Chrysler 300 Srt Core Vs Premium
Chrysler 300 SRT 2019 Review
What is it about this big, loud, ugly American machine that makes it so entertaining?
Making V8 music
There's something pleasantly nostalgic about settling into the Chrysler 300 SRT, thumbing the starter button and hearing the 6.4-litre HEMI V8 burble to life.
For a lot of Aussies raised on rear-drive Ford Falcons and Holden Commodores, this about as good as it gets today when you're talking brand-new V8 cruisers that combine comfort, foolish bravado and acres of cabin space in equal measure.
Packing an almighty 350kW punch, the Chrysler 300 SRT is a beast from a bygone era.
Loud and fast and engaging to drive in almost any situation by virtue of its mechanical V8 heart, the 300 SRT's pulse throbs with the help of myriad pulleys, springs, valves and of course eight tightly contained explosions.
It's true that emissions regulations are slowly but surely slicing cylinders off traditional performance cars, shrinking displacement and in some cases deleting combustion engines altogether. The Rimac is a good example of this, a bonkers electric supercar.
The inexorable march of history will almost certainly relegate the (relatively) affordable V8 performance car to the scrap yard in future, which is lamentable, as there's something comforting about the resonant eight cylinder melody of the Chrysler 300 SRT's 6.4-litre V8.
Each cylinder's four-stroke journey is controlled by archaic pushrods, rhythmic rising and falling in an almost meditative pattern. The HEMI V8 is not the most sophisticated combustion engine ever made, but golly gee it's involving.
Every time you push the throttle pedal the car comes alive acoustically and physically, dragging you into the present moment with the subtlety of a drunkard falling through a glass door. Switch off the podcast, leave the family at home, wind down the windows and exult in the sonorous magnificence of the 6417cc powerplant creates.
American artillery
Firing its significant energy output of 350kW/637Nm at the rear wheels – in a linear fashion that connects car and driver harmoniously – the sensation of blasting out of corners at full noise is regularly linked with the release of endorphins from the homosapien's pituitary gland.
A mild induction noise mixed with a hint of mechanical reverb and a lustrous exhaust note emanating from the four-inch exhaust pipes that gets better with revs ensures you'll rarely get bored with the V8 music this car makes. Even with the standard exhaust set up – an active system that generates pops and crackles when switched to Sport mode – the soundtrack is delightful. Fit an aftermarket system and it would almost be too loud as a daily driver.
The Chrysler's old-school power pump is hooked up to an eight-speed automatic transmission that enables a claimed 0-100km/h sprint of five seconds flat. When we put this bad boy up against the HSV Clubsport R8 in 2015, our best time was 5.8sec – even with launch control activated.
But there's no denying the more than 600Nm of twist available, enough to casually smoke up a rear wheel on low-speed corner exits at three-quarter throttle. Check out the video for evidence. You may not always want to bring the Chrysler 300 SRT's full power to bear, but it is nice to know it's there.
Shifting smoothly and quietly at low revs and nominal speeds, the Chrysler 300 SRT's epicyclic transmission gives the menacing, blocky American machine an almost luxury feel. Hit the SRT mode button, switch it to sports mode and it swaps cogs with appropriate haste, barking and snarling between shifts.
Corners and cold drinks
The Chrysler 300 SRT gets an impressive whack of standard equipment, some of which elevates it to luxury car status, such as the three-mode adaptive suspension, heated and cooled cup holders and large, supple perforated leather seats.
The big, cushy front seats are electrically adjustable, heated and cooled, and even have some suede inserts that add a little sportiness to proceedings. The rear seats are huge as is the boot.
The 19-speaker Harman Kardon audio system absolutely belts out the tunes (Nickelback, windows down, can't go wrong!).
Seven airbags, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and blind-spot monitoring will almost make you forget you're driving an eight-year-old car.
Bold 20-inch forged alloy wheels are shod with 245/45 R20 rubber which don't completely ruin ride comfort. The brakes are pretty bold too: Big four-piston Brembo brakes clamp 360mm discs up front, while twin-pot calipers grab 350mm rear brake discs. Deceleration is above average for a vehicle that weighs just shy of 2000kg, pedal feel is good for most road driving and unless you're being a Wally you'll be unlikely to run out of road.
The suspension setup ranges from soft and supple in comfort mode to slightly less soft and supple in track mode. Okay, that's a bit unfair… the big Chrysler sedan tips into corners with a decent level of confidence but there's no getting past its weight. The front-end is heavy and certainly can't fling it around like a hot hatch.
The steering is a bit dull and doughy but everything starts to feel a bit livelier when hoofing it out of corners. Dial in more after the apex, absorb the odd (read: frequent) rear-end wiggle, rinse, repeat and enjoy.
Tweaking the car's transmission, suspension, engine and steering settings via the SRT button is a nice touch and allows you to find the best combination of settings for the type of driving at hand, whether tight hairpins, sweeping corners, or bumper to bumper traffic.
Flat-tyre, flat-lining?
The 2019 Chrysler 300 SRT also has a tyre pressure monitoring system which comes in handy when the rear right tyre starts losing air pressure rapidly. There's no spare tyre just a can of goop and a compressor, which together attempt to seal the rupture from the inside. I'd much prefer a full-sized spare tyre, but in this case the system worked well and we drove the car another 100km back to Chrysler's HQ with no issues.
The 2019 Chrysler 300 SRT is by no means a perfect car. It's imperfect by almost every measure, particularly when it comes to fuel consumption. The claimed 13.0L/100km is laughable, with the 70-litre fuel tank requiring two extra fills in less than a week. It only drinks 98 RON premium petrol and at the end of the test we were looking at 18.2L/100km on the trip computer.
Measuring 5089mm long, this is not a small vehicle and trying park the car up against bluestone kerbs without scratching the big alloy wheels can be a terrifying affair. Other road users will also think you're either an undercover cop or a criminal…
The Chrysler 300 SRT is living on borrowed time. In fact it's only really on sale here because NSW Police put in a big order for dozens of the tyre-frying V8s. Turns out the WRX seats are too narrow for the cops and their multifaceted equipment belts.
As the only Chrysler available in Australia, the 300 is the last of its breed – at least in V8 form. The rear-drive large car that exists in a segment that was once the mainstay of Aussie cars, namely the Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore.
Today the segment is pretty threadbare… and looking at the cumulative sales numbers for the large car segment it would be fair to suggest that the market for rear-drive large cars like this has pretty much dried up.
But you know what? It doesn't stop the big, bad, blustering Chrysler 300 SRT from being an engaging, entertaining car whose disappearance will one day be lamented.
How much does the 2019 Chrysler 300 SRT cost?
Price: $75,000 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 6.4-litre eight-cylinder petrol
Output: 350kW/637Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 18.2L/100km (as tested)
CO2: 303g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: N/A
Chrysler 300 Srt Core Vs Premium
Source: https://www.carsales.com.au/editorial/details/chrysler-300-srt-2019-review-117229/
