Chrysler 300C (2005-2008) Review

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The layout of the 300C makes for an ideal driver's car - front-engined, long wheelbase and rear-wheel drive. It is a good drive, impressing with agile cornering and direct steering, but you never forget that the 300C tips the scales at around 1800Kg. Body roll is well contained, which is impressive, given that the chassis is softly sprung for comfortable cruising rather than overtly stiff for optimum handling.

All 300Cs come with a five-speed automatic gearbox with fully adaptive electronic control, meaning that it will hold onto gears longer when it senses that you're in a hurry, keeping you in the power band for longer. You can manually shift up and down gears by nudging the gear stick to the left or right, respectively: however, the changes don't happen as quickly as you would like and the automatic box will override your gear choices as it sees fit.

The 300C is also relatively easy to drive around town in, once you get used to its size (5metres long by 1.9metres wide)- parking is even straightforward, thanks to the rear parking sensors fitted as standard. The engine note sounds muted in the cabin, but will impress (or annoy) passers-by - even the diesel engine sounds fruity and distinctly clatter-free.

Four engines are offered in the 300C: 3.5-litre V6, 5.7-litre and 6.1-litre HEMI V8 petrols and a 3.0-litre diesel. The V6 petrol is a token addition to the range: Chrysler expects to sell only a handful of these in the UK, hoping that most of the sales will be powered by the diesel engine.

That 3.0-litre diesel - as found in the Jeep Grand Cherokee - produces just 214bhp. The more impressive figure however is the 376lb ft of torque available from just 1600rpm - that's as much torque as found in the Lamborghini Gallardo. All this punch allows the 300C to reach 62mph in 7.6seconds - only a little slower than a feisty Mini Cooper S. The engine will eventually run out of puff at 143mph - given enough room.

Chrysler expects that the two HEMI-powered 300Cs will have limited appeal in the UK, but there will be a market with those that can afford the fuel bills that a 5.7 or 6.1-litre engined car will produce. For the record, the 5.7-litre HEMI produces 335bhp and 387lb ft of torque, meaning a 0-62mph time of 6.4seconds. The SRT 6.1-litre version has an extra 80bhp and a total of 420lb ft of torque, bringing the 0-62mph sprint down to 5.3seconds - that's Lotus Elise and Porsche 911 territory, but still falling short of AMG versions of Mercedes-Benz products.