Road Test: Chrysler 300C 3.0 V6 CRDI

Price as tested: €137,637

+ Looks, comfort, refinement, space, quality
– Still some cheap cabin bits, high-ish Co2 levels
= Brash and proud of if. And damned likeable

Chrysler chose to launch the new All-American 300C saloon in the astonishing surrounds of the American Air Force hanger at the famed Duxford aviation museum near Cambridge. The centrepiece of the Norman Foster-designed building is a simply massive Boeing B52 bomber - the mainstay of the US Air Force bomber fleet for sixty years now. A hulking slab of Yankee menace, the 52 induces at once giggly excitement and intimidated awe. Shock and Awe may be a modern phrase, but the big 52 was doling out just that in 200 bombing missions over North Vietnam three decades ago.

The link being drawn between the aircraft and the car was explicit; the finest of American technology wrapped up in an aggressive, iconic shape. The 300C, now significantly re-worked, is back on Irish roads for the first time since 2010 and whatever you may feel about its being compared to a nuclear bomber, the old  300C value of S-Class-size-for-E-Class money remains intact.

The old 300C had felt old even when it was new, though. Based on a mid-nineties Mercedes E-Class chassis, it looked mean, but you could feel the age in dopey dynamics and a terribly lo-rent interior.

Under Fiat's guidance, the 300C has been made-over from stem to stern, with crisper exterior styling and an entirely new cabin that, almost, erases the memories of the dreadful old one. Inside, it's as spacious and as comfy as before, but now the quality of the plastics, leathers, woods and metals is up to German standards, nearly. You can still find some cheap, tacky surfaces without looking too hard but the main dials look tasty, backlit in blue neon, the steering wheel feels expensive and the massive colour touch screen, while fiddly to use, looks impressive.

Up front lies a new, bespoke-for-Chrysler VM Motori V6 diesel, with 239bhp and 500Nm of torque. It's the only engine available, and with the standard 5-speed automatic transmission, averages 7.1-litres per 100km (39.7mpg) and emits 185g/km of Co2. That puts it in an uncompetitive tax band (E, €677 motor tax) compared to a 530d or Audi A6 3.0 TDI but a forthcoming update with a new 8-speed auto should help reduce that figure a little. For now, it's a smooth, powerful, effortless and exceptionally refined drivetrain.

The 300C certainly has a character of its own and it doesn't follow the strict German executive saloon template. The ride is soft and pillowy, even on optional 20" alloy wheels, and the whole car has a very relaxed demeanour. Grab it by the scruff, and it it will corner briskly and responds well enough to being thrown around, but you can tell it would rather be cruising. Comfort is king.

For a basic price of €57,995, it comes rammed with standard equipment including full leather, heated and cooled front seats, heated rear seats, touchscreen satnav and infotainment, chilled and heated cup holders, and keyless entry and go. The only options available are high-tech safety items like radar guided cruise control, blind spot monitoring and emergency braking systems.

Whether or not you will want one will depend very much on your taste for Americana. The styling and mien is quite brash. Get it in a nice dark metallic and it's a very good looking car. Silver looks too plain, white just ridiculous on one so large. As a value proposition, compared to its direct opposition, it is in good shape and even against its lesser 2.0-litre rivals, you wouldn't be long dipping into the German options list to get their prices to match that of the larger Chrysler. True, the poor emissions and tax performance will be a stumbling block, and potential buyers will have to walk past the German giants and Jaguar and Lexus dealerships to get into a 300C, but it could, just, be worth the effort. It has its shortcomings (the chief one being that it's not German) but it is immensely likeable and characterful.

It all depends on whether you prefer Obama to Merkel, Dan Rather to Brian Dobson or Happy Meals to haute cuisine.


