So, on the motorway, I tried the adaptive cruise control.
Set your speed, and away you go until you come up behind a slower car,
whereupon it'll slow you down, keep a respectable distance, then accelerate
back up to cruising speed once the car in front has pulled over. I could get
used to that. It also made me think about how lazy a driver I could become with
all these driver aids. For half the journey I thought I could have brought a
book to read, as the car seemed to be doing rather well without any input from
me. It's also sufficiently comfortable and serene that I was truly worried
about nodding off. It's
a good job I had the radio to keep me awake.
2013 Chrysler 300C
Side View
The top-flight Harman Kardon stereo system features 19
speakers, three of which are sub- woofers, 7.1 surround sound and 900 watts of
grunt. Plug your iPod or whatever into the USB port hidden in the console, and
sling Airborne or Linkin Park on. Instant wakefulness. Crank it up towards the
limits and suddenly your scalp is prickling, the door mirrors are vibrating,
and I was worried that the solo in the middle of Iron Maiden's Wasted Years was
going to shatter the glass. This isn't some boy-racer boom-box volume – this is
complete, perfect sound. An expensive option, but worth every penny. Now,
Chrysler, where's the DAB?
Returning home, having already become very attached to this
car, I was surprised to see the average fuel economy calculator showing me a
35mpg average. This was not achieved under laboratory conditions but in the
real world, with wind, rain, weather, hills, traffic jams and a driver
wondering "How quickly can I overtake... Jeeeeeeeezus!"
In the last issue, I compared the Camaro to a big, boozy
best mate, loyal and lovable but liable to get you into trouble. This Chrysler
is very different. This
car reminded me of a character in books by my favourite author, Terry
Pratchett. This car is Willikins, the butler. A near-silent character who waits
at a discreet distance, can be relied upon for any task at the slightest
command, sanguine, composed, and with a deference bordering on the reverential.
However, at any sign of trouble, he's a dirty street-fighter with a shiv in his
belt and a lead pipe up his sleeve.
2013 Chrysler 300C
Interior Seats
So, this is the muscle sedan refined for the 21st century.
Big blocks have given way to turbo-diesels, but it's still a driver- friendly,
super-capable sedan. It's handling is a revelation, but while it will not
trouble a Corvette, it's far more nimble than two tons has any right to be.
It's quick, in a stately fashion, and the auto 'box has AutoStick manual
shifting at the shifter plus paddle shift behind the wheel. I used these once
each, but needn't have bothered. Its weight and wide-footed stance means it
should tow beautifully, and wouldn't it look great with a race car on a trailer
behind it? It's a luxury limo on minicab money, comparatively, and a stoic,
quiet American in a fast lane crammed with look-alike arrogant Audis and
ten-a-Deutschemark BMWs. I wasn't keen to hand it back, but Chrysler insisted.
Another journey took me to Nottinghamshire on a freezing,
rainy, sleety and snowy January day. Not that that troubled the Chrysler at
all, nor the fact that Nottinghamshire appears to be one large road works site
at the moment. I went to meet Alistair Kershaw, an American car fan who seems
to like to buy his cars by the square mile. In his driveway, behind a
previous-gen black 300C diesel daily driver, were a pair of Lincoln
Continentals, a MkIII and a MkIV. Filling the garage alongside were a '68
Plymouth Fury and another Chrysler 300; this one a 1963 version, also black.
Sadly, the 300 was up on jacks having its brakes rebuilt, but I probably
wouldn't have tried too hard to persuade Alistair to bring it out in the sleet,
anyway.
2013 Chrysler 300C
– 19-inch polished aluminum wheel
