Topic: Shock! Canadian Driver member buys domestic car! - Now with pics.

[Erik]

I've posted here before of my search for a full size, four door sedan that would also be fun to drive. Drove a number of possible candidates:

Cadillac CTS - A little small, and a lot un-inspiring to drive.
Cadillac DTS - Just old feeling. Stupid Expensive for what it is. Didn't want to do a Northstar/4t80 combo again. Just not a GM guy, I guess.
Hyundai Genesis - Very impressive car. Probably the best of all the cars I drove, with a definitely the nicest interior. Just found it too bland and uninspiring to drive.
Toyota Avalon - With the Touring package gone, it is a deadly dull, FWD, vanilla mobile. Zzzzz.
Lexus - All but the LS too small for me. LS more than I wanted to pay.
Infiniti - G too small. M ok, but still a trifle snug. Nice car tho. Just didn't push my buttons in the end.
Lincoln MKS - Nice, but kinda bland and safe.
Taurus - Really wanted RWD. Taurus seats oddly uncomfortable. Especially back.
Maxima - Too small. Hated CVT. Turned off by FWD.

Probably drove others, but thats all I can remember.

Of the above, my fav was definitely the Genesis sedan. $50K with the V8 was a good value. Lovely interior for the price. Just didn't win my heart.

So what did I get?

This:



 Pics of the SRT that show the colour well. Already hunting up a set of these 20's for the summer.




Ok, not THAT specific one ( haven't had time to take some decent pics), but one exactly like it. A 2010 Chrysler 300C in Inferno Red.

I must say this car is an absolute joy to drive. It feels like a muscle car of the 70's, but totally refined to modern levels. The nice thing about it is that it always feels like you are driving a car. It does not try to insulate from the road. The vvt Hemi is a gem - smooth when cruising, yet making the right V8 noises. Yes, you can actually hear the engine when driving. TONS of torque allows you to keep the revs low and make decent fuel economy for a 360hp car - got 8.6l per 100km on a recent mixed city/rural/highway run, and was not driving it like Prius (why the heck would I want to do that anyway??). I was brought up with the idea that torque cures all ills, and this big beast proves that to be correct.

Did I mention it was quick? SHould be good for a mid 13 second 1/4 mile. Will find that out for sure next summer. Not bad for a 4200 lb, 4 door sedan. Most importantly, having so much torque on hand makes playing point and shoot in city traffic a blast. No need for revs to build up. Any speed at all, you have power. It ALWAYS feels strong.

Best features? The Hemi/5 speed Mercedes tranny combo. One of the most delightful I have ever experienced. 2nd best feature? Room. At 6'4, I can't have the seat all the way back! Just amazing amounts of room. The ultimate tall guys car. With lots of seat travel, a tilt/telescoping steering wheel and adjustable pedals dialling in the perfect driving position is a piece of cake. The Mercedes sourced seats make for great long drives.

Worst feature? The interior. While I have never been a fondler of plastics like many on this site, Chrysler built a lot of value into this car, and you can see where they took it out. Lots of aftermarket stuff to fix that up tho.

Overall, I am happy as a clam with this car, with no regrets at all. Not as nice a car as the Genesis, but a heap more fun to drive. And while it is not important to many here, I love the fact that it was screwed together (yes, I know where the Hemi comes from) a half hour away in Brampton.

One last kick at the muscle car can, before we are eventually forced into hybrids or who knows what.

[TopGun]

Shocking indeed!  It certainly looks like you took a look at a lot of stuff out there, and had an open mind.

Still a great looking car that is long into it's design cycle.  A 2010...interesting.  It was one they had lying around given the 2011s are "in"...or are they?

Those are some stout mechanicals under there too...Mercedes platform.

I like to hear it when people make a "heart" purchase...

[Careener]

Congrats!!!

[Erik]

Nope, the 2011 is a complete redesign, so Chrysler is offering great deals on the 2010's. New ones are gonna be out in the new year.

Spy photos show a great interior with a less radical exterior. 8 speed auto coming next year.

You can feel all the Benz parts inside.

The new car will likely be a better car, but I am guessing that some of the character of the old one will be diminished.

Yup, little brains and lots of heart in this purchase. Wait til I get all the mods done! 450hp is a piece of cake.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

Congratulations!

I always liked the big Chryslers/Dodges. Hoot to drive with the V8 too.

[ovr50]

Not a shock at all..!! 

Congrats, a great big car with a good motor. No problems there. 

[HeliDriver]

Congrats!

I've always been intrigued by the 300: big V8, RWD, Mercedes trickle-down mechanical bits, and all with a reasonable Chrysler price tag. I'll admit that I thought the styling was over the top when they first came out, but it's grown on me since.

Sounds like a hell of a lot of car for the money (and probably even more so with the new model on its way) - Great buy!

[Winklovic]

I'm not ashamed to say that the 300C is my dream car.  I'd buy the same colour, too.

[rrocket]

 Should be good for a mid 13 second 1/4 mile.