Facts & Figures

BMW M5
Price as tested: €57,995
Range price: €57,995 to €62,495
Capacity: 2,987cc
Power: 236bhp
Torque: 500Nm
Top speed: 231kmh
0-100kmh: 7.4secs
Economy: 7.1/100km (39.8mpg)
CO2 emissions: 185g/km
Tax Band: E. €677 road tax
Euro NCAP rating: Not yet tested

Road Test: Chevrolet Aveo 1.2 LS

Price as tested: €15,495

+ Decent dynamics, lengthy equipment list, sweet petrol engine
– Pricey for a budget brand, tyre noise, unremarkable styling
= A decent small car, but not outstanding



Would it surprise you to hear that Chevrolet is currently one of the fastest-growing brands in Europe? It just might do, so little publicity has the American brand had here in Ireland. We tend to still think of Chevys as being reconstituted Daewoos, mostly because a disinterested Irish importer wasn’t making much of a song and dance about any of the newer, more sophisticated Chevrolets that followed the subsuming of Daewoo into General Motors’ global affordable brand. But now, with a new importer (and arm of Chevrolet’s UK operation) it’s full steam ahead in Ireland for a brand that we still more readily associate with its big V8 American roots.

Well, put that image out of your head for a start, for this Aveo (a rival to the likes of the Kia Rio, Hyundai i20 and Skoda Fabia) is a very European-ised small hatchback with a dinky little 1.2-litre petrol engine. Or 73-cubic inches, if you prefer.

It’s built in Korea, in the old Daewoo factory that now churns out compact Chevrolets for the global market, and it’s actually based on the new small car platform that will also underpin the next-generation Opel Corsa. In fact, the Aveo feels very much like a Corsa; hardly surprising when the Opel side of the GM family shares so many interior and mechanical parts. It’s also worth pointing out that this new Aveo shares nothing with, and feels a world away from, the dreadfully cheap (and EuroNCAP 2-star rated) old-shape Aveo.

Climb aboard and you’re met with a decent cabin that has comfy seats, good space front and rear but which lacks the final sheen of quality that you’d get in a Fiesta or a Polo. Or for that matter, a Fabia or a Rio. The ‘motornike-inspired’ instrument pod atop the steering column, which houses warning lights, an analogue rev counter and a digital speedo, will likely divide opinion. It’s either really cheap looking or kind of funky, and to be honest, we can’t decide which just yet. The rest of the cabin is fine, but does feel a little lo-rent in its plastic choices, relative to the likes of the Rio.

Fire up the engine and the 1.2 petrol, which makes a healthy 85bhp, settles down to a smooth tickover, and when you rev it, it does so happily and smoothly. It’s a nice little engine this, with a flat spot in the power delivery below 2,000rpm, but which flings the Aveo along nicely if you keep it boiling above that mark. Engine refinement is actually excellent, so it’s all the bigger shame that the overriding interior noise is one of constant tyre roar and boom. Maybe it was just the roads we were driving on, but this seems to be an area the Aveo needs to improve on.

There’s nothing much wrong with the chassis though, which both rides and handles with excellent deportment. The ride in particular; firm, but well damped and sophisticated in feel, comes in for the highest praise, only occasionally getting caught out by a sharp ridge and letting a thump into the cabin, but the well-weighted, accurate steering must be given its dues too.

There is a bit of a serious issue when it comes to price though. This LS model, the cheapest Aveo currently available, lists at €15,495. Now, it does come with air conditioning, cruise control, stability control and traction control, but that does seem like a very high figure for a car purporting to come from a value brand. It may lack some (actually pretty much all) of the Chevy’s standard equipment, but a basic Skoda Fabia is a full €3,000 cheaper. Will the extra kit be enough to convince buyers that the extra cash up front is worth it?

For that matter, will Irish buyers, unfamiliar en masse with Chevrolet as a brand, come flocking to its dealers, in search of value. There’s  no doubt that that Aveo is a good enough car to deserve some attention, but the low-price-high-equipment-long-warranty playground is already a crowded one and Chevy will have its work cut out getting its message heard.

