23 September 2006
Kevin Hepworth
Subtlety has never been a watchword of things US and the Chrysler 300C adhers to the "bigger is better" maxim.
Chrysler assumed true-believer status with the 300C; a big, brash, brute of a car styled with all the subtlety of an apartment block on wheels. Its success, however, has made the 300C a strong advocate for the argument that subtlety may be overrated.
The car's in-your-face styling has struck a resonance not even Chrysler could have anticipated. Not only is the 300C selling like hot cakes at home, it is doing significant numbers in overseas markets better known for rejecting rather than embracing excess.
With Europe, the home of subtlety, being the next frontier, Chrysler has taken the 300C out of its big-bore V8 petrol comfort zone and dropped a dinky little 3.0-litre diesel under the bonnet and already the buyers are voting with their wallets.
Picking up the aluminium common rail V6 from Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler has presented a cogent argument as to why there is a place for oil-burners in large passenger cars.
The figures are impressive: 160kW of power and 510Nm of torque allow the 300C CRD to hold its head high against the 5.7-litre Hemi V8, which boasts 525Nm.
Where the CRD leaves its petrol stablemate red-faced is that peak push in the diesel is on tap from 1600rpm to 2800rpm. The V8 doesn't hit its straps until 4000rpm and doesn't hold it over such a sustained band.
For highway overtaking that equates to almost instant acceleration, to almost always being in the right gear with the meat of the torque curve just a feather of the throttle away.
The Benz-sourced five-speed automatic uses exceptionally well-sorted ratios to ensure the 300C's 1800kg mass is kept moving without undue stress.
The early arrival of much of the car's maximum torque means that from a standing start only moderate throttle is required to whisk the big sedan away.
The four-valve per cylinder engine runs double overhead cams, meets Euro 4 emissions standards and uses an integrated diesel particulate filter to keep the mood green and friendly.
Variable-geometry technology on the turbo and precise Piezo injectors helped the 300C CRD maintain a credible 9.7L/100km average on a test drive slanted towards city use.
It is not difficult to forget from behind the wheel that the CRD is a diesel. Vibration and noise isolation are at a level that, from inside the cabin, more than one passenger had no idea that the CRD was not a petrol car.
Whether it is a toe in the water into subtlety or just a cost-saver, the CRD uses the same white-faced instrument panel as the petrol cars. With no redline marked on the tachometer (calibrated to 7000rpm) it is a little unnerving to see shift changes around the 4000rpm mark.
For a big car the CRD has nice balance, something it shares with the petrol models, and you can fire it out of corners on a torque surge. The rest of the CRD experience is pretty much common with the remainder of the 300C family.
The high-waisted cabin and low roofline give an impression of snugness but it never tumbles over into feeling cramped.
Vision is reasonable out the front of the car, but not so great out of the rear, where the small window and substantial C-Pillars impede. Expansive wing mirrors are a plus.
Rear parking sensors aid with keeping track of the car's rear and a set on the front wouldn't go astray.
The seats are a capable compromise between comfort and support. They lean more towards the European than the historical American preference for armchairs.
Among the standard safety features are dual front and full-length, side-curtain airbags, switchable stability control and anti-lock brakes.
Comfort features include rain-sensing wipers, dual-zone climate control, six-speaker sound system, cruise control, trip computer and auto-dimming rear-vision mirror.
Steering adjustment is tilt-only and the plastic tortoiseshell treatment at the top of the wheel is tacky. Stick with the leather.
It's the subtle thing to do.
FAST FACTS
Chrysler 300C CRD
Price: $57,990 (sedan); $60,990
Engine: 3.0-litre, 24-valve, DOHC, common-rail, direct injection, intercooled turbocharged V6; 160kW@3800rpm, 510Nm@1600-2800rpm
Transmission: 5-speed automatic, rear-wheel-drive
Performance: 0-100km/h 8.6 sec
Fuel economy: 8.2L/100km claimed; on test 9.7L/100km; 71-litre tank.
Verdict: Strong engine in style-leading package. Practical solution to large-car economy.
ALTERNATIVES
Audi A4 TDi quattro
Price: $86,700
Engine: 3.0-litre, V6 turbo diesel, 171kW@3500-4000rpm, 450Nm@1400-3250rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto with Tiptronic, all-wheel-drive
Fuel: 8.4L/100km (claimed); 63-litre tank
Verdict: Great performance while still offering good fuel economy and a quiet diesel engine.
