[frank29]

I have ordered a 300C and expected to take delivery within two weeks (estimated ship date was 11-24; however, I have not been able to confirm this date was kept).

Consumer Reports recently published a road test on their online site. Findings which seem troubling are:

1) "The claustrophobic cabin and limited outward visibility are detractions."

2) "However, the 300's styling limits outward visibility. The dash and doorsills are very high and the roof is low, limiting the glass area in the car. It is difficult to see overhead traffic lights and signs, and thick roof pillars block visibility while parking and backing up."

I have never driven one (which, I know, violates the common sense rule to always test drive a vehicle prior to purchasing). Do any current 300/300C owners have comments about C.R.'s findings?

 

["C"for me]

The doors ARE high, which then makes the roof seem low. The way they wrote it, it sounds like there would be no headroom. "The roof is low." Not! There is very little adjustment to be made. After about 30 minutes in the car all seems normal. I had an Intrepid R/T and they have as bad if not worse rear view. Not an issue at all if you are a driver that checks over your shoulder. If you only use mirrors ......... nuther story!

 

[Tha187um]

At first I was scared when driving at night because of the auto dim mirrors... that was until I realized you could turn them off hehe... besides that, its ok, take it from me.. I need glasses and don't wear them, so that was a concern for me as well..

also, some people said it was bad because you couldn't see if something small was next to you, or that you couldn't even rest your arm on the door while driving... non of this is true, at least for me is not... Im only 5'11" thats tall for where I live, but I could say average or smaller than average in general... I have neither problem with the window being to to high or visibility... I do admit the rear view mirror bothers me, but that is because I've been driving 4 years without one on my previous car

 

[5point7]

If you know how to use your mirrors, visability is not a problem.

 

[4herb2tas0tik]

i was just talking to my wife about that..i was right on the white line and i had to duck and look under the visor to see the stop light if it was green.so in that case YES hard to see the lights but i guess limo tint on the visor dosent help the situation any either.but other then that you can see fine man this car is just bad azz!I LOVE IT!

 

[05 300c]

This question is for those who have the rear assist option, does it give you more confidence when backing up?

 

[joey]

For me,
the driver side door mirror and door pillar creates a huge blind spot when making some left turns. When making a left turn at some intersections, I have to lean up/forward and right to see around the mirror/pillar to make sure I don't hit the left center divider (or light pole in the center of the street), or cross into the left lanes.
Sometimes the blind spot is so bad I am truly guessing where I am going and where exactly the lines are.
The blind spot is not at every intersection. But some are really bad.

I am normal height of 5'11, with my seat in the lowest position to obtain the best thigh support. When the seat is raised the seat cushion pitches forward loosing thigh support.
If my seat was higher maybe that would help eliminate the blind spot.


Other than that, I don't have any complaints about blind spots. Maybe if you have been previously driving a small car it might take some getting used to. But if you have been driving larger cars, trucks, SUV's, there should not be any difficulty getting used to the 300/C.

 

[Tha187um]

I am normal height of 5'11, with my seat in the lowest position to obtain the best thigh support. When the seat is raised the seat cushion pitches forward loosing thigh support.
If my seat was higher maybe that would help eliminate the blind spot.

I have the sit about halfway up and is not much of a problem, I dont think I would dare put it all the way down

 

[kcrnmale]

I have to duck at times to see the traffic light at a stop.

I place a $2 small round mirror in the inner right corner of my drivers outside mirror which covers my blind spot well (I place a mirror in all my cars). It's no excuse for not looking over your shoulder but once you have one, you'll never drive without one again.

 

[catchMEifUcan]

This question is for those who have the rear assist option, does it give you more confidence when backing up?

Yes! But do it slowly... The reaction time of the sensors seems to lag a bit.

 

[Northern Rider]

I have ordered a 300C and expected to take delivery within two weeks (estimated ship date was 11-24; however, I have not been able to confirm this date was kept).

Consumer Reports recently published a road test on their online site. Findings which seem troubling are:

1) "The claustrophobic cabin and limited outward visibility are detractions."

2) "However, the 300's styling limits outward visibility. The dash and doorsills are very high and the roof is low, limiting the glass area in the car. It is difficult to see overhead traffic lights and signs, and thick roof pillars block visibility while parking and backing up."

