Review of the New Chrysler 300 - A view of the USA
Discussion
We just got back from the USA and missing the sun and warmth already! Whilst we were there we drove a 1400 miles. Alamo wanted to give me a RAV4 or equivalent but I convinced the guy to upgrade me to a full size sedan (well he would as I paid the extra $). When we got to the pick up point the guy said I could take any car in the line opposite (they logged which one on leaving the site). I had the choice of a Cadillac ATS, a Dodge Charger 4 door or a Chrysler 300.
Having flown from Manchester to Dulles and then Dulles Orlando, with the time now approaching 9.00pm US time and with a wife and two kids desperate to get to Sheraton Vistana Resort I didnt have time to consider the options in full. The Dodge 4 door was ugly, and with the Cadillac much smaller than the other two (and a faint suspicion it was FWD) I chose the 300. I thought it a handsome looking thing. The leather interior, touch screen, slightly blingy dials and interior lighting were all pluses too.
Starting and selecting a gear from the wrong side of the car was less than intuitive at first but we were soon in drive and leaving the airport. First impressions were positive. What I learned later to be a 300HP 3.6 V6 and 8 speed auto gearbox performed their function pleasantaly and unobtrusively as I overcame fatigue, driving on the right side (as opposed to left) of the road and a drive of 25 minutes which actually took me over an hour after a couple of wrong turns.
The following morning the car looked resplendent great in the sunshine and I elected to leave the 'resort' to find a supermarket to fill the fridge whilst unpacking was undertaken by others (I did of course offer the wife the option of doing the shopping whilst I upacked but she declined).
It has always been a joy of mine to drive (virtually) any car that I haven't driven before and I am sure most PHers feel the same. My night time reading, identifed by my wife as being 'a bit sad', indicated that the engine and driven wheel formula of the Chrysler should at least provide a little amusement, and, given that we planned to drive over 1400 miles in the car, I thought it imperative that I understood the car at least a little, for safety reasons at least.
To find a supermarket off Vistana drive was in itself a chore and I am sure the resort shop itself had what we required however I persevered.
A two hour drive in town, on highway and including a number of a nation's favourite thing, the U turn showed me that this was car for the luxury market and not really built for hooning.. Their is no apparent way of deactivating the Traction Control and even flooring the thing during a U turn provided no movement from the back at all. A slight screech but nothing else. The engine redlined readily and sounded reasonably good save for the last 500rpm or so, the autobox was keen to kick down to the lowest possible gear and the thing fairly shifted and I was aware from the previous nights that it did the 0-60 sprint in 6.5 seconds, which seemed about right, the car was comfortabl withouyt being too soft and dealt with pot holes (of which there were rather more than my previous visits to the US) without crashing and banging.
For the next 7 days we stayed around Orlando and then drove to north of Atlanta, a 440 mile trip taken in one hit without any fatigue on my part, having spent 3 days here with my Sis I can vouch that the 300 is a massive improvement in comfort over riding a horse. We then drove the 530 miles to Richmond Virginia, again in one hit (and 8 hours).
American highways are a pain in the arse. Lane discipline is non existent, or rather they have a different view of lane usage. The far left lane is not a fast lane but a place for dawdlers at 70mph mostly in Silverados or Nissan Altimas. The middle lane is the same and the only drivers who do seem to move right are the truckers who also seme to travel at 70, how much better this than ours limited to 56 was my first thought.
In order to make progress one had to shift across lanes and use your cars power to get between gaps. The 300 had more than enough of that to function in this, I had a great 100+ mile part of the journey following a Honda Pilot and a VW Jetta (2.5!!) doing the same.
In conclusion I would say the 300 is quite a bit softer than a five series but it didnt pretend to be a sports saloon. It was soft but well damped and ideal for the long journeys we undertook. It was very well equipped and in 1400 miles including a trip from Richmond to Chesapeake Bay on some unmade roads there, nothing broke or rattled and it felt well put together. The engine was decent if not inspiring and one could also specify a 5.7 V8 and AWD in the US if you wanted.
On the subject of economy over the whole trip the car returned 28.2 (US) MPG. When converted to UK gallons I think that is pretty impressive!
The only thing to be aware of if you do hire one in the US is that people in the South (and both of my southern brother in laws confirmed this) make assumptions about people who drive big, black Chrysler 300s.
Having flown from Manchester to Dulles and then Dulles Orlando, with the time now approaching 9.00pm US time and with a wife and two kids desperate to get to Sheraton Vistana Resort I didnt have time to consider the options in full. The Dodge 4 door was ugly, and with the Cadillac much smaller than the other two (and a faint suspicion it was FWD) I chose the 300. I thought it a handsome looking thing. The leather interior, touch screen, slightly blingy dials and interior lighting were all pluses too.
