At a time when sales of big cars are slipping, the 2015 Chrysler 300 has arrived in Australia with prices starting at $49,000 (+ORC).
THE BLUFF LOOKING Chrysler 300 is back boasting a redesigned chassis, new eight-speed transmission and a new Uconnect infotainment system.
One of the most noticeable changes is the new gear shifter which has seen the Chrysler 300 borrow from Jaguar’s playbook, running a rotary gear shifter, which it calls the Rotary E-shift dial. According to Chrysler, it “changes gears electronically rather than mechanically”.
But the techno-wizardry doesn’t stop there, and the 300 gets a seven-inch instrument cluster that sits alongside blue-backlit analogue instruments, allowing for a customisable ‘driver’ experience, or so the press guff reads.
“Via steering-wheel controls, the display can toggle between vehicle speed, turn-by-turn navigation, real-time fuel economy, audio, driver assistance warnings, and safety and security functions, such as ParkSense rear park assist and the available Full-speed Forward Collision Warning – Plus, audio information and trip details,” Chrysler says.
The 300 is unmistakable in it looks and clearly draws on the models that have gone before it, but its looks are less polarising with this example.
New exterior design highlights across the range include:
- New front fascia design;
- New grille design housing the Chrysler wing badge;
- New rear fascia design;
- Restyled LED tail lights and new LED fog lights; and
- New range of wheel designs.
To improve ride and handling, Chrysler have fitted the 300 with electric power steering that’s been “fine tuned to deliver world-class performance and efficiencies”. It’s also fitted lighter axles, with all-new cast-aluminium axles and axle housings reducing the sprung weight. A ‘Sport’ button on 300C Luxury models quicken gearshifts by 37% to just 250 milliseconds – in this mode the gearbox will hold the gear right through to redline, which is nice.
There’s only one engine on offer, and the aluminium 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 petrol makes 210kW and 340Nm of torque, and achieves a combined fuel consumption of 9.4L/100kms in 300C trim and 9.7L/100km in the 300C Luxury.
2015 Chrysler 300 standard features:
- 18-inch polished alloy wheels
- Luxury perforated Nappa leather-trimmed upholstery
- 8.4-inch UConnect touchscreen with satellite navigation
- 7-inch full colour, configurable instrument cluster display
- Alpine 9-Speaker audio system including subwoofer and 506-watt amplifier
- Adaptive Bi-Xenon high intensity discharge (HID) headlights
- Acoustic windshield and front door glass
- Dual-zone automatic temperature control
- ParkView rear back-up camera with dynamic distance grid lines
- ParkSense front and rear park assist system
- Wood & leather wrapped heated steering wheel
- Push-button and remote start
- 7-Airbags
- DAB+ digital radio
- Ventilated and heated front seats
- Heated rear seats
- Radio/driver seat/mirrors memory
- Keyless Enter & Go
- Cruise control
- Automatic headlights
- Electric front seats
- Auto dimming inside and outside rear-view mirrors
- Rotary shifter
- LED fog & tail lamps
- DRL’s – Chrysler ‘C’
- Front & rear floor mats
- Heated/cooled front cup holders
300 Luxury standard features above 300:
- 20-inch polished alloy wheels
- Deep quilted Nappa leather-trimmed interior
- Adaptive Cruise Control Plus with Full Stop
- LaneSense Lane Departure Warning Plus
- Full-Speed Forward Collision Warning Plus
- Blind-Spot Monitoring and Rear Cross-Path Detection
- Rain-sensitive windshield wipers and automatic high-beam headlamp control
- Sport mode (S) with die-cast steering-wheel mounted paddle shifters
- Driver seat, outside rear vision mirror and radio memory
- Ventilated front seats
- Luxury steering wheel
- Luxury front & rear floor mats
- Advanced brake assist
