SHOCKING! Chrysler 300 beat out BMW 530i

[Redman]

The car magazines are deathly afraid of testing a 300C against any of its "competition" - primarily because the "competition" spends so much $ in advertising.
Essentially, they can't afford to print the truth.

[jimv]

Originally Posted by MOMO

Yeah, the 300 weights upwards of 4000lbs + so a 250hp V6 would definitely be underpowered. Now the Hemi that?s a different story, yeah baby.

As the owner of a Touring, MOMO, I beg to differ. On paper it may sound underpowered but in real life it moves along quite smartly. I've driven a couple of hemis and in most driving situations (note the adjective "most") you can hardly notice the difference.

[Redman]

Originally Posted by jimv

As the owner of a Touring, MOMO, I beg to differ. On paper it may sound underpowered but in real life it moves along quite smartly. I've driven a couple of hemis and in most driving situations (note the adjective "most") you can hardly notice the difference.

You're absolutely right - I drove the the 3.5L (by mistake) and was pretty impressed none the less. It has plenty of power and handled well.
Still, there is a cure for the obsessively performance minded...

[kcrnmale]

Hardly notice the difference-you got to be kidding. I tested the V6 limited and yeah if you "hardly" press the gas pedal. There is nothing wrong with the V6 but if you compare the acceleration between the two with a firm press of the pedal then there is a definite difference. Not everybody wants or cares about the Hemi's performance and that's fine. If you drive the car conservatively-which is majority of the time then I can see the comparison between the two. I enjoy the rapid acceleration on straightaways occasionally because many people still haven't seen too many 300's and I like educating them on the performance of the Hemi. I'm not talking about wheel spinning burnouts or cutting in and out of traffic but just plain strong acceleration.

[II kings 9:20]

I ordered a limited and changed my mind a day later and never drove the Hemi until I picked it up! The 3.5 is a great engine and in 80% of the normal driving I do I would not notice the diff, same for an Accord. It's the gut to spine push that is the difference. I really wish we had an MDS light, I have an 05 Odyssey on order which has light to indicate 3cyl mode. It makes 255hp and 250 torque, very impressive engine.

[th59718]

Originally Posted by jimv

As the owner of a Touring, MOMO, I beg to differ. On paper it may sound underpowered but in real life it moves along quite smartly. I've driven a couple of hemis and in most driving situations (note the adjective "most") you can hardly notice the difference.

I agree. I test drove a Touring model before buying and felt that it was adequately powered. I did notice the power difference in the hemi though and bought it for the power it provided in passing situations, particularly on steep grades which we tend to have a lot of here in the mountains.

[pd171]

I agree the 3.5 has good power and the way I drive 99% of the time I probably couldn't tell much difference but that other 1% will take your breath away; HEMI, HEMI , HEMI !!!

[SparkyC]

Beside the comfort of knowing I have all the power I need, with the Hemi you get the Mercedes engineered 5-Speed Manumatic, not a Chrysler 4-speed. Nuff said.

[jimv]

Originally Posted by SparkyC

Beside the comfort of knowing I have all the power I need, with the Hemi you get the Mercedes engineered 5-Speed Manumatic, not a Chrysler 4-speed. Nuff said.

And that is a good reason for going hemi. Some others, apart from the obvious engine difference, include the higher quality interior, larger wheels and extra trim. I'm not saying that T=C, merely that the 3.5 models are not sluggish and underpowered. They are actually quite quick.

[kcrnmale]

I looked at a fully loaded limited for $32K and then found my base Hemi w/moonroof for $34K. The Hemi comes reasonably loaded because it's promoted as the high end 300 and after finding this site and reading all the posts about the hemi engine...I decided to get the V8....and I'm really happy I did. I used to own a Harley but all I could afford was a 1200 Sportster. It was a real nice Sportster but I'd always wanted a Heritage. People who know Harley's would know what I'm talking about. I'm glad I didn't repeat the same thing with a V6 300.