So, after hitting the unlock button on the key fob and
watching the car light up like you've won the jackpot, you slip inside. The
doors open to about 90 degrees, so if you've opened them all the way you'll
need to have six-foot arms to retrieve them. You put the key in the … erm, back
in your pocket, because there's no ignition switch, press the magic button, and
panic slightly because the last guy to drive this car was a good deal shorter
and slimmer than I am, so the seat is automatically trundling forwards and the
steering wheel is being propelled towards my chest. Having saved myself at the
last moment from a death befitting a Bond villain, it's time to set the car up.
2013 Chrysler 300C
On Road
Once you've arranged the seat, wheel and mirrors, the
majority of the controls can be found on the 8.4” colour touchscreen in the
dash. Of course there's multi- zone heating and climate control, the leather
seats are heated and very welcome in January weather, and even the steering
wheel's heated but this is, frankly, a bit weird and leaves you feeling a
little clammy. Then drop it into drive.
My first journey took me 100 miles to West Yorkshire, a
journey involving everything from a lot of motorway to a little cobbled street
where you would expect to have to dodge a boy delivering Hovis. Thanks for
that, sat-nav. The whole journey passed with the most remarkable feature being
that, whilst driving up the M6, I got a message on the dashboard saying that
the blind- spot sensors were unavailable as this was an 'astronomy area'. Wow,
who'd have thought that the tiny range of the radar on my blind spot sensors
could upset Jodrell Bank? Mind you, I suppose if you've got equipment that can
detect an extra- terrestrial life-form scratching its bottom on the other side
of the galaxy, having a motorway-full of cars giving off interference less than five miles away
would be like having the world's most powerful hearing aid then standing next
to the start line at Santa Pod.
2013 Chrysler 300C
Engine
The fact that this was the most remarkable part of the
journey is in itself remarkable. The car is so damn competent that the miles
just whizz by and you're almost surprised to arrive. It wasn't so many years
ago that the approach of a diesel-powered car was heralded with various rattles
and clanks that sounded like an orchestra of beer cans full of bolts. Now, if
you pay attention, there's still a certain diesel-ness about the sound, but
you'd be hard-pressed to notice. There's a bit of a pause for thought between
pressing the throttle and the power kicking in, especially from a standstill,
but the power delivery is silent, seamless and plentiful. It's the same with
the transmission – you have to watch the tacho to spot the shift points.
2013 Chrysler 300C
Trunk
The most noise in the car is generated by the tyres, and if
anything the ride has become slightly softer and more compliant than the
previous model. For years, manufacturers seemed to think that 'European- style
handling' meant firm spring rates; they were seemingly ignorant of
'European-style' pot- holes, speed bumps and other nonsense. The old model felt
stiff and oddly
hollow, but that's gone now. Nothing upset the car's poise. Handling is way
better than I'd have ever expected from a two-ton car, with grip that goes on
forever, even on cold, damp roads. Once, I switched the traction control off, and found that
getting out of shape on a soggy roundabout was far too easy with the huge
torque on tap. Drifting is probably lots of fun, but not on a damp and crowded
roundabout and not when you can picture yourself handing the car back to
Chrysler and having to apologize for eight feet of 'railing rash' on the
nearside. I then left it switched on for the duration.
