Chrysler 300C CRD Touring review
Chrysler 300C 3.0 V6 CRD Road Test
Test date 12 June 2006
Price as tested £27,995
For Looks, grunt, refinement, equipment, Euro-friendly dynamics
Against Mediocre economy, lumpy ride,
If this Chrysler 300C Touring does no more than apply a sharp slap in the face to the designers of the often dull or visually disappointing European estates with which it will compete, then its work – for the future of car styling, if not the Chrysler Corporation’s coffers – will not be in vain. It arrives as a cooling breeze into a room of stagnant air to remind us that there is a way of being both different
and attractive.
The 300C saloon launched last year is already well on its way to becoming a design icon, while this estate version is perhaps more distinctive still and, according to Chrysler, will overtake its four-door sister’s already impressive sales.
With its striking grille and startlingly slim glasshouse, this is not a car for those who don’t wish to draw attention to themselves. However, if you want to drive something that guarantees conversation wherever you go, it already has every rival Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Saab and Volvo beaten hands down.
But the question that remains is whether there is any substance behind the style. We are very used to extraordinary-looking designs hopping proudly from the US to Britain, only to crash face down in the mud when subjected to scrutiny a little more rigorous than your average beauty contest.
Chrysler, however, can point to and draw upon the resources of Mercedes-Benz, and while it refutes the frankly shameful suggestion that the 300C has anything at all to do with the previous-generation W210 E-class, it is more than happy to borrow Mercedes engines, gearboxes, suspension design, electronics… the list is long.
If the result is a truly convincing executive estate that looks this good, we’re the last people who are going to get sniffy about where various bits have come from. We don’t even mind that it’s not built by either Mercedes or Chrysler, or that it comes from neither Germany nor the US. In fact, it’s put together by Magna Steyr in Austria.
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