2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8 Autofile sedan review

The Germans don't have a lock on the high-performance luxury sedan market—it just feels that way. Barely a month passes anymore without a pronouncement from Munich, Frankfurt or Ingolstadt about the latest M or AMG or S (or even RS) car that packs big horsepower, monster wheels and mortgage-eligible sticker prices.

We took the 2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8 to Michigan International Speedway to put it through our Autofile testing.

But sitting over at the Chrysler dealership is a car that can run with the autobahn burners: the Chrysler 300 SRT8. It marries the luxurious, massive interior and trunk real estate Americans crave with a monster motor in the 470-hp 6.4-liter Hemi V8, a heady concoction of pure American bad ass.

The Chrysler 300 sedan was redesigned for the 2011 model. Designers kept much of the swagger-imbued basic shape—long hood, tall door panels and narrow window openings—and accented it with a faster windshield angle, a bolder grille and sleeker headlights. Yet the SRT8 version has an air of understatement. You won't find a big wing hanging on the trunk lid or giant scoops in the front fascia. A blacked-out grille and 20-inch wheels are the key clues that this is something more than your run-of-the-mill big sedan.

All pretense of subtlety is abandoned, though, when you mash the gas pedal. As fuel floods the larger 6.4-liter V8 (versus the previous 6.1-liter unit) to produce 470 hp and 470 lb-ft of torque, the baffle in the active-exhaust system opens, sounding a warning to lesser vehicles in your path.

The 2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8/s 0-60 time during our test was 5.3 seconds.

In our tests, the Hemi V8 mated to a five-speed automatic transmission hauled the nearly 4,400-pound car from 0-60 mph in 5.3 seconds. The quarter-mile took 13.6 seconds, the needle climbing to 106.2 mph.

Our tester was fitted with the three-season Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar tires, 245/45 ZR20s all around. The tires, combined with the four-piston Brembo brakes (14.2-inch vented rotors up front, 13.8-inch vented rotors in back), grabbed hold of the pavement to bring the sedan to a stop from 60 mph in 115.9 feet.

When flinging the 300 SRT8's weight around, the tires hold for a 0.79 g score on the skidpad, while we notched 45.6 mph on the slalom run.

And, while the song of the Hemi lures you in, it's the coddling and leather-covered embrace of the interior that keeps you snuggly there.

Inside the 2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8 is all luxury with a touch of sportiness.

This car lacks nothing and has a flavor of high quality: Soft-touch surfaces are all over. Thickly bolstered front seats come heated and cooled, as do the cupholders. Paddles on the flat-bottom steering wheel augment the console-mounted shifter. The new-for-2012 adaptive dampers have auto and sport modes, smoothing the ride on highways. An 8-inch monitor dominates the center of the instrument panel to control ventilation, audio and navigation. At night, the gauges emit a cool, ice-blue glow. There's ample room for three people in back.

But beware: This much fun isn't free. Chrysler equipped the monster V8 with cylinder-cutoff tech-nology (the marketing folks named it Fuel Saving Tech-nology), which shifts to a V4 whenever possible. But it's not enough to avoid a combined city/highway fuel economy rating of 17 mpg or a $1,000 gas-guzzler tax added to the sticker price.

Our only other complaint? Too much traffic.

Like a thoroughbred horse, the Chrysler 300 SRT8 is happiest when there's plenty of open road ahead and it can run free. You'll look for opportunities to bury the gas pedal into the carpet—even for just a few seconds—to let the Hemi roar once more.

2012 Chrylser 300 SRT8

STICKER
Base price (includes $825 delivery & $1,000 gas guzzler): $48,955
As-tested price: $54,530

OPTIONS AS TESTED
Customer preferred package 21X including SafetyTec with multi-function power folding mirrors, adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, blind spot and cross path detection, rear fog lamps and exterior mirrors with supplemental signals and courtesy lamps ($1,995); premium speaker group including 18 premium speakers with subwoofer and 900-watt amplifier ($1,995); BSW three-season performance tires ($150)

CHASSIS
Five-passenger sedan

DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase (in): 120.2
Track (in): 63.4 front, 63.1 rear
Length/width/height (in): 200.3/74.2/58.3
Curb weight (lb): 4,365

CAPACITIES
Fuel (gal): 19.1
Cargo (cu ft): 16.3
Headroom/legroom (in): 38.6/41.8 front, 37.9/40.1 rear

ENGINE
Longitudinal 6.4-liter/392-cid V8
Power: 470 hp @ 6,000
Torque: 470 lb-ft @ 4,300
Compression ratio: 10.9:1
Fuel requirement: 91 octane

DRIVETRAIN
Rear-wheel drive
Transmission: five-speed automatic
Final drive ration: 3.06:1

SUSPENSION

Front: SLA with coil-over springs, gas-charged shocks and antiroll bar
Rear: five-link independent with coil springs, gas-charged shocks and antiroll bar

BRAKE/WHEELS/TIRES
14.2-inch ventilated and slotted discs front and 13.8 ventilated and slotted discs rear; forged-aluminum wheels; 245/45 ZR20 Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar

SAFETY
Four-wheel antilock brakes, stability control with traction control
IIHS overall crash rating: Good
Standard airbags: 7

STANDING-START ACCELERATION
0-60 mph: 5.3 sec
Quarter-mile: 13.6 sec @ 106.2 mph

BRAKING
60-0 mph: 115.9 ft

HANDLING
490-ft slalom: 45.6 mph
Lateral acceleration (200-ft skidpad): 0.79 g

INTERIOR NOISE (DBA)
Idle:42.2
Full throttle: 80.4
Steady 60 mph: 60.9

FUEL ECONOMY
EPA city/highway/combined: 14/23/17 mpg
AW overall: 18.6 mpg

RESIDUALS
Three-year: $21,266
Five-year: $15,268

OWNERS' VOICES

I have owned many vehicles in the last few years, everything from a BMW M3 (E46) to a Shelby GT500 to a Subaru WRX STI. The 300 SRT8 had it all: the power of a big American V8, the braking power and comfort of a BMW, the space of a sedan and the looks to catch the eye without being over the top—not to mention tens of thousands of dollars less. Get inside and the true transformation between the first and second generation [of the 300] is evident. My complaints are minimal. I could use a bit more rubber on the road. The paint is put on thin, thus easy to scratch and chip. It looks beautiful but doesn't stand up well to time. And the Harman/Kardon system's subwoofer causes the back deck panel to rattle on songs with higher levels of bass. Bottom line: This car is a gorilla in a tuxedo. It's beefy and strong, but refined and luxurious. --- Roger Gibson, Vancouver, Wash.

The 300 SRT8 is just a great car. As a Ford owner for many years, I have never enjoyed a car more than when going out to my garage and getting in the 300 SRT8 and starting it up, as that wonderful V8 just begs to be driven. Whether you take it to the store, or on a great twisty road, it always delivers. Considering the power that it has, along with the luxurious interior, it is a true modern-day “sleeper” car. --- Harry Adkins, Salisbury, N.C.

 

The 2012 300 SRT8 was and still is the car I have waited a lifetime to own. While driving it for the past 23,000 miles, I feel like I am on the highway to heaven. I am in no rush to get there, but I am confident when I call upon the 300 SRT to fly, it will. --- Keith Young, Miami