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BangShift Test Drive: 2017 Chrysler 300C – Is Evolutionary Better Than Revolutionary?


BangShift Test Drive: 2017 Chrysler 300C – Is Evolutionary Better Than Revolutionary?

Driving a brand-new Chrysler 300C was a no-brainer. This was the first Chrysler-branded product worthy of getting excited about since the 1970 300 Hurst edition. Yeah, it was a bit of a Bentley rip-off when it debuted in 2005, but who honestly gave a shit? Hemi power? 345 horsepower? REAR DRIVE?! After living in a front-wheel-drive hell for over two decades (ignoring, of course, the old-school Fifth Avenue that pretty much stayed the same after 1982), anything rear-driven and V8-powered coming from the land of the K-car was a welcome breath of fresh air. When the 300C appeared for the 2005 model year, customers ate them and in short order, they became a fad of sorts.

The first of the 300Cs were sold in the spring of 2004, making the oldest LX Chryslers thirteen years old, and even our resident project 300C, Angry Grandpa, is now twelve years old. But here’s the deal and what made us want to get our hands on a new one…other than two minor facelifts, one in 2011 and again for 2015, overall the car is the same as the one I daily and beat on mercilessly. Or is it? Admittedly, the 2011 refresh had some comprehensive changes made, but we wanted to see if there really is a difference between the DaimlerChrysler-era feel that Angry Grandpa possesses and the FCA-built machine that was sitting on the lot. My target ended up being a demo vehicle…which means no Maroney sticker to explain total costs…but started life as a $43,720 vehicle with a pretty solid option list. Unfortunately, one option that missed being checked off was the 5.7L V8…instead, this 300C is packing a 3.6L Pentastar and the 8-speed automatic. And there wasn’t a V8 Chrysler on the lot, so we got the best of the options presented…

So, let’s get straight to the point: What works in the older LX works here, and what didn’t work in the older LX is gone. What does that mean? It means that every bitch I’ve got about Angry Grandpa that sources from the factory isn’t present here. The dash is actually a pleasant thing to look at. The seats are comfortable for more than a few seconds at a time (and they are heated, ventilated and cooled, too!) Yes, the rotary knob shifter is present, but in a V6 sedan, it works fine. The gauge layout, while offering up the same speedometer/tach/fuel/temp main readouts like the older car, does it better and offers much more with the in-dash display. The infotainment system is so far ahead of the AM/FM/Satellite system in the older car that it’s not worth mentioning. The panoramic sunroof…meh, it’s okay, I guess. But whoever made the call to put in the rear-window sun shade…you rock.

Driving the V6 300C didn’t disappoint, but it didn’t impress, either. If you got this as your rental car, you’d be over the moon…this is a truly nice place to be and in overall feel of the interior, blows the older 300C clean out of the water. It feels familiar to drive, which is not a bad thing. The LX platform feels like you’re wheeling around a competent bank vault that isn’t too squishy on the bumps. But the Pentastar six is only adequate here. It doesn’t excite, it doesn’t get snotty, it doesn’t have a bi-polar mode to it. This is simply the engine to make the car move. To drive that point home, you get two gear selections: “D” and “L”. No paddles. No buttons. No nada. Put the car in drive and …well, drive.

So, for a quick jaunt, what do I think? I think that every opinion I’ve ever voiced about this generation 300C not appearing with an SRT package is justified. The Pentastar just doesn’t do it for me, and even the 5.7L, which is rated for 363 horsepower, is now the underdog instead of keeping up with the times. Which is a shame, because…and yes, this is opinion and no, I don’t care that anyone knows what I think about it…this is a damn handsome car. Out of the three looks for Chrysler, FCA’s take on the 300 shape works. The vehicle as a whole has pulled cue from Porsche: fix what’s wrong, leave alone what works, and keep the styling current without abandoning the overall theme. And it’s not like Chrysler doesn’t make a hopped-up version…the Middle Eastern and Australian markets get the 300 SRT, which is analogous to a Dodge Charger SRT 392. Unfortunately for US fans of a four-door sedan with the ability to get out of it’s own way, FCA doesn’t see fit to sell that one to us.

Finally, there is the question that people have been asking for years now: what comes next? The rumor mill is all over the map here: it stays as-is and gets another refresh, it becomes a front-drive sled, or it just gets axed in favor of a crossover. Given how determined Chrysler is in making the 300 line choice-free (pick your color, wheels, one engine or the other, and move on to the gingerbread…) it’s hard to not see the big sedan calling it a day sooner than later. Then again, a late-model 300 with Demon wheels has been spotted tooling around Detroit, and while we truly doubt there’s a Chrysler Hellcat anything coming down the pike, maybe there is still a pulse within the 300. Take a long, hard look, FCA. Limited numbers don’t mean much…look at the Chevrolet SS and it’s sales figures if you want to know what it takes to emboss a halo around your top-tier car. Just a few. Just to let us know that you didn’t forget the swagger you strutted out with in 2005.


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10 thoughts on “BangShift Test Drive: 2017 Chrysler 300C – Is Evolutionary Better Than Revolutionary?

  1. Mopar or No Car

    Chrysler got a great shot in the arm from Daimler-Benz. The 300 was one example. It could have been a magnificent car (there was a prototype Imperial that was a gussied-up 300) but it was not allowed to be to protect the company’s MB brand. Once upon a time the 300 was a “gentleman’s sportscar”. FCA has shown no gonads in this regard and appears to be content tweaking a 15-year-old platform for the 70+ crowd and depriving the US market of exciting models that may appeal to younger drivers. I see another 20-year hiatus for the model and it makes me sad.

  2. bob

    for the same money a Ford Taurus SHO is a much better ride. Disappointed Tags wife isn’t in the pics. And that makes me sad.

  3. Jerreka Meeks

    I have a 2005 with 50,009 miles hemi still runs like it\’s new fully loaded satellite radio sunroof..

  4. John d

    My 2014 300 s is my baby black top edition all white with black accents… Black spoiler black roof blok chrome wheels. Its a style that is duplicate but replicated by others.

  5. Anthony

    FCA couldn’t justify a hot rod Chrysler because the sales didn’t support it, go look it up.

    Those people went over, saved a few dollars and bought a Charger.

    In the end FCA still wins, just people that want fast barge can’t get one now.

  6. BennyB

    Everyone needs at least one fast barge in their (respective) life.

    And if not truly fast, at least decently irresponsible.

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