Whatever you're smoking, I want some too!!



Congrats on the new car.  Glad it's everything you need it to be!  Please don't stick one of those Bentley-esque grilles on it though!!! 

So you didn't have enough faith to buy a GM huh?    No testing of the G8? Thought that would be a good car for you....

[Erik]

Ok, mid to high 13's. Is that better? Car and Driver just ran the heavier AWD version through the 1/4 at 13.9. LOTS of tests of the older, slower original engine at a high 13-14.1. The VVT is MUCH stronger. The thinking is that Chrysler under-rated the engine at 360 hp so as not to cut into SRT8 sales, with the non-VVT 6.1. Testing has shown the automatic to be as quick as the 6 speed, and their are a number of mid 13 second tests of vvt Challengers around. And the Challenger is about as heavy, as big and as aerodynamic (or not) as the 300C.

Nope. No Bentley grille for me. Never seen where people see a resemblance to Bentley in the 300 anyway.

I guess I did forget to mention the G8. Done a LOT of wheel time in those. Convinced two friends to buy them. I think I have driven 4 of them now. I like it a lot. The 300C is more comfortable though. Hard to find good deals on G8 GT's anyway, let alone GXP's. No 2010's around anyway.

Good job, btw. I love how you managed to get a shot in at GM in a thread about me buying a Mopar..... 

[Erik]

And to everyone else, thanks for the kind words.

[Railton]

Nice.
I was not enthralled with the big Chryslers when they first came out however they have a unique charm about them that is sort of a "spit in the wind" type of attitude that I warmed to.
I even did some seat time in a black V6 version with leather interior (whilst the RX-8 was in the shop for a new engine) that left me impressed by the roominess and comfort of it - even the V6 had some torque to it that was noticable given I was use to the RX-8 at the time.
Enjoy your new ride!
Railton

[Ice]

Interesting comments about some of the other cars. We definitely have different tastes in vehicles! One way or another so long as you are happy with the purchase I'm sure it'll be a great car for you. I do have to hand it to the designers of the 300C - it really has a nice presence.

[Erik]

Nice.
I was not enthralled with the big Chryslers when they first came out however they have a unique charm about them that is sort of a "spit in the wind" type of attitude that I warmed to.
I even did some seat time in a black V6 version with leather interior (whilst the RX-8 was in the shop for a new engine) that left me impressed by the roominess and comfort of it - even the V6 had some torque to it that was noticable given I was use to the RX-8 at the time.
Enjoy your new ride!
Railton

I like that. Spit in the wind type attitude is right. It is about as far from the archetypal Camcord as you can get. Probably why I like it so much.

[ktm525]

I like that. Spit in the wind type attitude is right. It is about as far from the archetypal Camcord as you can get. Probably why I like it so much.

Good work!. I shopped the 300 when looking for a new ride. At the end of the day I went to the Pontiac G8 for the sportier suspension. The 300 would be a little smoother though.

Here is a good vid of the G8 vs. the Charger.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eInLIqFwSjU

[Guy]

Very nice, rented one once in Calgary. I really liked it!

[Juke1]

300C has always been one of my favorites, congrats on a great purchase.

[rrocket]

Had you entertained the thought of the SRT8 version at all?  Or just too spendy?

[Erik]

Had you entertained the thought of the SRT8 version at all?  Or just too spendy?

Did VERY seriously!

Drove a couple of them. Hard to come by in a 2010 or even 2009 up here. Chrysler will not support warranties for cars imported from the US, so that was not a possibility either. They only give a 3year/60K warranty on it anyhow. No 5 year powertrain like the regular one. The difference was not as big acceleration wise with the VVT as it was with the earlier ones. For instance, the 2007 regular Hemi vs the SRT8 was huge. The difference was not so big with the VVT engine. The VVt engine is a ton stronger than the older ones.

Big difference too in gas mileage. The SRT does not have the VVT or the MDS(cylinder deactivation) like the regular Hemi, so a good highway run in a SRT8 is 20-21mpg. I have already seen 27+mpg on the 2010. Anyway, I still intend on doing the 6 speed Challenger SRT8 next year.

Anyway, there are about a million mods I can do to it, so I can really make it anything I want it to be. LOTS of suspension options (the Pedders stuff is fabulous), and the Hemi responds really nicely to mods. Would not be a big deal to knock it down to a 13 flat, maybe a high 12 on a good day. Pretty impressive for a 4200lb sedan.

[Erik]

I like that. Spit in the wind type attitude is right. It is about as far from the archetypal Camcord as you can get. Probably why I like it so much.

Good work!. I shopped the 300 when looking for a new ride. At the end of the day I went to the Pontiac G8 for the sportier suspension. The 300 would be a little smoother though.

Here is a good vid of the G8 vs. the Charger.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eInLIqFwSjU

Yeah, I liked the G8 more than the Charger, but still preferred the 300C over the G8. Awesome car, the G8 is. With my folks getting on, the 300C was much easier for them to get in and out of.