23 mpgUS with the 8-speed, 21 mpgUS with the 5-speed and just 19 mpgUS with the Hemi should be called best-in-class “SUCK”.
Wayne Gerdes -
CleanMPG - Dec. 27, 2011
Remember the RAM commercial "My name is RAM and my Tank is Full”?
My name is RAM and my “Tank is Full” ... I am fueled by optimism; I am driven by passion and stopped by nothing …
Fortunately the 2012 RAM 2500 Pickup with the 6.7L I6 Cummins and the all-new 0.625 6th, 3.42 final and stock 70 series 17’s allow the powerful HD RAM pickup to make that claim as the monster is turning over just 1,372 RPM’s at 60 mph. This is the best calculated RPM@60 mph in the HD truck segment!
The all-new 2012 Chrysler 300
Unfortunately there has been a recent Chrysler commercial release claiming the all-new 300 has the best-in-class highway fuel economy at just 31 mpgUS. Every time I hear it I wince thinking a 300 with a 31 mpgUS highway has got to be rated with a rather ugly combined let alone what does best-in-class mean? Best in class against European Sports cars? US full-sized luxury cars? All cars with 8-speed AT’s? US based Pickup trucks? We will get to that in a moment…
The all-new Chrysler 300 Luxury Series Sedan was designed to be the most luxurious and
fuel-efficient Chrysler flagship sedan ever. It combines ultra-premium leather -- can you say Corinthian
-- once limited to some of the most exotic Italian luxury cars along. Actually it is dressed with the highest grade Italian “Poltrona Frau leather in either Black or Mochachino Poltrona Frau “Foligno” ” (do not bother asking me what that means because just like Corinthian, I do not know?) leather-wrapped instrument panel, cluster brow, center console side panels and upper front- and rear-door panels. Premium Nappa leather covers the door armrest, bolster and center console armrest. Black or two-tone Mochachino seats are wrapped exclusively in supple Nappa leather and include 12-way power-adjustable driver and front-passenger seats (including four-way power lumbar) with two-mode ventilation and two-mode heated seats for both front and rear passengers. Black or two-tone Mochachino leather-wrapped steering wheel — with all-new die-cast paddle shifters — features a unique chrome accent ring to highlight the segment-exclusive 360-degree heated rim. Completing the interior environment is specially selected Natural Pore Mocha wood trim featuring a matte finish to enhance the beauty of the real wood.
2012 Chrysler 300 Interior
One thing for sure, the 300's interior looks pretty darn inviting.
All of this was designed to deliver a surprising combination of world class craftsmanship and style. Chrysler is also claiming to have a good handle claiming their flagship arrives with world-class refinement and handling which for their sake, I surely hope it does?
It does have one thing going for it from the drivetrain side of the fence. That being the all-new 8-speed AT.
The new 2012 Chrysler 300 Luxury Series expands the Chrysler flagship sedan with the Pentastar V-6 engine and 363 horsepower 5.7L HEMI V-8 engine with Fuel Saver Technology. At 19 mpgUS combined, the HEMI is anything but fuel efficient.
Infotainment – A Chrysler highpoint as of late
The Chrysler 300 arrives with premium amenities including the segment’s largest touchscreen infotainment system (8.4-inch) Uconnect Touch 8.4N with Garmin navigation, SiriusXM Traffic and SiriusXM Travel Link, LED-illuminated instrument cluster with driver-selectable color EVIC, power tilt and telescoping steering column with memory, power-adjustable pedals with memory, power backlight sunshade, premium 18-ounce Berber floor mats satin chrome lower door sills with “Chrysler” logo, dual heated/cooled cup holders, ambient lit foot well lighting, LED illuminated interior door handles and front and rear map pockets, premium carpeted trunk mat, HomeLink universal transceiver and power exterior mirrors with memory, driver mirror auto-dimming and auto-tilt in Reverse.
Pricing
The Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (including $825 destination) of these Chrysler 300 models is as follows:
- Chrysler 300 Luxury Series (RWD): $40,145
- Chrysler 300 Luxury Series (AWD): $42,495
- Chrysler 300C Luxury Series (RWD): $42,895
- Chrysler 300C Luxury Series (AWD): $45,245
Drivetrain
The 2012 Chrysler 300 is the first domestic luxury sedan to feature an eight-speed automatic transmission. This new segment-exclusive eight-speed AT expands the world-class power and fuel-efficiency of the 2012 Chrysler 300 Luxury Series and delivers class-leading fuel efficiency including what Chrysler is calling “Best-in-class” highway fuel economy (31 highway mpg), V-6 AWD fuel economy (18 city and 27 highway mpg), combined fuel economy (23 with RWD, 21 with AWD), unsurpassed city fuel economy (19 city mpg RWD, 18 mpg AWD) and overall unsurpassed fuel economy in its class (19 city and 31 highway mpg with RWD)?
The addition of three more gear ratios in the proven ZF eight-speed automatic transmission design help to reduce the gaps normally associated with upshifting and downshifting. Combined with the award-winning 292 horsepower 3.6L Pentastar V-6, passengers should experience world-class levels of refinement due to small, evenly spaced ratios that provide quicker acceleration and smoother shifts.
Delivering up to a 17 percent fuel economy improvement compared with the previous generation six-cylinder Chrysler 300 AWD models, the new 2012 Chrysler 300 Luxury Series AWD combines the new eight-speed automatic transmission, fuel-efficient 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 engine and the segment’s most advanced AWD system for maximum all-weather traction and efficiency.
Conclusions
When equipped with the HEMI, Ford’s more powerful and quicker 3.5L EcoBoost is just 1 mpg shy of the 2012 300 so “best-in-class” anything with the HEMI it is not. With a 106 cu. ft. interior and 16 cu. ft. of cargo cap in the trunk, it is slightly larger than the mid-size Sonata (104/16 cu. ft. passenger/cargo respectively) but well off the mark of the 2012 Infiniti M35h’s 29 mpgUS combined, 2013 GS450h’s 31 mpgUS combined and 2012 BMW 528i's 27 mpgUS combined ratings. Fortunately in this comparison, all three are slightly smaller and far more expensive than the all-new 300.
For my $'s and any CleanMPG'ers, the 2013 Dodge Dart is Chryslers next shot at a big hit with a fuel efficient mindset. The all-new 2012 300? Not so much.
Hybrid Mode
