2011 Chrysler 300

Full-size cars were once the bread and butter of American carmakers. But now, it's mid-size cars and utilities that perform the bulk of family chores. But, Chrysler sparked a bit of a big car revival when it introduced a big-on-style rear and all-wheel-drive 300 sedan for 2005. It was such an instant hit that it showed up everywhere from rap videos to retirement communities. Now, a reinvigorated Chrysler is importing an all-new 300 sedan from Detroit, and it promises even more style and refinement. So let's see if it still delivers fullsize.

The 2011 Chrysler 300 certainly delivers full-size style. Much like the 300 it replaces, The Bentley-esque chic is hard to deny. The basic proportions remain the same, as does the profile silhouette. But, all of the design elements have received significant tweaking.

Much like the previous 300, the grille is far-and-away the centerpiece. Trading an egg crate treatment for thin chrome ribs, it is now more upscale and elegant. Plus, there are now adaptive projector beam headlights, and LED running lights, that flank it.The back end is smoother, with thinner C-pillars and a rear deck that now includes an integrated spoiler. Jewel-like LED tail lamps, a large revamped Chrysler winged badge, chrome trim, and dual exhaust are other highlights. There are a few more lines down the side, as well, as fenders bulge just a little bit more.

But it's inside where a flagship must truly wave the brand's flag...overall quality is vastly improved; there are more soft materials, controls work with precision, and even the sparkle of an analog clock. But there is still too much grainy plastic; and some details and switchgear, while well done, are still shared with other updated Chryslers. More exclusivity would go a long way into making the 300 a true flagship.

Our car's center stack was dominated by a huge touch screen with Garmin navigation, radio, and displays for just about every car function. It's so big, that it is a bit distracting, but we like the way that you can make the Nav screen smaller and still have audio and other information surrounding it.

Most functions are carried out on that 8.4-inch screen, but redundant controls for climate and radio are also present, as is an SD card slot for importing music files. Gauges are gorgeous and feature subtle blue background lighting. Total interior volume is up, but just barely, as more room was not really needed.

Front seats are big and comfortable with our 300C's 12-way power adjustments. Rear seats are full-size car roomy with plenty of head and legroom, and enough width for three across. Though a raised center section makes comfy room for two more realistic. Folding seat backs increase practicality.

The trunk has a big opening, a low lift-over height, and holds 16.3 cubic feet of cargo. While large, that's still almost four cubic feet shy of the front-wheel-drive Ford Taurus. A new feature to the 300 this year is a Ford-style, cap-less fuel filler.

A 292-horsepower 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 is standard on the 300. But our all-wheel-drive 300C upgrades to a mostly carryover 5.7-liter HEMI V8 rated at 363-horsepower and 394 lb-ft. of torque.

With the help of Fuel Saver cylinder cut-off, it achieves Government Fuel Economy Ratings of 15-City and 23-Highway miles-per-gallon. We averaged a good-for-a-V8 21.5 miles-per-gallon in mixed driving on regular gas. But, that still makes for a pretty high Energy Impact Score of 19 barrels of oil consumed per year and a carbon footprint of 10.4 annual tons of CO2.

We put our footprint all over the gas pedal as our AWD 300C leaped from 0 to 60 in 6.1 seconds, on its way to a quarter mile time of 14.6-seconds at 97 miles-per-hour. Not bad for such a big car. And we know the forthcoming 300 SRT8, with its 6.4-liter, 470-horsepower HEMI V8, will be well into triple digits.

Smooth describes shifts from our car's 5-speed, manual mode automatic transmission, with just enough punch to give a hint of performance. It's hard to call a car this big nimble, but it moves right along through corners big and small. And there's plenty of power from the HEMI to keep things entertaining. But, it's out on the highway where the 300 truly feels at home. The ride is luxurious, but still solid thanks to the chassis' Mercedes-Benz roots, and a true mileage eater.

Though better than before, blind spots do still exist, but Blind Spot Monitoring is available, and a back-up camera is standard on all but the base car.

An all-wheel-drive 2011 Chrysler 300C has a starting price of $41,145. While base rear-drive V6 300's start at a very reasonable $27,995.

It's hard not to be impressed by the new 300. It may not be perfect, but it's a big leap up for the Chrysler brand, and easily their nicest car to date; and they've proved once again that here in the land of the Big Gulp, there's still a market for big, bold, and beautiful sedans.