It’s not a Bentley, it’s not a Maybach and it’s probably not going to be mistaken for a Rolls-Royce. If you think it’s meant to compete with exotics such as Ferrari or Lamborghini, then you’ve been smoking your socks. What the Chrysler 300C Hemi is, though, is a big luxury car that exudes presence, goes like stonk in a straight line, scrambles around corners pretty briskly for a Yank tank, and surprises everybody who asks its price.
For R430Â 000 I think the Chrysler 300C Hemi is an absolute bargain, which is quite an admission from a skinflint like me.
The Chrysler oozes charisma, and as such won’t appeal to the shrinking-violet type because it attracts comments from passers-by wherever you park it. It’s big and it’s masculine, looking as if it was machined from a solid slab of aluminium.
Big extends to the interior too, which easily accommodates five large adults. Black and grey leather trim look and feel classy, as do the genuine walnut inserts, and the white and silver dials, along with the analogue clock, are suitably understated — there’s nary a hint of the yuppie star-wars stuff here. Although it’s not a Bentley, the Chrysler is very well equipped, with heated, electrically adjustable front seats; a very snazzy Boston sound system; parking distance sensors; multiple airbags; all the expected electronic driver aids; dual-zone climate control; cruise control; and electric everything.
Way back in 1955, Chrysler launched a hot street car, the C300, so named because its V8 engine produced a stunning 300 bhp, or 225 kW. Top speed back then was more than 220kph, in an era when most cars were hard pushed to reach 160kph. The engine used hemispherical combustion chambers, which allowed oversized valves for better breathing and efficient combustion, and Hemi-powered Chryslers won races and set records all over the United States.
The Hemi engine used in the new 300C, launched just more than a year ago, is, despite its smoothness and sophistication, even more powerful than the rough-and-ready 50-year-old motor, with 250 kW being transmitted to the rear wheels via a five-speed automatic transmission. This equates to 335 bhp, so perhaps the marketing people should have called their new car the C335.
Torque too is impressive, with 525 Nm available from 4Â 000 rpm. This, according to Chrysler, is enough to get the 1,7-tonne car up to 100kph in just 6,4 seconds, with a top speed electronically limited to 250kph.
Although the latest hemi engine is relatively old-fashioned — in that it still uses pushrods rather than overhead camshafts, and there are just two valves per cylinder — it’s rather special as it is fitted with Chrysler’s multi-displacement system (MDS), which shuts down four of the eight cylinders when power demands are minimal — after all, why feed 350 horses when half that number will do?
At light throttle openings the engine operates as a four-cylinder, but when the driver puts his foot down the engine switches back into eight-cylinder mode in just 40 milliseconds. The factory claims that MDS allows the engine to offer the performance of a strong V8 with the economy of a large six-cylinder unit.
Driving the test vehicle I found it virtually impossible to detect the switch from four- to eight-cylinder power. When you press your foot down on the gas pedal the car responds instantly, emitting a gorgeous V8 howl as the revs climb, and giving you a mighty push in the back.
After a couple of hundred kilometres of pretty enthusiastic driving I checked the onboard computer, establishing that fuel consumption had averaged 18,6 litres per 100km. That’s not particularly light, but better than average for such a big car with a powerful 5,7-litre engine. I see that Car magazine, when it tested the car in February, recorded a remarkable average fuel consumption of 12,22 litres per 100km.
The Chrysler 300C Hemi, with its very macho styling and powerful, thirsty V8, may not be everybody’s cup of tea, but I found it highly desirable and astonishingly good value for money. It’s smooth, it’s quick, it’s classy, it looks very different to everything else around and there’s simply nothing else in its price range that offers as much presence.
For R61Â 000 less you could get the sizzle-without-the-steak 180 kW V6 version that isn’t a bad performer, but why bother? Given the choice, I’d move the other way — for R520Â 000 I’d take a look at the Chrysler 300C SRT-8. This, the most powerful in the range, reaches 100kph in less than six seconds, which is startlingly quick for such a big car in this price range.