Which brings us to the heart of the matter:
the significance of the fuel-efficient turbodiesel motor when compared with its
sibling's less-than-economical 3.6 litre V6 petrol motor. Although we recorded
returns comparable with our fuel-index figure of 8.64 litres/100 km on long
trips, the Chrysler's average hovered at about 10.5 litres/100 km, which is an
acceptable trade-off against the laid-back throttle response and casually
shifting five -speed autobox.
Heavily
styled tail-lights flow into a satin chrome accent stretching across the car to
accentuate width and purpose
In everyday driving conditions, the
steering wheel is bereft of feel or feedback, and the test team could not reach
consensus whether the big-wheeled Chrysler's ride quality was comparatively
nervous due to the saloon's low-profile rubber, or remarkably forgiving in
spite of the extreme footwear. The fact that there are two tyre-pressure
advisory stickers on the sill of the front passenger door (one which suggests a
standard pressure for all four tyres of 2.5 bar and the other 2.2 bar) caused
confusion, but we found the former value realised the best results.
It was on the long haul that the Chrysler
performed best. The cabin offers excellent NVH-suppression at cruising speeds
and the optional Driver Confidence package, which includes adaptive cruise
control (with three following-distance settings), a forward collision-warning
system, blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-path detection system, really
showed its value in those circumstances. Those traits, combined with the
convenience of the remote toggles for the audio, cruise control, telephony and
dashboard menu functions, made road trips a pleasure.
Adult
passengers will find the rear cabin more spacious than any of its mid-sized
executive rivals
With the absence of an on board indicator,
we consulted Chrysler's customer-service facility about the timing of the
one-year service. With the odometer reading a few hundred kilometres below
20,000 km, we made an appointment for a mere two working days later at Sandown
Chrysler Jeep and Dodge in Century City, Cape Town. I was impressed with the
personable and efficient service of the customer adviser and the fact that the
workshop staff took the initiative to suggest that two stone chips to the
300C's windscreen be repaired ($25). The abnormal effort required to turn the
steering wheel to full lock, which several testers had noted, was addressed by
correcting the car's wheel alignment and topping up the power-steering fluid.
The adviser also ordered an EGR (exhaust-gas recirculation) hose that required
replacement as part of an in-service campaign.
Rear
seats fold to augment the standard 481 litre boot capacity, which is less generous
than that of a 5-series
Test Summary
Chrysler recently doubled the duration of
the maintenance plan it offers as standard with the 300C (to six years/100,000
km) and, given that the price of the 3.0 CRD has increased by more than $9,365
since the onset of this test, we applaud that. Yes, the 300C offers a plethora
of standard creature comforts and undercuts its natural rivals on price by some
margin, but it's still not a benchmark executive sedan. What it does offer,
however, is individual style and tremendous road presence - and that will suit
certain buyers perfectly well.