Holden Statesman
Price: $62,990
Engine: 6.0-litre V8; 270kW@5700rpm, 530Nm@4400rpm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic, rear-wheel-drive
Fuel: 14.5L/100km (premium); 73-litre tank
Verdict: Showing all the benefits of the VE development. Excellent engine/transmission package.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Chrysler 300C: subtle. Not.
Cruiser Cabrio - you are the sunshine of my life
23 June 2006
Paul Gover
Winter is the wrong time to unleash a new convertible. So it's a good thing the Sunshine Coast in Queensland was living up to its name when Chrysler rolled its quirky newcomer, the PT Cruiser Cabrio, into action.
It was easy to drop the electric top and soak up the warmth in a vehicle that is likely to sell to a small but very happy group of Australians.
Chrysler Group Australia aims to move only 200-250 Cabrios, but believes they will boost PT Cruiser sales to about 1200 cars a year and rattle some rivals, including the Volkswagen Beetle and Mini convertibles.
The PT is more than just a Cruiser with a roof job. The car has been taken from a five-door hatch and converted into a two-door with a boot below the foldaway roof.
The top is a triple-layer electric job with a one-button operation that can be flipped or folded at walking pace if you get caught in a surprise shower.
It is priced from $35,890 as a five-speed manual, up from the $29,990 basic PT Cruiser but well in the ballpark against the Beetle Cabrio at $36,990 and with something special on the design front.
How is it different? The styling is very different," Chrysler group managing director Gerry Jenkins says.
"It's a vehicle that stands by itself, and the odd thing is that the people who buy them don't want anything else. That's the same for all the PT Cruiser models."
He admits the timing could have been better.
"It's available to us now, and it's not a bad time, because it gets people thinking ahead to summer," he says.
The Cruiser Cabrio is a four-seat car that has been strengthened in almost 40 places for its convertible work, including a sport bar behind the front seats.
The roofline is 62mm lower than the sedan's and there is a new windscreen frame, and heated seats in the Limited model.
The engine is the PT's regular 2.4-litre four with 105kW and either a five-speed manual gearbox or a four-speed auto with touch-change manual mode.
Jenkins believes the PT Cabrio will do well and continue the growth of the Chrysler brand, which is being headlined by the 300C and will soon include the Dodge Caliber compact.
"The PT is our Steady Eddie. We sell about 1000 a year. It just keeps on going.
"I think this will give it a little bit of a lift. There are people who already have a PT who will step up to this one.
"PT owners are very animated, and like to be outside the norm," Jenkins says.
"As for the 300, we're still running short of stock. And we're launching the Touring model and we're doing the diesel engine at the same time. We have a waiting list on the SRT8 through to September."
ON THE ROAD
The Cruiser Cabrio is a distinctive newcomer, that's for sure. The PT has always been very different and the drop-top is more of the same.
It's not the best-looking car with the top up, with a rear end we think is a bit dumpy and a roofline that does not work as well as the original, but it looks trendy and new with the top folded away.
The top is easy to work and works well, there is reasonable boot space, and there's room for two adults in the back.
The PT has never been the quickest or sportiest car on the road, but the Cabrio gets along well enough with its 2.4-litre engine.
The manual gearbox still feels slick and, even though it has only four gears, the auto is fun with the "Autostick" system for manual work.
The conversion has weakened the car a little, but it still feels solid and substantial.
It is not as wobbly as some other droptops we have driven, though it is not in the rock-solid class of the new Mazda MX-5.
There is little wind noise or buffeting when the is top down, but several test cars had a rumble behind the windscreen when the top was up.
And, as always, three-quarter and parking vision is compromised.
So the Cruiser Cabrio is not a sports car or the best convertible in the world, but it was a great way to blow away the winter blues. The sun shone and we had a nice drive. Enough said.
Herald Sun
Chrysler Sebring: solid with good extras
03 November 2006
Gavin McGrath
MID-SIZE doesn't mean middle-of-the-road anymore for Chrysler.
The American carmaker plans to jazz up the medium car club with its edgy Sebring sedan next year. The deliberately different-looking American is pitched as an alternative to the dependable Toyota Camry and the Honda Accord.
While it will count on flair and a fair helping of "surprise and delight" to attract customers, chief engineer Dennis Krozek says getting the basics right had to be the key to winning converts.
"We know how competitive that medium segment is because there are so many offerings with Camry, Accord, Passat and Mazda6," Krozek says.
"We did a lot of research with potential customers, we did our benchmarking against the best of the best and targeted our functional objectives after that — ride and handling, safety and the technology we put in it. From there we wanted to offer technologies no one in the segment had to offer."
