VegasEvos.com: Chrysler 300C Rental sled!

My review as follows....

First things first. I have no experience with any type of luxury cars as in the past I have owned a 1988 Mitsubishi Starion, 2000 Honda Civic Si, and currently my 2003 Mitsubishi EVO. Lets get going.

Interior is nice, again refer to above statement bitches. The plastics and textures are soft to the touch with some give to it. Not that hard plastic you would find on other Chrysler vehicles ala Neon or Sebring. No shiny stuff here which is kind of pleasing to the eye. This particular model is the base 300 C that retails for around $21,000. The knobs and buttons also have a soft feel to the touch, but they are all black in color and the console is setup symmetrically which means at a glance eveything looks the same. Not really intuitive but nothing you can't get used to.

I'm short, 5'3'', so as I'm adjusting mirrors and the seat and such, I noticed one thing weird. That chopped roof look does sometimes prohibit visibility. If you get to close to the white line at an intersection, you have to duct down some and lean forward a tad to regain site of the intersection lights. Again, something you can get used to.

The ride quality is typical Chrysler. Suspension bounds up and down over rough roads but is still compliant and smooth. One thing that did amaze me was how well this car actually handles despite the fact its hauling around 2 tons of bodyweight. I've taken turns briskley without some hint of understeer but nothing too dramatic. The handling can be described as almost neutral. The steering is not too light but not really communicative. Of course, being a luxury car, most of the harshness is dampened out so along with that the steering is too.

On to the engine. This is the biggest dissappointment of the vehicle. Why Chrysler would swap in the Sebring/Avenger's 2.7 liter 190 HP V6 engine in the base model is beyond me. This engine is weak. So weak in fact that while cruising at any speed about 35 mph, when you decide to speed up slightly, it needs to kick down a gear to gets things going again.

The transmission electronics could use some more refining. From a stop going through the gears every shift is hesitant to the point of feeling like what little power the engine is making is being cut out in favor of a smooth shift. But it fails at trying to do so. Momentum is actually slowed down for a second to accomplish this smooth shift. It is very annoying, be it at wide open throttle or part throttle acceleration. I'm not sure if its part of the torque management algorithm or just for comfort.

A big thumbs down for the engine and tranny.

More to come....