Chrysler 300C Touring CRD 2007 Review

Road Test

Arriving here in late 2005 Chrysler's 300C range has expanded like my waistline over the Christmas break. The US/German giant is currently offering Aussie buyers a 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel CRD sedan, 3.5-litre petrol V6 sedan and Touring (wagon), 5.7-litre petrol V8 sedan and Touring and the stove hot 6.1-litre SRT8 sedan and Touring. Now into the mix can be added the 3.0-litre turbodiesel Touring.

Confused? Well at least there's something for everyone.

The Mercedes-Benz-sourced 3.0-litre diesel (click here for more) offers its own benefits but the oil burner is a far cry from the might of Chrysler's hemi V8-powered 300C variants. The quaint chug-chug of the engine and its modest performance simply don't match the 300C's intimidating appearance. Frankly it is a bit of a come down after testing the more hairy-chested alternatives.

But if you are impressed with the 300C's looks, are not overly concerned about out-and-out power and want to reap the benefits of using less fuel, then the CRD Touring might just fit in your shopping basket.

With 160kW and 510Nm the turbodiesel engine is down a fair whack on the V8's 250kW of power but torque (typically diesel-engined cars' trump card) is impressive, only 15kW shy of the Hemi.

Off-the-line acceleration isn't the CRD's forte with 0-100km/h coming up in a claimed 8.6sec. Put simply, while it's not sluggish, the performance quickly discourages attempting too many quick take-offs. But if you ease off at the lights and allow the revs to rise to 2500rpm the torque will take care of the rest and the CRD motors along very effectively.

Official fuel consumption is 8.2lt/100km, which we can vouch for after more than 1000km in the car in both city commuting and country touring modes. Our combined figures showed 8.8lt/100km, which is excellent for a vehicle of this shape and 1901kg bulk and compares more than favourably with the official stats of 11.1lt/100km for the V6 petrol and 12.1lt/100km for the 5.7-litre V8.

The turbodiesel is quite refined with little aural evidence inside the cabin to give away the fact there's an oil burner up-front. The five-speed auto with AutoStick tiptronic function is well-mated to the diesel powerplant and in partnership provides almost seamless changes and smooth, hassle-free motoring.

Like the sedan the ride is plush and definitely set up for comfort. There's a decent amount of body roll in corners but it is surprisingly agile for a big car.

The steering remains way too light and the large tiller makes one feel like the skipper of the SS Minnow. All up, however, the 300C is competent on the road and still fun to drive.

The Touring's styling is sexy, in your face and unforgettable. It's certainly a far cry from the normally staid station wagons the Australian market usually provides. Sitting on 18-inch wheels the Touring variant continues the sedan's arresting looks with its smooth sloping roof integrating well into the design.

It's currently the most outrageous wagon on the market and motorists of all ages seem to admire it judging by the glances and complimentary catch phrases.

The 300C Touring inherits all of the best bits of its sedan cousin but the reason people buy wagons of course is for their load-bearing capacity. It is here, however, that the Touring disappoints. At first there appears to be a reasonable amount of space but the 18-inch wheels require large wheel arches to accommodate them and these intrude into the flat load space negating most of the benefits of the wagon design.

On the plus side the clever rear door extends well into the roof allowing it to be opened up and out of harm's way, while assisting with easy loading.

The wagon also has another major problem. The thick C-pillars and tiny rear-side windows make rearward vision challenging at best and down right dangerous at worst. Reverse parking is assisted by parking sensors but it is still frustratingly difficult and overtaking/lane-changing requires more than a second over-the-shoulder look in busy traffic.

These are major considerations for potential buyers. Therefore, we'd recommend you take the Touring for an extended test drive, park it, attempt overtaking and load the rear in real world situations to see if it really fits your needs.

At $60,990 the CRD Touring is three grand more than the sedan. So unless the buyer has their heart set on the wagon we recommend saving some money and avoiding the shortcomings of the Touring by purchasing the sedan instead.

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