Facts & Figures

Chevrolet Aveo 1.2 LS
Price as tested: €15,495
Range price: €15,495 to €18,995
Capacity: 1,229cc
Power: 85bhp
Torque: 115Nm
Top speed: 172kmh
0-100kmh: 13.6secs
Economy: 4.7l/100km (60.1mpg)
CO2 emissions: 111g/km
Tax Band: A. €160 road tax
Euro NCAP rating: 5-star; 95% adult, 87% child, 54% pedestrian, 93% safety assist

Road Test: Chyrsler Delta 1.6 M-Jet 120

Price as tested: TBA

+ Different, nice styling, spacious, good quality, refined
– Middling chassis, unknown value for money, brand image needs work
= Affordable luxury? Almost, but needs a dynamic shake-up

So, after all the political wrangling, the financial back and forthing and the foaming at the mouth by aggrieved Lancia fans, the Chrysler Delta is here. A product of Fiat’s buy-out of bankrupt Chrysler and Jeep in 2010, combined with Fiat overlord Sergio Marchionne’s insistence that Chrysler will be kept to US shores and Lancia will take Europe. Except in right hand drive markets, where the old Lancia rust and unreliability rep was deemed to be too big a mountain for the marketing department to scale.

What we’ve got is a Lancia Delta (more or less unchanged from its continental launch in 2008) with Chrysler badges, and that is both a good and bad thing.

Good? Well, yes. Much though us car nuts would like to see the return of a brand a revered as Lancia to our shores, the simple fact is that far too many people will still regard a Lancia as a rust and parts nightmare and would walk, swiftly, away. Chrysler, in spite of such horrors as the old Sebring, has little or no backstory in the compact car market, and a lot of general goodwill thanks to nice cars like the Voyager and 300C. So in that sense, Marchionne’s decision was a no-brainer.

Bad? Well, yes. You see, and I don’t think this is just a car nut thing, but you expect a Chrylser to be big. To have a V8. To be a sofa on wheels, which chrome. And the Delta is none of those things.

It’s a Focus-sized hatchback, with a few twists. Twists like that long, long wheelbase which means you get a whopping amount of legroom in the back. It’s not quite limo-spec, but it’s not far off it.

Up front, you start to see the real, hard evidence of Chrysler’s assertion that the Delta is an affordable luxury car. There is a lot of leather, much of it with nice contrast stitching, quite a lot of chrome and some very high quality plastics. Some poor quality plastics too, sadly, and that does undermine the luxury case somewhat, as do switches and dials just lifted wholesale from the Fiat Bravo, with which the Delta shares its mechanical package.

And again, that sharing is some good, some bad. The good is largely in the engine, a 120bhp, 300Nm 1.6-litre diesel that’s well ahead of most of the competition in the power and torque stakes (so it IS a bit American then). It’s a well sorted unit, and sounds much quieter and more subdued here than it does in the too-noisy Alfa Romeo Giulietta. Chrysler claims 4.9-litres per 100km fuel consumption, which we’d believe as we managed a decent 5.5 average, but its Co2 emissions are just too high. 130g/km means it’s a band above its rivals from Ford, Citroen and Volkswagen.

What about the chassis? Hmmmm. There are some good things here. The steering and turn in are both sharper than we were expecting and the ride is mostly fine. It deals very well with big bumps and lumps, but suffers when the road is covered in small, short-wave stuff. Handling wise it is nicer to chuck through a corner than you’d think, but still well and truly short of the Focus and Golf in dynamic terms. It does have a better combination of ride and handling than the too-stiff Citroen DS4 though.

Ultimately, you can really feel that this is actually already a three year old car. It just doesn’t feel as dynamically well sorted nor as cleverly designed inside as it should be. Take the seats for instance. They look great (leather, again with contrast stitching) but when you actually sit on them, you feel too perched up and unsupported. They should, and could, be much comfier and if you’re selling your car as an affordable luxury carriage, they really ought to be.

The other issue is price. We don’t yet know how much the Delta is going to cost and that’s a fairly critical issue. OK, so Chrysler isn’t stupid and will no doubt have noticed that all of the Delta’s major rivals are in the €20-22k price range, so so will be the Delta. But its potential success or otherwise will depend on whether it’s at the top or bottom end of that range. If it’s a bargain, then it’s got a chance. If not, then probably not.

It’s not a bad car, the Delta, and in Chrysler terms, it’s a good introduction to a marketplace it’s never really dipped a toe in before. But you just can’t help feel that there is more, and better, to come from the Fiat-Chrysler tie-up. A more sophisticated chassis, more attention to detail in the cabin, a clearer sense of what it means to be a Chrysler; all these things would help.

