LIKES
- Still handsome
- Available V-8 power
- Comfortable front seats
- Good cargo room
- Decent tech
DISLIKES
- Lackluster safety scores
- Active safety tech = extra $$
- Poorly shaped rear seats
- Not fuel-efficient
BUYING TIP
Whether the 2021 Chrysler 300 is old school or just old, it’s still pretty good.
Chrysler’s inadvertently built a self-driving car before anyone else. This year’s 2021 Chrysler 300 has bones that date back 16 model years, which means the full-size sedan can apply for its own driver’s license in most states.
We’ve now been handed a note from our legal department to say: No, the 2021 Chrysler 300 cannot drive itself—only that it’s one of the “oldest” new cars on sale today. Hashtag, funcrushers.
It earns a 5.5 TCC Rating thanks to its comfortable interior and good looks.
This year, Chrysler pared its 300 lineup back to just three trim levels: Touring, Touring L, and 300S. Top trims are gone, but what’s left is mostly good.
That’s due to a shape that’s better with age. Unlike khaki-colored cargos, the 300’s subtle looks have endured since the mid-2000s. The cabin punches up with rounded corners and uptown materials.
Most 300s are powered by a competent 292-horsepower V-6 mated to an 8-speed automatic and rear- or all-wheel drive. A 5.7-liter V-8 is available and likely one of the last of its kind. A talented 8-speed automatic handles shifting duties in all of the above but won’t keep it fuel-efficient among newer, hybrid full-sizers like the Toyota Avalon.
Inside the 300, the front seats are palatial, and the back seats are…fine. The 300 offers interior storage and trunk space like a champ, but the rear seats are pretty JV despite good leg room.
Safety scores have passed by the 300, but active safety features are available for a price.
The base 300 Touring gets mostly good gear including an 8.4-inch touchscreen and smartphone software. Step up to the Touring L or 300S and Chrysler offers active safety features, leather seats, wheels up to 20 inches across, and a softer or harder suspension—but still a pedestrian warranty, if you’re into that.
Styling
Age has treated the Chrysler 300 very well.
Closer to Bordeaux than boring, the 2021 Chrysler 300 is getting better with age despite a basic design that dates back to 2005. It still impresses—even more because it lacks pretense. It’s a 7 for style.
The 300’s understated grille and bumper lacks frippery and fluff and flows into understated lines that draw throughout the rest of the car. We like that. The slab-sided flanks are subtly styled with the right bends to keep the car interesting. In back, the 300’s caboose is a boon to space and style; it adds a nod to tradition, while 300S models add a small decklid spoiler as a curiosity. Nice.
Inside, the same themes continue where the 300 punches up beyond its price tag. It works in the same way its exterior does: in trim levels above base, the 300 impresses with simplicity and materials. Competitors that charge thousands more haven’t yet learned that lesson.
Performance
A full-sizer with polite manners, the 2021 Chrysler 300 is just fine.
The bones of the 2021 300 date back relative eons—at least as far as cars go—and the V-8-powered family sedan is going away like the dinosaurs too. Its performance is a 6, which reflects our feelings for its ride.
Most 300s leave the factory with a 292-hp V-6 under the hood (300 hp in 300S models) that keeps pace around town or on the highway. That engine is aided by an 8-speed automatic transmission that deals the right ratio quickly like a Vegas dealer, but better. It’s the only engine available with all-wheel drive, if that’s what you’re looking for in a sedan.
A lusty 5.7-liter V-8 is available in 300S models with rear-wheel drive only, mated to the same 8-speed autobox. Its 363 hp and 394 pound-feet of torque complement the V-8’s soundtrack, and it performs like an old, throwback American sedan. Its gas mileage is a throwback, too.
The 300S gets sport dampers and shift-paddles when the big engine is installed, but V-8 and sport suspension and paddle-shifters do not a sport sedan make. Every 300 is tuned for comfort, especially the ones fitted with comfort-tuned dampers. On stock 17-inch tires, the 300 rolls around corners—it’s a cruiser, not a bruiser.
If a big muscle sedan is on your shopping list consider the 300’s mechanical cousin, the Dodge Charger.
Comfort & Quality
The front seats are superb, but the back is a little cramped.
Big sedans like the 2021 Chrysler 300 cover ground like passing clouds and ride almost as softly. It’s not as impressive in the back seat, but that’s due to the 300’s relative age.
The 300 gets a 7 for plush front seats and a cavernous trunk.
Only base seats in the 300 Touring are shod in cloth, the rest get soft nappa hides with heated front seats.
Not in trunk space, however. The 300 opens up to 16.3 cubic feet in the trunk; bring the tour bags to the course this time. Inside, there are many storage opportunities: Big Gulp-rated cupholders, deep door pockets for snacks, and elbow room for a crowd.
Long slogs across Kansas almost would be enjoyable in a 300. We said almost.
Safety
The 300 shows its age in safety scores.
The Chrysler 300 is about a generation (and a half) too old for modern crash tests. Like “Charles in Charge” episodes, it doesn’t hold up to current standards.
Federal testers give it four stars overall, which is low among new cars. The IIHS rated its small-overlap crash protection as “Marginal” and rated its headlights as “Poor.” The good news that Chrysler’s automatic emergency braking system earned a top “Superior” rating for front-crash prevention is tempered only with the news that the system costs extra and isn’t available on base trims.
That nets a 3 on our safety score.
Features
Pared down to the essentials this year, the 300 lacks features others offer.
The 2021 Chrysler 300’s roster has been pared down to only the starters this year, compared to prior years. It’s offered only in Touring, Touring L, and sportier S trim levels.
Most of the bases are covered, aside from standard active safety equipment, but the 300’s bench isn’t very deep. It gets a point for a big infotainment screen and lands at a 6.
Base models are 2021 300 Touring models and they get an 8.4-inch touchscreen for infotainment with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, 17-inch wheels, cloth upholstery and two USB chargers.
There’s not a bad pick between the two, just add active safety features, will ya?
Fuel Economy
Gas mileage isn’t its strong suit, but the 2021 Chrysler 300 isn’t exceptionally thirsty.
Full-size sedans like the 2021 Chrysler 300 aren’t known for great gas mileage. The 300 won’t change many minds either.
Still, with a V-6 and rear-wheel drive, the EPA rates it at 19 mpg city, 30 highway, 23 combined, which isn’t bad but it’s also a 4.
Adding all-wheel drive knocks that back to 18/27/21 mpg.
The 300 is one of few sedans left that’s available with a V-8 (and rear-wheel drive only) and it sips at a clip of 16/25/19 mpg, according to the EPA. It also requires mid-grade fuel.
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