Two petrol engines will be available in Australia. The Sebring will be launched with a 2.4-litre four with 125kW and 220Nm developed in conjunction with Hyundai and already in Australia in the Hyundai Sonata. It will be followed at some stage by a 2.7-litre V6.
Chrysler has bought the use of Volkswagen's 2.0-litre turbodiesel with 103kW and 310Nm, rather than developed its own diesel or borrowed one from Mercedes-Benz, an expensive decision but one that should please owners.
Transmissions are a five-speed manual and four-speed automatic for the petrol models and a six-speed manual for the turbodiesel.
The automatic option for the diesel hasn't been announced, but could be Volkswagen Group's excellent six-speed DSG semi-automatic. All Sebrings are front-wheel-drive. Chrysler has made dynamic stability control standard across the Sebring range.
But the Sebring's special extras will be the key to its success, starting with its MyGIG entertainment system. Developed by Boston Acoustics, it combines all the functionality of a touchscreen sound system with a 20Gb hard disc memory, USB direct input, Bluetooth capability, satellite navigation and the ability to store several thousand songs (or several full-length DVD movies that can be played when the car isn't moving) and then used to create its own playlists. Owners will never have to carry their own CDs again.
Chrysler is weighing up making the system a standard feature across the range.
The Sebring also has other unusual features for a non-luxury car, including heated cloth seats and a cup-holder that can chill or heat what's in it.
Pricing details have not been announced but should start at about $30,000, with the first cars arriving in the middle of next year.
The Sebring's clever extras and Crossfire-inspired looks should help it attract plenty of attention from car shoppers.
But it's the mundane basics that need to impress us. No matter how clever the Sebring's MyGig sound system is, and no matter how sharp it looks, midsize car buyers have shown they need a commonsense reason to buy a car.
What gives the Sebring credibility is that, even stripped of the things that make it stand out from the Camry crowd, it is still a good, solid car. Not as slick to drive as the Mazda6 or Accord Euro, nor with the robust reliability record of the Camry, but still good enough to make the list and let the exciting extras get it over the line.
From most angles the Sebring is a looker, the stylish bonnet and nose, and sharp lines generally carrying over well from the Crossfire onto the more practically shaped Sebring body. Only from side-on does it look like what it is, a sensible family sedan dressed up as a street machine.
Inside, the Sebring carries all the usual cues from the current Chrysler family, with old fashioned-looking backlit dials and the hard plastic dash that has been rejected by most European and Japanese brands in favour of a softer feel.
We tried the 2.0-litre turbodiesel and the 2.0-litre petrol versions of the Sebring, the former with a six-speed manual transmission and the latter with a five-speed manual.
The turbo diesel is the same highly regarded engine that we know from the Volkswagen Golf, with plenty of torque and well above average refinement for a diesel. Chrysler has confirmed this Sebring model will come to Australia.
The 2.0-litre petrol, on the other hand, won't be coming, Chrysler choosing the 2.4-litre four as its entry-level engine.
This is just as well because, as pleasant and smooth as the 2.0-litre four is, it just lacks the oomph for a good-size car. The 2.4-litre should be better.
Brakes, steering, ride and handling are in the mix compared with the obvious competitors, which is something of a nice surprise.
The Sebring feels safe and corners reasonably — it's much better than Chryslers before the 300C — and the stability control means any deficiency compared with the class-leading midsizers is barely noticeable.
If you buy the Sebring over one of its Japanese competitors, you are not sacrificing much at all.
What lifts the otherwise ho-hum attitude is MyGIG. Sure, other cars have a touchscreen audio system but one that allows motorists to permanently download hundreds of songs, has a USB port and can even store movies and photos, well, that's special.
We haven't seen that kind of cleverness in many of the most expensive cars sold here, let alone something smack bang in Middle Street.
It takes a few minutes to download an album of music, for example, but once it's saved each song can be selected individually, or added to user-chooser playlists, or called up in alphabetical order. It's remarkably easy to use and saves CDs from being scratched.
FAST FACTS
Price: from about $30,000
Engine: 2.4-litre 4-cylinder petrol 125kW@6000rpm, 220Nm@4500rpm; 2.0-litre turbodiesel 103kW@4000rpm, 310Nm@1750rpm
Transmission: 4-speed auto or 5-speed manual (petrol), 6-speed manual (diesel)
Fuel: 8.9L/100km (petrol); 6.2L/100km (diesel