In fairness, that does look as if it’s going to happen. Fiat has given long-serving stylist Lorenzo Ramiciotti the job of coming up with a styling language that works for both Lancia and Chrysler, on both sides of the Atlantic. If he can do that, and if the engineers can come up with a dynamic setup that can pay homage to the marketing bumph of affordable luxury, then this whole Italian-American deal could work out OK.


Facts & Figures

Chrysler Delta 1.6 M-Jet 120
Price as tested: TBA
Range price: TBA
Capacity: 1,598cc
Power: 120bhp
Torque: 300Nm
Top speed: 193kmh
0-100kmh: 10.7sec
Economy: 4.9l-100km (57.6mpg)
CO2 emissions: 130g/km
VRT Band: B. €156 road tax
Euro NCAP rating: 5-star adult, 3-star children, 2-star pedestrian

Road Test: Jeep Compass 2.2 CRD 4x4 Limited

Price as tested: TBA

In brief: So much better than the original Compass that it's not even in the same post code. Still falls  short of the best current rivals though.

There are some very lonely, distant spots in the world, but few are quite so distant or bereft of life as Hall Bay in northern Greenland. There is nothing here but snow, ice, rocks and lichen. It is notable only for  the presence of a grave, that of infamous American arctic explorer Charles Francis Hall who's death on an ill-fated expedition is still often conjectured to be murder at the hands of a disgruntled crew-mate.

And it was in the 1970s that a Jeep briefly visited here. It was part of a Danish expedition to investigate  arctic weather patterns, it stayed for a few days, motored happily around the sere, foreboding landscape and went home again leaving only the lichens and the lovely gravesite. I mention this because it would have been utterly inconceivable to Hall that people would one day travel easily over the landscape that cost him his life, and to remind you all that at its core, the Jeep brand is one capable of producing some exceptionally rugged vehicles.

Unfortunately, few if any of us actually require a truly rugged vehicle, much though we crave their outdoors-y image and usefulness, and it is this that has triggered the rise and rise of the SUV and crossover segment; cars that look vaguely related to Jeep's Willys-Bantam original but which have the creature comforts and running costs of a conventional family car.

In spite of having effecitvely created just such a car in the 1960s, the Jeep Grand Wagoneer, it took until 2007 for Jeep to finally catch up with the likes of the Nissan Qashqai, Ford Kuga and others and finally offer a truly compact, efficient vehicle with a Jeep badge. It was the Compass and it was awful. Wayward handling, truly terrible cabin quality and design, nasty brakes and a general and pervading air of cheapness put it bottom of pretty much every critic's list and made a lie of the generally-held assumption that there aren't any truly bad cars any more.

But now, under Fiat onwership, Jeep is having a go at making amends. In two years time, there will be an all-new Compass, with the chassis from an Alfa Giulietta and new, high-tech Fiat Powertrain engines. Until then, the Compass has had one of the most complete re-workings of any vehicle in recent times.

The front end is all new, with the gawky styling replaced by slick,Grand-Cherokee- style looks and inside, most (if not quite all) of the nasty plastics have been binned in favour of some decent soft-touch surfaces, a handsome new three-spoke steering wheel and some very comfy seats (trimmed in a rich feeling biscuit coloured leather on our Limited spec test car.

Gone too is the noisy and clattery VW-sourced 2.0-litre TDI engine and in its place is a sophisticated 2.2-litre 163bhp diesel engine from Mercedes which boasts a 6.6-litre per 100km combined fuel economy figure and, with four wheel drive, Co2 emissions of 172g/km. Not exceptional figures, it must be noted, but a step in the right direction.

It should probably be said here and now that the Compass has been transformed out of all recognition. Where before the handling felt truly dreadful, now it has an underlying feeling of assurance and balance, even if it's nowhere near as good to drive as, say, a Ford Kuga. The Mercedes engine brings with it decent power (a 0-100kmh sprint time of 10.6secs is OK) and improved refinement. I say improved because there is still quite a lot of clatter, and the occasional whistle and clank, at low speeds, but it does quieten down reasonably well on a longer run.

