SHOCKING! Chrysler 300 beat out BMW 530i

[E55 KEV]

In the next issue of Road & Track the Chrysler 300 (don't know if V6 or V8) placed 4th and the venerable 2004 BMW 530i placed 6th in a 7 car field. Wow!

[MightyMax]

Price as tested....$34,215 it's the Hemi


Another note.... The 300c was the least expensive of the bunch, and still came in 4th out of 7.

[E55 KEV]

The report on the roadfly.org Bimmer forums states that the car is the V6 and not the Hemi. That $34,215 is a price as tested with options and a 300 Limited with some options can cost $34k.

Now I am even more shocked because the 300 V6 has a softer suspension and no rear sway bar while the 300C Hemi has touring suspension and dual sway bars. Hell, if it was the Hemi I would have been Number one!

[MightyMax]

(hears chanting in the background)

re-test
re-test
re-test

If they can find a Hemi that is...

[MOMO]

I still don’t see how it beat the BMW. The categories that the 300 placed higher were luggage space, ergonomics/control, ride, and exterior styling. It lost in every performance category so I don’t see how it beat the BMW. Also was that the caddy CTS-V, I didn’t know the CTS was so expensive $43,880

[300CHemi]

I believe the test focused on V-6 powered sedans so the CTS-V was not included. I suspect from the tone of the article that a V-8 test is not far behind and I suspect the CTS-V has a good shot at winning that one as well due to extreme POV type performance. The frustrating part was that the V-6 300 tested was only 3k less than a fully loaded Hemi but 10K less the next least expensive car in the test.

[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.

[E55 KEV]

I just got the issue - the car is the 300 Touring V6.

[StCassel]

Why didn't they test the 300C? Touring is not a good test.

[E55 KEV]

It was a test of 7 sedans with V6. Maybe the next test will pit the 300C with:

Audi A6 V8
BMW 545i
MBZ E500
Cadillac STS
Jaguar S-Type V8
Lincoln LS V8