The 2015 Chrysler 300C Platinum: Premium Luxury, Muscle Car Spirit

It is unfortunate that when most people talk about luxury sedans, the Chrysler brand doesn’t come up as often as it should. The problem is that when most people think “Chrysler brand”, they think about the old Chrysler Sebring and the Chrysler Town & Country minivans – neither of which are on the list of modern luxury vehicles – but that is the old Chrysler brand.

The new Chrysler brand is comprised of just three vehicles – the Town & Country, the 200 and the 300. The Town & Country minivan is the most well-appointed minivan sold in America, the Chrysler 200 is one of the best bargains in the midsized sedan segment in terms of both amenities and power and the Chrysler 300 is one of the most affordable and most powerful large luxury sedans sold in the USA.

Due to the brand’s demons of the past, the Chrysler 300 doesn’t get the attention that it deserves in the luxury sedan discussions, but if you want a big luxury sedan with Hemi power and premium luxury feel inside and out – the 2015 Chrysler 300C Platinum is THE sedan for you.

Today, I bring you a look at what makes the 2015 Chrysler 300C Platinum such a formidable luxury sedan.

Platinum Luxury, Inside and Out
No matter what 2015 Chrysler 300 you are considering, they are all very plush, roomy sedans, but the 300C Platinum is the king of the hill, with the most luxurious features inside and out. On the outside, the much of the chrome trim from the “regular” 300C is replaced with satin finished Platinum Chrome, including the large upper grille surround while the inside has a black chrome mesh finish. The “Mobius strip” below the headlights, the rear fascia accents, the door handles and the exterior mirror caps are also finished in Platinum Chrome while the package-specific 20 inch wheels also have a satiny polished aluminum finish to complete the look. As someone who doesn’t love chrome, I absolutely love the look of the 300C Platinum silver trim and when combined with the Jazz Blue Pearl Coat, I think that this is the best looking configuration of the 2015 300 sedan in the top of the line trim.

On the inside, the 2015 Chrysler 300C Platinum is packed with premium finishes, from the dash to the seats. My test car was equipped with the stunning Indigo and Linen color scheme, which in laymen’s terms is white and very dark blue two-tone. Like the exterior, there is a spread of satin finished chrome trim throughout the cabin along with a heavy dose of real wood trim along the face and the dash and down through the center stack, into the center console. The wood and satin silver is nice, but the contrasting white and dark blue design which extends from the front and rear seats to the door panels to the steering wheel steals the show. The seating design with the Linen (white) seating faces combined with the dark blue trim on the sides and back look remarkably high end – and they are, thanks to segment exclusive use of quilted and perforated Nappa leather. This leather covering looks great, but it also feels great to the touch. Both front seats are heated, cooler and power adjustable for premium comfort up front and while the rear seats are “only” heated, the steering wheel is heated and the front cup holders will keep your hot drinks hot and your cold drinks cold. Best of all, there is tons of front and rear seating space, so even very tall passengers will be comfortable in the rear seats and with so much trunk space – this car can easily accommodate four guys headed golfing for the day. Also, with the huge glass roof, the cabin is bright and well-lit during the day and at night, everyone gets a great view of the stars.

Aside from the gorgeous and spacious interior design, the crown jewel of the 2015 Chrysler 300C Platinum is the UConnect infotainment system, which uses the familiar 8.4 inch touchscreen to control literally every aspect of the interior. From the hands free phone system to the high end Harmon Kardon 19-speaker sound system to the multizone climate control system to the vehicle settings – the Chrysler UConnect system integrates everything into one easy to use system that has won a ton of awards for a good reason. Those who don’t love the touchscreen controls can use a small panel of buttons just below the screen while the driver can use both the many steering wheel buttons (located on the front and rear of the spokes) or the voice control system – which is every bit as user friendly as the rest of the system.

Finally, the 2015 Chrysler 300C Platinum comes with company’s slick configurable gauge cluster, with two large analog gauges flanking a 6 inch driver’s information screen. Using the buttons on the steering wheel, the driver can sort through a long list of display options, including navigation information, sound system information, vehicle data such as fuel economy figures and vehicle speed. Around the outer edges, there are four “stations” where you can place information like a compass, outside temperature, time and more.

