Chrysler 300 Limited

Providing perfect comfort even in the desert

PROs: Spacious, Fuel Efficient, Simple User Interface, Key-less Entry, Remote Start

CONs: Heavy,  Restricted Rear Visibility,  Land Yacht

Days Rented: 4                       Miles Driven: 835

MPG Observed:  Low 20’s City / Low 30’s Hwy / 24 mpg Overall

Comfort: ***                            Space: ****

Ride: ****                                   Engine: ***

Handling: ***                          Ease of Use: ****

I was recently pleased to find myself upgraded to Premium Class in a  brand new Chrysler 300 with 2 miles.  I was excited for this opportunity having heard great things about Chrysler’s recent improvements in design and build quality.  Needless to say, I was not disappoint!

The cabin is superbly styled with the wood grain center console and dash trim to the leather seats and steering wheel,  all topped off with an 8 inch center display.  The front seats were quite spacious, and left plenty of room for rear passengers even with a 6’4″ person in the front.  This car would be perfect to rent especially if you are being accompanied by 3 or 4 other colleagues.  Not only is there enough room and comfort in the cabin, but the trunk could easily store each person’s carry-on with room to spare.

One of the things I consider a true bonus in a rental car is the in-dash display.  Of all the cars I’ve rented, the 300‘s user interface blew the others out of the water!  In the center console is a USB port, Line-In, and SD Slot.  Connecting my phone to the car’s Bluetooth took a matter of seconds and even downloaded my entire phone book!  “Cool!” I thought, now let’s see if you can actually recognize my voice, or if I will still have to dial myself.  The car recognized all of the commands I gave and took action with no delay.   I even tried throwing a couple curve balls by speaking quietly and mumbling a bit, the 300 was not phased.  Being able to change the satellite radio channels without taking my hand off the wheel was a real treat.  On the other hand, a problem I had a couple times was while I was on a call and entered the car.  After plugging my phone in to charge via USB, the music on my phone would start playing!  Both the phone call AND the music were being played over the speakers at the same time!  I could not stop this because the music controls on the screen were disabled while the phone was in use.   I had to “drop” the call and stop the music, then redial.

My initial trip after picking up the car was a 250 mile drive from LAX to the Blythe.  The cabin is extremely quiet and blocks just about all audible road noise.  For a minute I thought I was in a Lexus LS.  The car I had was equipped with Chrysler’s 3.6L V6 FlexFuel.  The car’s acceleration was moderate, but a littler slower than I expected.  It took a good punch of the gas and a downshift to dial up the power to pass a semi. This is partly due to the car’s 8 speed transmission.  I was lucky to get a couple pointers on how to use the gearshift knob, as it did take a couple tries before I got the hang of it.  A bonus to the 8 spd transmission combined with the FlexFuel V6 was high gas mileage.  After my 250 mile drive I averaged about 34mpg and was doing a good job of maintaining 70mph.  Despite the seats being firm, the ride was very smooth.  The suspension disguised all of LA’s flaws like Hollywood makeup artist.

2012 Chrysler 300

Center Console

Trunk Space in the 300

Elegant Dash