National - 2010 Chrylser 300 Touring Review/Ride Report

Was given a Chrysler 300 as a luxury car; further evidence of class creep. It, however, only had 5 miles on the odometer, so I can't complain. The interior didn't look quite as cheap as I had remembered of most Chrysler vehicles (still far below the competition though). It also had 1 year of XM Satellite Radio, which was a nice touch.

Ride: Surprisingly very nice for long distance driving. The seats were well-bolstered, and the cushions were long and thick for taller persons such as myself. It handled nicely, and the brakes were responsive. Engine was surprisingly peppy for a V-6; guess they don't offer the HEMI as standard.

I believe it came equipped with the 250HP 24-Valve V-6.

Interior: Too much black plastic for a "luxury" car. XM Satellite radio was a nice feature, leather was nice, but quality seemed a bit inferior compared to Cadillac, Lincoln, or Japanese/Germans. Disappointed there was no USB connection to the music system, only an AUX in.

Lot's of legroom for front/rear passengers. Driver's position quite comfortable, surprisingly a lot of headroom despite having a squat roofline.

Mileage: Theoretical is 17/25, I averaged about 25 mpg with mostly highway driving at 75 mph.


Exterior at dusk:

http://i37.tinypic.com/289v2hz.jpg

Brand new leather seats:

http://i36.tinypic.com/3025gn5.jpg

Interior central console (plas-tastic):

http://i37.tinypic.com/5n7w4g.jpg

Yikes! That's class creep alright. A 300C Hemi should be in Luxury, the regular 300 (Base/Touring/Limited) are always Premium. I even think that is in itself a stretch, as the Charger has always been a fullsize. Seems strange that you just change the badge and suddenly the car jumps a class. :confused:

Otherwise, glad you liked it. I've never been a fan of the low roofline and seating position, makes me feel claustrophobic. I really want to try a Hemi model as I've only driven the 3.5 litre V6, which isn't a powerhouse but has plenty of power for everyday driving.

Well, after I returned it, it was placed back into the ES aisle. DCA doesn't have a Premium section anymore, everything gets dumped onto ES or EA- primarily on the weekends.

I picked up a 300 Touring with leather and XM at ORD last week, and it is listed as Premium Special on my web-site receipt.

I also recently had the chance to drive one (300 Touring) and it is listed as Premium Special on my receipt as well. It was fine for what it is, but I agree about the comment about the lines of the car making you claustrophobic....while the car looks nice, it has less viewing areas all around than one would like because the windows are not very "tall" all around, which is more problematic than normal because of the larger size of the car.

I too had a 300 Touring back in 2008 out of the LAX ES aisle and it was listed as a premium.

The two things I remember was that it looked good from far away but it handled like a pig.