Say what you want about the history of the Chrysler brand – the interior layout and features of the 2015 300C Platinum can compare favorably with a long list of luxury sedans sold in the US which all cost more than twice the big Chrysler in its top trim. While exterior appearance is subjective, there is no way to downplay the plush seats wrapped in quilted high end leather, the award winning infotainment system, the huge glass roof or the premium sound system – all of which would look right at home in a $100,000 European luxury sedan.

Driving the 2015 300C Platinum Hemi
While the 3.6L Pentastar V6 is a great engine, the optional 5.7L Hemi would be my choice – providing the 2015 300C Platinum with the proper power that a big luxury sedan needs. With 363 horsepower and 394lb-ft of torque being channeled to the rear wheels via the 8-speed automatic transmission, the 300C packs more getup than any other luxury sedan under $50k sold in America, but thanks to the fuel saving cylinder deactivation system in the Hemi, this big Chrysler still offers 16mpg in the city, 25mpg on the highway and a combined figure of 19mpg. I found that on a long highway drive, 25mpg is a very reasonable expectation, but due to my local of going fast with a Hemi – I was not able to hit that 19mpg average number. I believe that a driver with a lighter foot could easily hit those figures, as I still averaged 17.9mpg while letting it stretch its legs at every chance.

Speaking of stretching its legs, when you stomp on the throttle from a stop, the 5.7L Hemi gives the tires a quick spin and away you go, accelerating up over any posted speed limit as quickly as any non-performance level large luxury sedan in the segment. The Hemi is a little quieter than I like at wide open throttle, but I understand that the 300C isn’t made to be a roaring muscle car and even with the Hemi being a touch too quiet for my liking – that doesn’t hinder performance any. The 300C with the Hemi will allow you to keep up with a great many performance cars in a stoplight dash or a long highway run, but it also offers a great mix of handling in tight quarters (for a big sedan) and the kind of ride quality that is required of a modern luxury sedan. The addition of the steering wheel mounted paddle shifters work with the rotary shift dial to give the driver excellent control of the gear selection process and that shift knob - while unusual at first - follows the trend set forth by a variety of luxury cars which have gone away from the crude "stick shifter". Basically, the 2015 Chrysler 300C Platinum with the Hemi takes the spirit and the power of a muscle car and plugs it into a large luxury sedan. That allows the 300C to accelerate almost as well as the Dodge Challenger R/T, but it does so in a high end luxury package that will very comfortably seat four adults.

So, I understand that some luxury buyers don’t care about having the ability to keep up with muscle cars in their new Chrysler 300C Platinum and those people will be happy to know that in terms of ride quality – this is the best 300 ever. The big Chrysler handles very well, but the ride quality is remarkable – and that is something that every driver or passenger can appreciate. Whether you are driving on rough local roads or Detroit’s battered highways, the suspension of the 300C does a great job of keeping the noise and harshness out of the cabin, and the same is true of wind noise when traveling at high speeds.

I love driving luxury cars, but I find that many luxury cars put too much emphasis on comfort and not enough emphasis on driving dynamics. The 2015 Chrysler 300C Platinum offers a great mix of performance and comfort while also hitting solid fuel economy figures for a sedan of this size.

The Final Word
If you make a list of all of the luxury features you could want in a new large sedan, there will be quite a few well-known luxury names from the likes of Lexus, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Audi and more – but none of them will offer the level of performance and the long list of standard features with the low price of the 300C Platinum. My test car was fitted with the optional 19 speaker sound system and the premium light group, which when added to the base price and the cost of the Hemi upgrade brings the final price to just $45,280. The price jumps to $48,670 if you add the two safety packages and that is fully loaded. Try to get a Lexus, BMW or Audi for this size with this power and with so many features for under $50 grand – then head to your local Chrysler brand dealership and experience the 300C Platinum.

If luxury comforts, styling and power are more important to you than the logo on the steering wheel – you will likely find the 2015 Chrysler 300C Platinum to be the best bargain luxury sedan available in the US.