Over a busy test schedule when we managed to put more than 1,200km up on the car, we managed a decent fuel average of 7.0-litres per 100km, but found that the fuel gauge had an unnerving habit of plummeting towards the red quite suddenly when it wanted to. It's not an uneconomical car, but the last quarter of the tank does seem to disappear quite quickly.

It is quite comfortable though. The nice seats must be playing a big part in this, but the mostly well-sorted primary ride must also take a bow, even if it can be upset buy sharp, sudden ripples. There's a pleasingly long-legged, soft-kneed feeling about the way the Compass gets about.

It's deceptively spacious too. Look at the boot and the back seat and you assume that there's not a lot of room but actually you can fit a surprising amount of stuff and people in both. Certainly, the Compass lives up the Jeep's promises of being a practical vehicle.

What it's not is especially brilliant, and that's a fact that Jeep's suit-wearing types will tacitly admit to. It's a transitional car, they say, giving Jeep something halfway decent to sell while it awaits the arrival of an all-new Compass. In those terms, it's not bad then. Dynamically capable,in a basic sense, comfortable and sufficiently roomy for it to be considered for use as a family car.

Price will be an issue though. At the time of writing, Jeep Ireland had still not reached a final agreement with Jeep Europe's overlords in Turin on pricing. Apparently, Ireland wants to pitch the Compass as a circa €26,000 rival to the likes of the Nissan Qashqai and specced-up versions of the Skoda Yeti; a very sensible course of action. Jeep Europe though sees the Compass as being more of a premium model and wants a €30k+ price tag to put it up against the likes of the Land Rover Freelander. In which case, I think the Compass' case would be as dead as Charles Francis Hall in his grave on an icy Greenland shore peninsula.

At a Qashqai's price, you could pretty easily forgive the Compass' mild dynamic shortcomings and instead just enjoy its lengthy standard equipment list and the aura of its legendary badge. Above €30k though, it'll be out on far to fragile a limb,

Facts & Figures

Jeep Compass 2.2 CRD 4x4 Limited
Price as tested: €TBA
Price range: €TBA
Capacity: 2,143cc
Power: 163bhp
Torque: 320Nm
Top speed: 201kmh
0-100kmh: 10.6sec
Economy: 6.6l-100km (42.8mpg)
CO2 emissions: 172g/km
Road Tax Band: E €630
Euro NCAP rating: Not yet tested

Road Test: Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 V8 Hemi Overland

Price as tested: €POA.

In brief: Pointless? No, not quite. If you’ve got the wherewithal, it nicely straddles the gap between practical and sporting SUV.


I can confidently predict that no-one in Ireland is going to buy one of these. Not the new Jeep Grand Cherokee itself. Actually, I’d be very surprised if that’s not going to be at least moderately successful, in 3.0 CRD V6 diesel form. It’s handsome, relatively affordable and will be nigh-on peerless in the rough stuff, so what’s not to love?

No, I mean that this specific version, the 5.7-litre V8 Hemi (and yes, that’s petrol powered before you ask) will sell in single digits, if at all. Quite apart from the obvious Co2-related penalties, there’s the prospect of gargantuan fuel and insurance bills.

So why are we driving it? Well, for the simple reason that it’s there; Jeep offered us the chance, and it would be churlish not to find out what life is like on the other side of the diesel-philic fence.

Besides, there is rather more going on here than you might at first think, and perhaps that glib no-one will buy one assessment might be a touch to fast off the mark.

First off, this is our first chance to drive the new Grand Cherokee on Irish roads. Based on the same chassis as the current Mercedes-Benz M-Class, this is no hulking, gargantuan American behemoth. It’s big, certainly, but no more so than any Euro-friendly SUV, so you can leave your Chelsea tractor inhibitions at the door.

From the front, with the glowering headlights and bulging bodywork, it looks brilliant; menacing and Gotham-esque. Around the back, it’s a little less successful, looking like a cross between an old Grand Cherokee and a Kia Sorento. Never mind.

