box it imitates.Wrong, on so many levels. The upside of the 300C's brick-like shape is the amount of room in the cabin. It is one of the least cramped large cars in existence.Shoulder, leg, head and knee-room front and rear, is expansive but without reaching limousine levels.The downside of the shape, however, is serious difficulty in judging just where the extremities of the car might be when parking or manoeuvring in tight spaces.Standard equipment in the 300C Hemi is generous, with the only options the premium paint package ($370) — for which you'll have to fork out unless your favourite colour is white — and a $2430 power sunroof.The Boston Acoustics sound system is simply superb. It is the latest in a range of car systems from various manufacturers that would not be out of place in the lounge room.The eight-way adjustable leather electric seats are comfortable without being particularly outstanding but again, they are well suited to the car.Apart from the rather tacky part-wood part-leather steering wheel, the interior is quite stylish for an American car. It is reasonable to assume that, in no small part, this is down to the huge input in styling and design from Mercedes-Benz. And in the getting-down-to-business department, the 250kW 5.7-litre Hemi V8 is a bit of a brute.None of your namby-pamby, take it gently and build up slowly to conserve fuel attitude on show here. It wants — demands — that you stomp the accelerator and get into that huge 525Nm of torque as soon as possible.The torque peaks at 4000rpm but the majority arrives not long after 2000rpm and keeps on urging well past the optimum. Chryslerclaims a sprint from 0-100km/h in 6.4 seconds, which is very acceptable for a luxo-cruiser of this size. The down side of giving in to the Hemi's demands is that you will probably have paid the car off before the fuel bills.Economy figures range from mid-13 litre/100km on long, lazy highway drives, to 24-plus litre/100km readings punching from roundabout to roundabout in the city.Despite this, the 300C does exactly what it was designed to do for Chrysler Jeep in Australia — it provides an obvious presence.That it is a neat — if thirsty — drive and competitively priced is a bonus.

For the first time since the death of the Valiant, Chrysler plans to go head-to-head with Ford and Holden in Australia.The Chrysler 300c will arrive here towards the end of next year, with a price around the $60,000 mark.And it will be aimed straight at our homegrown luxury stars, the Ford Fairlane and Holden Statesman.It will join the Crossfire coupe and convertible in Australia, and could finally provide the much-needed breakthrough for the American brand.The 300c is bold and beautiful. It is also an American car in the truest sense, with a big engine, a big body and traditional rear-wheel drive.Even more important, the 300c will be gunning for a global role as Chrysler's new flagship model."The introduction of the Chrysler 300c marks an important chapter in the evolving history of our brand internationally and is one of the most important episodes of our continuing product offensive," Chrysler executive director international sales and marketing Thomas Hausche says.Chrysler has gone back to its roots to push the brand forward.The 300c is a modern interpretation of the company's historic letter-series models that began with the renowned C-300 in 1955.This contemporary styling, including an in-your-face grille, will put the 300c in a class of its own and provide a point of difference against the Statesman, Fairlane and other contenders in the $60,000 price range.The 300c also heralds the return of Chrysler's legendary 5.7-litre HEMI V8 – which got its name from its hemispherical combustion chambers – after almost 50 years.As fitted to the 300c, the latest HEMI development is the first modern volume-production powerplant produced in North America with cylinder deactivation.Chrysler's Multi-Displacement System turns off the fuel supply to four cylinders when V8 power is not needed, boosting efficiency and resulting in fuel consumption as low as 12-litres/100km.Even so, the 300c – which also comes with a 3.5-litre V6 engine – is no slouch, sprinting to 100km/h in just 6.4 seconds and reaching an electronically regulated top speed of 250km/h. Not bad for a car that weighs 1840kg.On the roadThe 300c is a long way down the road from a 1980s Australian-made Chrysler Valiant.From the moment you sit in the 300c you are greeted with luxuries. An eight-way powered seat combined with electronically adjustable pedals adds new meaning to finding a comfortable driving position.The seat is also heated, together with the passenger's side, and there are walnut accents on the steering wheel (which has power tilt and telescoping with a memory).The centre console is sized for a suitcase and the Boston Acoustic stereo pumps out the tunes.The cabin space is similar to its likely rivals, though the Statesman has an additional 38mm of rear legroom. The Statesman and Fairlane both have bigger boots.Once you get going, the 300c is basically a big cruiser. It's a luxury long-wheelbase limousine that, though measuring a freckle under 5m, manoeuvres surprisingly easily.Acceleration is responsive and the 300c, helped in part by the 18-inch wheels and tyres, feels like it is nailed to the road at high speeds.The five-speed automatic gearbox (on the V8) is a step ahead of the 300c's competition and greatly improves drive comfort, even when not utilising the Autostick driver-operated manual control.The MDS was not noticeable, despite attempts to try to catch it out.The smooth, luxurious ride compromises the handling – as you would expect from a luxury sedan – and some body roll was encountered when cornering hard.And, just as you'd expect with a Hemi under the hood, the 300c allows you to enjoy the traditional thump of a big V8.