Starting and selecting a gear from the wrong side of the car was less than intuitive at first but we were soon in drive and leaving the airport. First impressions were positive. What I learned later to be a 300HP 3.6 V6 and 8 speed auto gearbox performed their function pleasantaly and unobtrusively as I overcame fatigue, driving on the right side (as opposed to left) of the road and a drive of 25 minutes which actually took me over an hour after a couple of wrong turns.
The following morning the car looked resplendent great in the sunshine and I elected to leave the 'resort' to find a supermarket to fill the fridge whilst unpacking was undertaken by others (I did of course offer the wife the option of doing the shopping whilst I upacked but she declined).
It has always been a joy of mine to drive (virtually) any car that I haven't driven before and I am sure most PHers feel the same. My night time reading, identifed by my wife as being 'a bit sad', indicated that the engine and driven wheel formula of the Chrysler should at least provide a little amusement, and, given that we planned to drive over 1400 miles in the car, I thought it imperative that I understood the car at least a little, for safety reasons at least.
To find a supermarket off Vistana drive was in itself a chore and I am sure the resort shop itself had what we required however I persevered.
A two hour drive in town, on highway and including a number of a nation's favourite thing, the U turn showed me that this was car for the luxury market and not really built for hooning.. Their is no apparent way of deactivating the Traction Control and even flooring the thing during a U turn provided no movement from the back at all. A slight screech but nothing else. The engine redlined readily and sounded reasonably good save for the last 500rpm or so, the autobox was keen to kick down to the lowest possible gear and the thing fairly shifted and I was aware from the previous nights that it did the 0-60 sprint in 6.5 seconds, which seemed about right, the car was comfortabl withouyt being too soft and dealt with pot holes (of which there were rather more than my previous visits to the US) without crashing and banging.
For the next 7 days we stayed around Orlando and then drove to north of Atlanta, a 440 mile trip taken in one hit without any fatigue on my part, having spent 3 days here with my Sis I can vouch that the 300 is a massive improvement in comfort over riding a horse. We then drove the 530 miles to Richmond Virginia, again in one hit (and 8 hours).
American highways are a pain in the arse. Lane discipline is non existent, or rather they have a different view of lane usage. The far left lane is not a fast lane but a place for dawdlers at 70mph mostly in Silverados or Nissan Altimas. The middle lane is the same and the only drivers who do seem to move right are the truckers who also seme to travel at 70, how much better this than ours limited to 56 was my first thought.
In order to make progress one had to shift across lanes and use your cars power to get between gaps. The 300 had more than enough of that to function in this, I had a great 100+ mile part of the journey following a Honda Pilot and a VW Jetta (2.5!!) doing the same.
In conclusion I would say the 300 is quite a bit softer than a five series but it didnt pretend to be a sports saloon. It was soft but well damped and ideal for the long journeys we undertook. It was very well equipped and in 1400 miles including a trip from Richmond to Chesapeake Bay on some unmade roads there, nothing broke or rattled and it felt well put together. The engine was decent if not inspiring and one could also specify a 5.7 V8 and AWD in the US if you wanted.
On the subject of economy over the whole trip the car returned 28.2 (US) MPG. When converted to UK gallons I think that is pretty impressive!
The only thing to be aware of if you do hire one in the US is that people in the South (and both of my southern brother in laws confirmed this) make assumptions about people who drive big, black Chrysler 300s.
Edited by aarondbs on Wednesday 13th August 12:37
Edited by aarondbs on Wednesday 13th August 12:48
-crookedtail- said:
lol possibly not a full on parrot, but I take it you've never watched Breaking Bad? Walter cooked meth so falls well into the typical 300 owner, although his was a srt8!!
Never seen it, on that basis mine, not being an SRT, would have been used by someone in hydroponic based production..we had a brand spanking new 300c Sport version in white in Vegas a few weeks ago and covered about 1000miles in it over 10days and I hated it, really soft and no feedback and the satnav was totally useless ... the built in digital radio was ok in major built up areas but lost signal even on the outskirts of vegas. if it hadn't been necessary to take the car (previous renter crashed our allocated SUV) I would have took it back after a few miles.
It was really heavy on fuel as well (but I am heavy footed so that could have been me)
It was really heavy on fuel as well (but I am heavy footed so that could have been me)
X5TUU said:
we had a brand spanking new 300c Sport version in white in Vegas a few weeks ago and covered about 1000miles in it over 10days and I hated it, really soft and no feedback and the satnav was totally useless ... the built in digital radio was ok in major built up areas but lost signal even on the outskirts of vegas. if it hadn't been necessary to take the car (previous renter crashed our allocated SUV) I would have took it back after a few miles.