Inside, there’s a similar mix of styles. The vast sweep of the cliff-faced dash is covered in expensive looking leather and wood that doesn’t look like it’s been injected into a mould. The main dials are crisp and clear and almost everything you touch looks and feels expensive. Almost. It is let down by the garish faux-aluminium centre console, the switches for the HVAC controls and the clunky gearshifter. American cabin tastes still have not caught up with European quality levels, it seems. Still, it all feels pretty well bolted together, the seats are marvelously comfortable and there’s lounging space for a basketball team in the back.

Boot space doesn’t look great when first you see it (the floor is high set thanks to the massive full size spare stashed underneath) but the tape measure says that there’s 782-litres back there, which is pretty massive. 1,554-litres with the rear seats folded though it s a bit of a disappointment. A Ford Mondeo estate offers more room.

Mind you, you’ll need to watch the build quality. A rogue bit of panel fit meant the right rear door would only open a crack. A simple fix, and it was an early-build RHD car, but still, Jeep is going to have to try harder than that to shake off any lingering quality worries.

Now, let’s get to the good bit. The engine. A proper, massive, 5.7-litre God Of Thunder with Hemi heads and... wait, I can’t hear it...

The fact is that while we assume that every American car with a V8 sounds like a NASCAR race under the hood, the fact is that this is just a pretty normal engine option stateside. So instead of gurgling and woofling like a Hollywood sound effect, it is in fact whisper quiet until you give it the absolute beans, and then makes a crisp-edged snarl more akin to a BMW straight-six than a bent-eight slice of Detroit pig iron. This is a properly sophisticated engine, and with 352bhp and 520Nm of torque, it can push this big 2,382kg Jeep from 0-100kmh in a very respectable 8.7secs. Not as fast as the 3.0-litre diesel (8.2secs, amazingly) but still pretty rapid.

And while you might be expecting to need to be followed at all times by a tanker truck, allowing for necessary refueling every eight minutes or so, the Hemi confounds by being relatively frugal. We got an average of 15.8l/100km, or 17mpg. Hardly the stuff of a Prius, it’s true, but that was with a morning’s hard pedaling on backroads and across country. A more economy minded motorway run should see you easily beat Jeep’s claimed 14.1-litres per 100km combined cycle figure. To put that in perspective, my wife’s ancient, creaky Renault Laguna 1.8 estate gets around 21mpg on average...

Co2 emissions? Best not to ask? Well, no actually. 327g/km seems gargantuan, but thanks to the vagaries of the Irish tax system, you’ll pay exactly the same as someone whose car emits as little as 226g/km.

And it drives well too. OK, so it’s big, heavy and the steering is a bit vague, but you can still place the Grand Cherokee with confidence, and that air suspension system (standard on Overland models) soaks up the worst that Irish tarmac can throw at it. It’s a massive improvement on the wobbly, rough-riding live-axled last-gen Grand Cherokee. There’s a touch of float, and a hefty dose of initial body roll, but once that’s passed, the Grand settles down into a nice, comfortable cornering attitude. On motorways, it tracks straight and true and refinement is little short of excellent.

The Quadra-Drive II transmission (I love the way Americans name everything like this) which comes as standard on the Overland (regular Laredo models make do with a mere Quadra-Trac II system) includes a Land Rover-like selection system that can set the car up for Sport, Mud and Snow, Sand and Rock Climb modes. A quick blast on some muddy bits on the Curragh confirmed little more than that you’d have to be trying very hard to get a Grand Cherokee stuck. The air suspension can stretch up to give you more ground clearance and better approach and departure angles when off-roading, and crouches down on the motorway, or when in Sport mode, to improve the aerodynamics. Maximum towing weight, critical when you’re buying a car like this, is 3,500kg.

Does it make any sense? No. But then what car with a luxury cabin and the ability to go hoicking over mountains like a demented Edmund Hillary does? Being as having a large SUV is the height of silliness to begin with, why not go the whole hog and get yourself a Hemi?

Facts & Figures

Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 V8 Hemi Overland
Price as tested: €POA
Range price: TBA
Capacity: 5,654cc
Power: 352bhp
Torque: 520Nm
Top speed: 225kmh
0-100kmh: 8.7sec
Economy: 14.1l-100km (20.0mpg)
CO2 emissions: 327g/km
Road Tax Bad: G €2,400
Euro NCAP rating: Not yet tested.