When Chrysler introduced the 300 sedan in 2005, it was a nostalgic reissue of the original 300 sedan popular in the 1950s and ’60s. Similarly sized and built in rear-wheel drive configuration, it enticed not only buyers whose automotive histories include fond attachments to big American classic cars, but also younger buyers with a contemporary fondness for big, good-looking sedans.
A redesign in 2011 gave the 300 a more subdued appearance, but for 2015 bold is back, most noticeably up front, where the enlarged mesh grille is ringed with chrome and has Chrysler’s winged badge visually afloat within it. Combine that with the new headlight design, C-shaped LED lights and other striking details front and rear, and you won’t not notice the 2015 300 on the road.
There are four different trim levels: Limited, S, C and C Platinum. All are available with rear-wheel or all-wheel drive. An eight-speed automatic transmission is standard.
Large, near-luxury sedans aren’t really my thing, but my tester was the 300S, the sport model, whose appearance and performance challenged my indifference. A 292-horsepower V6 engine is standard on all models; a 5.7-liter Hemi V8 is available on all but the Limited model. On the 300S, the V6 is tuned to deliver 300 horsepower along with an additional 4 lb-ft of torque. Steering and suspension are performance-tuned; so is the dual exhaust system, providing a throaty but civilized sound. Fuel economy figures for the V6 with rear drive are 19 mpg city and 31 mpg highway.
The difference in mechanicals between the S and the rest is probably not as noteworthy as their appearances. The 300S has its own cool ornamentation, including exterior black trim instead of shiny, interior Matte Carbon hydrographic trim, S badging on the seats, and 20-inch cast aluminum wheels with a Hyper Black finish. Those wheels looked mighty good in combination with my tester’s Granite Crystal Metallic Clear Coat paint. During my test week, that car turned the heads of people of all ages and apparent lifestyles.
Chrysler has broadened the number of safety features on the new 300, including the addition of Full-speed Forward Collision Warning-Plus, a driver-assist collision-avoidance system that slows down or completely stops the car if it senses an undesirable frontal crash in the driver’s immediate future.
Technology upgrades are inevitable for any new car, and the 2015 300’s includes the welcome addition of a Wi-Fi hotspot to the Uconnect system. I had an excellent real-world experience with the 300’s Wi-Fi while in a remote area in east Snohomish County. My cell phone chirped to announce the arrival of a new email message, probably the important one I’d been expecting. I dutifully pulled off the road to check, and it was indeed the one I’d been waiting for. An immediate response was necessary, one too long to peck out on the phone without going out of my mind. Luckily I had my laptop on board, so I just pulled it out, wrote the long response as though I were sitting comfortably at home at my desk, hit send and drove ecstatically on my way.
That story won’t impress any obsessed techies among us, but I don’t care about them anyway. For those of you who are just medium techies like me, it’s a life-changing miracle, surely reason enough in itself to buy a new car.
The 2015 Chrysler 300 is scheduled to go on sale this spring. It may even be arriving already at local dealerships. Expect base pricing to start around $33,385.
Chrysler 300S RWD
Base price, including destination charge: $35,890
Price as driven: $36,885
Mary Lowry is an independent automotive writer who lives in Snohomish County. She is a member of the Motor Press Guild and a board member of the Northwest Automotive Press Association. Vehicles are provided by the manufacturers as a one-week loan for review purposes only. In no way do the manufacturers control the content of the reviews.
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