I was perusing the mags at the local store last night when I saw a 7 car review in Road & Track pitting such cars as 300, BMW 5 Series, Jaguar and CTS among others against one another. I found it interesting (although I really only scanned the article) given the amount of positve feedback for the 300 here on these forums. To sum it up - the CTS (not even V-Series) was the winner of the comparison test. I just thought it interesting since the CTS seems to be passed over in favour of the 300 (to be fair, this sentiment may well be reserved for the C as opposed to the lesser models) by some here who see the car as having it all over the Caddy insofar as what one would buy given the available cash.

Has anyone else read the article? I suppose I'll have to actually pick up the issue now. Like I said, I didn't read the article through, but the 300 - not sure if it was a C - did not finish near the top of the comparison if I recall correctly.

 

I have the magazine, though not here at work. I do have the story, though :
http://www.roadandtrack.com/article....rticle_id=1337

Summary:
R&T tested 7 luxury cars with V6s and automatics in "real world" roads and conditions. The Chrysler 300 touring came out dead center. R&T had absolutlely nothing bad to say about the car, and had plenty good to say about it. But the cars that the 300 beat out says volumes!

The Chrysler 300 Touring beat:
*Volvo's S80 T6
*BMW's 530i....yes, it BEAT a BMW!
*Audi's A6 3.0 Quattro

The 300 Touring came behind:
*Jaguar S-type
*Mercedes Benz E320
* and finally, Cadillac's CTS.

Cadillac had the quickest V6 (seems the 3.6 is 5.0 Mustang quick), the best handling, and it's Nürburgring developed new suspension's handling paid off handsomely. Cadillac deserved 1st place, no doubt.

The 300 was by far the lowest priced car of the test. R&T loaded it up with everything but the hemi & the kitchen sink, and it came in below $35,000 (CTS was the next cheapest at just under $44,000!). Considering the base 300 Touring is about the price of a well equpted Impala or Grand Prix, and the loaded 300 tested was priced in loaded Bonneville or stripped Park Avenue territory, the fact that it even places with this crowd is in itself pretty amazing. Imagine how Impala, Grand Prix, or even Bonneville or Park Avenue would place in this crowd.

Spring for the base Hemi C, which includes 4 piston brakes, & performance suspension, then it's a different story. You can either settle for a standard Cadillac CTS V6, or the 300C V8 for about the same base price (+/- $32,000). That's what's winning praises here & in the auto world.

 

I wasn't really trying to diss the 300.... I was just putting out there that there was a test involving a group of cars including the 300 and the CTS to add perspective to the raves about the car (300) herein. I was indeed prevously aware of the price point comparisons of the C vs. the V-series car - this was to provide a more dynamic car vs. car comparison.

As I stated, I hadn't read the whole article and was putting it out there so that everyone who hadn't seen the piece would know about it and secondly someone could fill in the blanks who had read the review if they so wished.

Guoin, thanks for the link I am, as I type this, leisurely going through it now without the haste I afforded my original encounter.

Style-wise though I think I prefer the Magnum to the 300. If I was in the market and also willing to make the leap to a non-GM vehicle (no small feat for me), this pair would get a look.

 

$32k? The 300 "as tested" price in R&T was $34,200 and that was the 3.5 V6. How is the 300C (including similar options that are on the $43k CTS) goint to come in less than $35k? Still a great value no less...

 

I also saw that price, but a fully loaded 300C gets to about 39k.

 

Direct from the website, starting price Chrysler 300C including standard Hemi: $32,995:
http://www-5.chrysler.com/buildandpr...ListModels.jam

If you load it up, then you're looking at about 40 large.

 

Gotcha

I was just going by comparison's sake. When you add options to the 300 to reflect was was included in that 43k CTS, you head towards that 40k mark.

 

Not true.

Since the $1,800 AWD system won't be out until this fall, it would be just about impossible to get a 300C within $5k of a loaded CTS. Remember, R&T was testing a cheaper 300 with the mediocre 3.5 liter V6, not the mighty 300C. You should also remember that if you want a CTS with an automatic and stability control, the $9,950 1SC package is pretty much neccessary.