We're talking about big, cruisy American cars with thumping great V8s and truckloads of power – Yank tanks as they used to be known.Australia recently delivered the Monaro to the US and the Americans are getting ready to return the favour, with a big V8-powered Chrysler that will go head to head with Ford and Holden.It has been more than 20 years since Chrysler has gone one on one with the big two in Australia, not since the last Valiant rolled off the production line – but the Chrysler 300C is not like any American car that we have seen before.As with other vehicles to come out of the Chrysler stable in the last couple of years, the 300C boasts dramatic styling with simple technology to dramatically improve fuel consumption from the big 5.7-litre Hemi V8.In short. the rear-wheel drive 300C is a car that is going to knock your socks off with its big, bold, muscular front grille, high waisted "hot rod" sides, narrow band of windows and chunky 18inch wheels.If it all sounds good so far, the only downside is that we are going to have to wait 12 months or so before the car finds its way down under.The 300C draws its name and heritage from the 300 series "letter cars" that Chrysler began producing in the 50s.With 300 brake horsepower the big, low-slung coupes were able to reach an unprecedented 150mph and were the fastest thing to hit stock car racing at the time.The new car while it is a four-door sedan draws many styling cues from the original cars that ceased production in 1965.We were fortunate to be among a select few journalists to preview and drive the car recently in France.The big Hemi V8 (another name from the past) puts out 250kW of power and 525Nm of torque and is capable of catalpulting the car from 0 to 100km/h in just 6.4 seconds, despite the fact it measures just 1mm shy of 5 metres and weighs close to 2 tonnes.The clever thing is that the engine uses what Chrysler describes as a Multi-Displacement System to shutdown four of the eight cylinders when maximum power is not required, dramatically reducing fuel consumption.Final certification has not been given yet but Chrysler executives believe the car should achieve a figure of just under 12.0L/100km which means you can have your V8 cake and eat it too.The transition from eight to four cylinders is virtually seamless, taking just 40 milli-seconds.It transforms the engine from a V8 to a V4 configuration by shutting down two cylinders on each side.The big V8 is teamed with a five-speed sequential auto that neither Australian manufacturer currently offers.Chrysler says it is too early to discuss pricing, but adds it will be "attractively" priced to compete with Fairlane and Statesman.A 3.5-litre 186kW V6 model will also be offered while an all-wheel drive Touring wagon is still under consideration.The 300C is an imposing car especially from the front with a strong street presence that turns heads wherever it goes.Based on style alone it could give Ford and Holden a real shakeup, provided of course the price is right.It is also likely to draw buyers from larger European saloons that are looking for something different.On the road the 300C feels large but agile, with a burst of power that quickly dispatches slower vehicles.Handling is not quite sporty but certainly no soggy biscuit.The twin exhaust system delivers a recognisable V8 note under hard acceleration.At other times it is almost inaudible, with impressively low levels of interior noise.Top speed of the car is limited to 250km/h.The interior is finished in "real" California walnut, with the usual luxury appointments including satellite navigation and a 380 watt Boston Acoustics sound system.The driver's seat has eight way adjustment, with a steering wheel that has height and reach adjustment as well as foot pedals that adjust.