Let’s talk
American.
The majority of
American cars (bar the more upmarket brands such as Cadillac’s and Lincolns)
leave a sour taste in one’s mind, due to the poor build quality, high fuel
consumption, and simply horrid looks. What about now? After being bought over
by the FIAT group, Chrysler has come up with a revised flagship vehicle that
brings back golden memories from the late 60’s to 70’s, being the splendor and
substantial size of your golden Cadillac, or the sheer power emerging from your
V8 and 12’s. This. Is the new Chrysler 300C.
·
Design
& Engineering:
The previous 300C had the
looks of a beast—with trinkets taken from Mercedes along the way, in order for
it to run properly. Though voluminous both on the inside and out, it lacked a
hint of finesse otherwise found in European marques, or even Japanese marques. Having reached the end
of its lifespan, the designers at Chrysler set to work, producing the new 300C.
The latest 300C retains its muscular frame, creeping just over the 5-meter
mark. The revised Chrysler emblem and stretched out grille pair perfectly with
the new “slit-like” bi-xenon headlamps. From the side, 20” rims fill the voluminous
arches, providing a masculine and powerful stance. It’s at the rear where the
300C begins to disagree with me. In plain English, it looks awkward—with two
strips of LED’S on either side projecting as if it were an old Cadillac Coupe
de Ville. Still, a neat trick lies under the emergency brake lamp—a concealed
reverse camera. Overall, the outside is much more graceful and powerful than
its predecessor.
·
Interior
On the inside, the first
thing that comes to mind is: leather, leather, leather, leather, leather…
INDEED! I’d estimate that 75% of the interior is swathed with soft-to-the-touch
leather, covering door panels, the area surrounding the start/stop button, as
well as the entire front dash. Clearly, Chrysler means business, for only
higher end makes such as Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz and Lexus, usually swath whole
dashboards with leather. Still, I believe that some copying and pasting of
parts has taken place, as the 300C takes on an XJ-styled steering wheel, as
well as an A8 gear shifter. Mind you, not a bad thing at all—though it lacks a
sense of creativity. Still, intricate yet modern wood inlays couple well with
the leather, elevating the status of the vehicle well. The center console
consists of Chrysler’s new entertainment system, ‘Uconnect’. Operated via a
generously sized touch screen, it controls the climate, navigation, phone, etc.
Talk intelligent gizmos! Oddly enough, I find that by placing an analogue clock
above the center console, the interior elevates itself to ‘greater heights’,
making the 300C feel as if it’s worth every single dollar. On a side note, rear
space is generous, with an option for zone climate control available.
·
Ride & Handlings
Powering this
American behemoth is Chrysler’s famed 3.6-liter Pentastar V6, producing 281BHP,
propelling the marque from 0-100km/h in an adequate 7.7 seconds. Paired to an
8-speed ZF gearbox, the 300C does shift creamily, allowing it to utilize the
power upfront with great ease. Still, one tends to feel the car’s weight (of 2
tons) when cruising around at low speeds. Overall, the barge excels on open
roads, where one is able to optimize the Pentastar V6 and ZF gearbox.
·
Verdict
It’s big. It doesn’t look
too bad. It’s packed with luxury and a fair amount of new technology. It’s
actually not that bad, making it a contender against competition such as the
A6, S80, and XF.
Watch out.
o Pictures from:
o
http://media.ed.edmunds-media.com/chrysler/300/2012/oem/2012_chrysler_300_sedan_c_fq_oem_1_500.jpg
http://www.themotorreport.com.au/content/image/2/0/2012_chrysler_300_crd_luxury_review52-0915-450x240.jpg