 

OK...let me say this again. If you want a comparable 300C, you WILL approach 40k when optioned like the CTS in this article. Understandably, you will have a much better performing 300 than what R&T used for this comparo, but that's not my point. I already said it was a good value...

 

Just for S&G, I went to the Cadillac site to see how much I could load up a CTS.

Opening price is $31,345. The Luxury sport option kicks it up to $41,295 with nothing else. The 3.6 is a $1,700 option. The Infotainment system is another $1,750. These are the only options since everything else is included.

Price? $44,735.

I went to Chrysler and did the same thing.

I started with the 300C at $32,995. Added the Navigation & sound group ($2,130), Hands free phone ($275), Satellite radio ($195), Real Walnut trim ($400), Protection Group ($840), Power adjustable pedals w/memory ($175), HID lights ($650), Moonroof ($895), the cold weather & the smokers group ($40 & 30 respectively). That's all the options.

Price? $38,625

Trip to the accessories list for the $100 remote start, $120 car mats, a set of splash guards at $38 a pair, $199 car cover, an MP3 compatable stereo w/ DVD navigation at $1795,

The price now reaches $41,111 with pretty much everything you can throw on the car (short of roof bike racks, bras, or air deflectors.

So you can get a 300C with a hemi loaded to the point of bursting at the seams for about $100 cheaper than the opening bid for a V6 Cadillac CTS with the luxury sports option.

There's still $3,600 to tune the car to chase the $49,995 CTSv ($52,455 with the $1,200 performance shocks & the $1,200 moonroof) before you touch the V6 luxury sport CTS's loaded price.

Alot of the stuff on the 300 touring in the R&T article is standard on the "C". I'd have to go back & build one to be sure (I already goofed off enough for one day) but it seems that a loaded 300 Touring is not much cheaper than the 300C with the same options.

 

Why didn't you throw in a "big foot accelerator pedal" from the J.C. Whitney Catalog?

Forgetting the aftermarket crap, a base 300C is about $33k (and yes I've actually seen one) and comes standard with ESP and slushbox. A CTS 3.6 liter with Stabilitrak and an automatic is at least $41K.

The $34K 300 that made it to the R&T test did pretty well all considered, but the $33K 300C would have made a far better impression.

 

I agree with you that the base 330C would have made a better performance comparison, but the article wasn't just about that. It was about luxury and niceties as well. That is why I was saying that a nicely equipped 300C would not be $33k when given the options that were present on the other vehicles.

 

I configured a CTS with the 3.6L, A5, and Stabilitak for $34,920 MSRP

$1700 - LY7 3.6L V6 VVT Engine w/5-Speed Automatic Transmission
$1875 - PDX Sport Package*


Congrats to both the CTS and 300 It is good to see an American car on top and good to see the 300 ahead of the $10K-20K+ more BMW, Audi, and Volvo.


edit:*PDX - Includes sport tuned suspension, StabiliTrak stability enhancement system, load leveling suspension, speed sensitive power steering, performance brake linings, P225/50R17 W-rated all-season tires and 17" x 7.5" painted aluminum wheels.

 

Big Foot accelerator?! Damn, I missed that one!

Seriously, I simply wanted to see how how much a 300C loaded up with as much crap as possible would cost. All the stuff I mentioned is is through Chrysler, and can be ordered with the car.

300Cs are selling at sticker out here in California (home of the $40,000 2004 GTOs), so I have no doubt it's selling for sticker elsewhere. Seems Chrysler dealers are a bit more customer oriented than Pontiac's as a group.

Though from a price/value/& performance standpoint, a 300C probally would have mopped the floor with all the other cars in that test, the intent was on checking out luxury sixes, with V8s banned from this group.

The fact that a car company that just a few months ago was known for cab-forward rental cars scored dead center with the world's best 6 bangers, even beating out BMW, is more than a little impressive.

 

Its ****ing incredible...

Excuse the asterisks...