I have never driven one (which, I know, violates the common sense rule to always test drive a vehicle prior to purchasing). Do any current 300/300C owners have comments about C.R.'s findings?

Hi Frank,
With the C, there are minor visibility issues, as there are with many other vehicles. With regard to Consumer Reports and opinions about their automotive reporting, you may find this link interesting:


http://www.300cforums.com/showthread.php?t=1833http://www.300cforums.com/showthread.php?t=1833

 

[jimv]

I certainly don't find the cabin claustrophobic. On the contrary, it's large and spacious. (I usually keep the sunroof headliner rolled back, which gives an airy feel. But there's no problem even when it's closed.)

So far I have never had any trouble seeing overhead traffic lights or experienced any other serious visibility problems. All cars have a blind spot or two somewhere, and so does the 300. You easily learn to compensate.

I'm inclined to think the CR comments are just journalistic nit picking.

 

[CottyGee]

EVERYONE should read this article and give this a try. It's the absolute best driving tip I have ever gotten anywhere. It increases confidence and safety dramatically.

http://www.cartalk.com/content/features/mirrors/index.html

Yes, the backup sensors are great, but I go slow. But once I didn't - and it may have saved me. When that thing screams at you and you're backing up at a decent pace, you tend to cram on the binders like RIGHT NOW!

 

[jeffp]

This question is for those who have the rear assist option, does it give you more confidence when backing up?

My 300c did not come with the rear assist package, but I added an after market ultrasonic sensor system about 4 month later. Parallel parking and backing into spaces was a bear. Rear visibility is lousy; it's better in my wife Volvo station wagon! I would leave huge spaces behind me in fear of scraping the bumper cover. The sensor let's me know how far I am from the car behind me. Visually it looks like I'm just about touching, when there's 3-4 feet left.
I'm still not comfortable changing lanes and such without a quick head pivot (in any car), and that's with 30+ years of driving.
Visibility is the only rear complaint I have with the car (aside from the usual horn, lights and service issues - these will eventually get taken care of).
You WILL enjoy the car, regardless of relearning how to get the best view of the road around you (edge your mirrors a bit more outward than you're probably used to).

 

[mspeasl]

Guys/Gals,

Besides the 300C I also drive a new 350Z and it makes the visbility in the 300 seem great.

 

[II kings 9:20]

That is a good article CG, I'll give it a try but I always flick my head over my shoulder to check the BS, mini dome mirrors can help too. I think the visibility is fine except when backing out of angled parking the C pillar is thick in my view. Don't rely on the sonar for anything other than park assist, I checked and it routinely misses bikes, big wheels, and other kids riding toys. Please be careful, my heart aches when I hear of a parent backing over a child. The rear camera gives a view 6 parking spaces wide in either direction in the Odyssey, shows everything behind the bumper including the bumper for reference, the depth perception is very poor thus is not good for parking but great for showing what is behind the car, thinking about an aftermarket unit for the C.

 

[flt505]

I have definitely noticed some visibility issues. I now swival my head much more than I ever did to check before lane changes. I had a few close calls due to blind spot before I started doing this more. I have been driving for 40 years. I also find parallel parking somewhat more difficult. I have read the article postred by CottyGee above and will try that new way of positioning the outside rear-view mirrows. I will say that I had already pointed them more "outward" from the rear corner of the car, this article is even more dramatic in that regard, but it makes sense. I'll post my feelings on the results.

 

[05Hemi]

I am 6'1" and find the window line a little too low to see lights and street signs. I drove vans for 25 years and being used to using mirrors for all my driving I find they well cover the blind spots. I also added the 1" spot to my drivers side so I could catch any car hovering off of the driver rear door.

THe most important visibility for me is in the rear...no Red lights means all is well!

 

[rdmac]

Visibility is an issue. The low top makes it hard to see traffic lights. There are kinda bad blind spots. My biggest complaint is changing lanes on major highways. Its not so great going to the left lane. Its worse going to the right. I do not let anyone else drive the car because if this. I have gotten used to it cause my last car a 300m Special wasn't so great either.

Bob

 

[II kings 9:20]

Speaking of mini domes, MUTH has a 2.5 dome signal mirror to alert those fools floating in your blind spot, whatever happened to the dealer installed signal mirrors from DC.