Chrysler 300C 2015 Review

Chrysler 300C Luxury
Road Test

That big block of Americana, the Chrysler 300C, has now been gracing these shores with its brooding gangster presence for almost a decade.

In that time, we have seen large rear-wheel-drive six-cylinder sedans go from a cornerstone of our automotive industry to a mainstream irrelevance (the luxury market is a different story) as local manufacturing has crumbled and had the life support stripped away.

And the way it’s shaping now, the 300C is going to be imported here and on-sale after the Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore have drawn their last breath and disappeared from dealerships.

So that’s the silver lining; at least there will be one relatively affordable big RWD sedan on offer for that diminishing group of customers who like such things. Maybe you can add the Hyundai Genesis to that list, although it is a bit more expensive.

For 2015, the second-generation 300C (first launched here in 2012) gets some exterior, interior and equipment updates, a bit of a price rise and a bit of a range cull, including the chopping of several models and the 3.0-litre turbo-diesel engine.

That leaves the $49,000 300C and the $54,000 300C Luxury we are testing here as the choices in the mainstream line-up. Both are powered by the ubiquitous 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 petrol engine that produces an unchanged 210kW at 6350rpm and 340Nm at 4300rpm, mated to an eight-speed ZF-sourced automatic transmission.

And it’s here where we can start discussing the changes, because the 300C has swapped from a gearshift lever to a dial – like one you might find in a Jaguar – except this one doesn’t rise out of the centre console when the ignition is keyed, nor flick between gears with quite the same fluidity.

The best thing you can do with the ‘E-shift’ dial is turn it all the way to the right to Sport, because that erases the tendency for the transmission and throttle to have a ponder before responding to your right foot, as it does when left in Normal.

Not that the Pentastar ever gets up and boogying in a way that will leave you overwhelmed. This car is a tad over 5.0m long and weighs in at 1862kg. So acceleration is best described as linear and solid.

And at a claimed 9.7L/100km fuel consumption is solid too. Our real-world result was around 10.0L/100km, which is getting up there in an age where downsizing and turbocharging rather than natural aspiration and big capacity seems to be the go.

The engine’s best features are its quietness and smoothness, both aided by the ZF transmission’s small gaps between ratios. You can shift manually too, via flappy paddles on the steering wheel that offer plasticky engagement typical of the breed.

The 300C Luxury’s size and weight also means it’s not the most nimble of cars to drive. The new electric-assist power steering does a decent if anodyne job of pointing you (without much feel) in the right direction, while the long 3.0m-plus wheelbase helps sooth our rotten road surfaces, despite the standard low-profile 20-inch Goodyear F1 Eagle rubber.

The 300C underpinnings can be traced back to the W211 Mercedes-Benz E-class which will explain why it still feels pretty decent.

But this is a car best suited to freeways and long country hauls on flowing highways, where it’s quiet cabin and comfortable nature come to the fore. The tighter the going gets, the less the 300C likes it. Cranking that big, new steering wheel around a hairpin bend is proof of that. Carparks and other low-speed work are a constant venture into the unknown because that small glasshouse and long bonnet and boot look good, but don’t help when manoeuvring in tight spaces.

Thankfully, the 300C Luxury comes standard with front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera. Other safety and driver aids include seven airbags, and stability and traction control. The 300C also collects five stars from Euro NCAP, albeit tested as a left-hand drive diesel Lancia Thema.

For this update, Chrysler has added some big-ticket items, including blind spot monitoring, rear-cross-path detection, adaptive cruise control and active lane-keep assist. Turn those two on and it’s possible to drive autonomously for a few seconds before the system deactivates and demands you place your hands back on the wheel.

An issue encountered during the test was at the other end of the tech spectrum. The foot parking brake was sticky and I had to wedge my foot behind it and give it a prod to fully release it. Certainly not an unsolvable problem, but it would annoy the hell out of me if I’d just outlaid $50,000-plus on a new car.

There were no other significant equipment hiccups. In fact, the 300C does a good job of living up to the Luxury tag thanks to the quality look of the materials and trims, new blue-cast instrument lighting including seven-inch centre display and large 8.4-inch central touch screen for the comprehensive UConnect media system that includes sat-nav, voice activation, Bluetooth streaming and the like. It even connected with my Windows (yes Windows!) phone without too much drama.

But there are some shortcuts. The seats are big and decoratively quilted Nappa leather, but also quite flat. And those surfaces proved hard to the touch, undermining that luxurious ambience.

Oh well, never mind the depth of quality, check out the amount of space you get for you and your stuff front and rear – which is generous – and the long equipment list including bi-xenon headlights, nine-speaker Alpine audio, dual-zone climate control, ventilated and heated front seats, keyless entry and go and rain-sensitive wipers. A ‘compact’ spare tyre nestles in the comparatively small 462 litre boot (but it does split-fold).

So there you go. The 300C Luxury is a reasonable car that’s doing a decent job of fighting off middle age with a dramatic look and a workmanlike set of mechanicals. Personally, I reckon the Holden Commodore VF is a better car, but the Chrysler has one big advantage… you’re probably still going to be able to buy it in a few years’ time.

2015 Chrysler 300C Luxury
Price: $54,000
Engines: 3.6-litre petrol V6
Outputs: 210kW/340Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 9.7L/100km
CO2: 227g/km
Safety Rating: Five-star (based on Euro NCAP testing of Lancia Thema)

What we liked:
>> Reasonable pace
>> Reasonable grace
>> Plenty of space in the cabin (but not so good in the boot)

Not so much:
>> Fuel economy
>> Issues with test car
>> Low-speed manoeuvrability

Also consider:
Holden Calais V (from $47,990)
Ford Falcon G6E Turbo (from $47,050)
Hyundai Genesis (from $60,000)