It was really heavy on fuel as well (but I am heavy footed so that could have been me)
Not much feedback on mine either but probably more than the SUV you could have had. No Satnav to be worried about on mine. I wonder, as you had the S whether it was the AWD which might account for worse economy...It was really heavy on fuel as well (but I am heavy footed so that could have been me)
aarondbs said:
X5TUU said:
we had a brand spanking new 300c Sport version in white in Vegas a few weeks ago and covered about 1000miles in it over 10days and I hated it, really soft and no feedback and the satnav was totally useless ... the built in digital radio was ok in major built up areas but lost signal even on the outskirts of vegas. if it hadn't been necessary to take the car (previous renter crashed our allocated SUV) I would have took it back after a few miles.
It was really heavy on fuel as well (but I am heavy footed so that could have been me)
Not much feedback on mine either but probably more than the SUV you could have had. No Satnav to be worried about on mine. I wonder, as you had the S whether it was the AWD which might account for worse economy...It was really heavy on fuel as well (but I am heavy footed so that could have been me)
X5TUU said:
I was just a little disappointed tbh as the looks did promise a lot but delivered so little ... I got about 220-280miles out of a tank on it (depending on around town or freeway), and was about $48 to fill from 10miles left on the range. I think i was just a little gutted as I normally get an Escalade and absolutely love them and hadn't anticipated not getting one lol
Are you the first man in history to be disappointed in not getting an Escalade.... from this side of the Atlantic I would say that was crazy but over there I was even looking at Suburbans and thinking they were the most practical car ever.Over there things that would be faintly ridiculous here seem to work. My Atlanta BiL has a Toyota Tundra Truck with recling REAR seats... truly massive! My other BiL in Richmond has a Chevy Silverado which I also liked...
Those Altimas are everywhere!! the 2.5 is much more common than the 3.5 of which I saw a few.
There were so many US cars we don't get here thiough a FWD Altima is definitely one they can keep.
I know it's been discussed many times before but the new Ford Explorer looks great (and definitely a little RR)
There were so many US cars we don't get here thiough a FWD Altima is definitely one they can keep.
I know it's been discussed many times before but the new Ford Explorer looks great (and definitely a little RR)
davamer23 said:
I had a Nissan Altima when I was in Vegas December 2013. Think I would have preferred the styling on the Chrysler though. ![](http://thumbsnap.com/sc/gEFruajf.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="http://thumbsnap.com/T0RJ4ZtZ" Target="_blank">[img]http://thumbsnap.com/sc/T0RJ4ZtZ.jpg)
I am definately going to go for a v8 next time though.
I drove one of these when I was last in Houston. Its gearbox made me want to murder people.I am definately going to go for a v8 next time though.
aarondbs said:
GreatPretender said:
I drove one of these when I was last in Houston. Its gearbox made me want to murder people.
Having seen so many driving to Dulles airport in Washington that might explain it being the murder capital of the USA.
t! I mean, who decided that that a CVT transmission was acceptable in 2014?The Camry I had at the same time (long story) was infinitely better. In fact, I'd o as far to say I quite liked it. Yes, I did just write that.
X5TUU said:
we had a brand spanking new 300c Sport version in white in Vegas a few weeks ago and covered about 1000miles in it over 10days and I hated it, really soft and no feedback and the satnav was totally useless ... the built in digital radio was ok in major built up areas but lost signal even on the outskirts of vegas. if it hadn't been necessary to take the car (previous renter crashed our allocated SUV) I would have took it back after a few miles.
It was really heavy on fuel as well (but I am heavy footed so that could have been me)
You can't moan about softness and lack of feedback till you've driven a rental toyota people carrier in the states. Oh my word that thing is the epitome of vague. The PAS was so over assisted you could have maneuvered the car by blowing on the wheel. This made for interesting times trying to drive in a straight line on the interstates. No feedback, massive over assistance and little dead spot meant constant corrections to keep on course.It was really heavy on fuel as well (but I am heavy footed so that could have been me)
Hateful... except, it went pretty well when only 1 up! and the V6 sounded good too!
GreatPretender said:
Seriously, the rest of the car was fine, inasmuch to say that it had four wheels and a steering wheel. The gearbox on the other hand was just inexplicably st! I mean, who decided that that a CVT transmission was acceptable in 2014?
The Camry I had at the same time (long story) was infinitely better. In fact, I'd o as far to say I quite liked it. Yes, I did just write that.
Interesting some of the Toyotas over there. Besides the Tundra my BiL has there was also a Toyota Avalon on my my other BiL fleet. The Avalon was possibly the least intersting car design ever though (pic taken from Google not theirs)t! I mean, who decided that that a CVT transmission was acceptable in 2014?The Camry I had at the same time (long story) was infinitely better. In fact, I'd o as far to say I quite liked it. Yes, I did just write that.
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