2017 Chrysler 300 SRT Hyperblack: owner review

I’ve been called several things in the past couple of months – pimp, gangster, dealer, copper, airport limo driver… Yep, you’ve guessed it. I’ve bought a 300 SRT.

When Chrysler decided in late 2021 to pull operations out of Australia, the 300 SRT – arguably the last affordable V8 performance sedan in Australia – became a bit of a hot commodity. A quick search for these cars on car sales sites will result in asking prices anywhere from $50,000 up to an eye-watering $175,000 – not a far throw from the current asking prices for better examples of the VF Commodore.

Shocking when you think merely 10 months ago, you could order a brand-new example of the 300 SRT (the range-topping variant) for around $86K. But not remotely as shocking as the fact that the SRT Core, the stripped-down model in the 300 range, is demanding some of the higher prices listed. Whether these cars are actually selling for these prices is a whole other story, but the fact remains that these cars are hot!

The Chrysler 300 SRT had been on my bucket list for nearly a year, and I’ve dreamt of owning a V8 since I was still a kid at school. So when the opportunity recently presented itself to get one in near-new condition with very low kilometres, I couldn’t say no.

From the outside, the SRT immediately stands out with its staunch, muscular stance. You won’t find carefully placed curves and lines for improved aerodynamics or styling, but rather a very bulky piece of modern American muscle. For this reason, people either absolutely love it or absolutely hate it.

The 2017 Chrysler 300 SRT Hyperblack adds black surrounds around the windows, headlights and tail-lights, as well as the absolutely stunning 20-inch forged alloy wheels to stand out from the Core and previous-model-year SRT. These cars came with black or white paint as standard, with all other colours available at an added cost. My car has the stunning Granite Crystal.

The rear is the better looking of the two ends, with the large yet subtle rear spoiler and dual chrome exhaust tips asserting the SRT’s undeniable performance capabilities, and the stripped-back badging keeping the back-end clean and sleek.

The front of the car still looks great and menacing with a large honeycomb grille, daytime LED lights and minimal badging, with just the SRT logo on the grille to tell you what it is. The largest improvement in my opinion over the previous-generation 300 SRT-8, though, is the removal of the orange indicators in the headlights, instead now opting for an all-clear finish. The 300 SRT looks fantastic, albeit a bit old now, and photos rarely do it justice.

The cabin is a comfortable and luxury place to be, with some fantastic features such as the heated/cooled cupholders, heated/ventilated seats and my new favourite – heated steering wheel. The analog clock in the dashboard receives compliments by absolutely everyone that takes a look inside the car, and adds a premium feel to the interior.

The Uconnect infotainment system, however, is an old piece of kit now, and it feels it. The GPS is slow, especially when typing in addresses, and certain features from newer SRT models are missing, such as automatic door locking and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto.

In fact, the access to the controls is one of my biggest grievances with this car. For example, you can turn on your A/C with the physical knob in the centre console, but to change the A/C mode, you have to go into the Climate menu in the Uconnect system. If your passenger changes their temperature, they can do so with the physical buttons, but to sync it back up later, you again need to do so through the display.

And why are there no physical buttons for the heated seats? There’s just too much that you need to do through the Uconnect system rather than with the quick flick of a switch. I personally think the less time I need to spend with my eyes on the screen when I’m rolling a two-tonne metal block down the motorway at 110km/h, the better.

I just can’t help but feel that Chrysler thought so hard about all the things they could put into this car, they didn’t stop and think about the most practical way to go about it for the driver.

The dusk-sensing headlights don’t turn on soon enough, so you’re the last person driving with no headlights on when the sun is below the horizon. The automatic wipers will activate on their own, but you still have to adjust the sensitivity constantly so they’re at the appropriate speed.

And to open the fuel door, you have to press a button that’s placed in the driver’s door in the door bin. Why do that?! It took me five minutes to figure out how to open the fuel door the first time I filled up. And why does a premium car built this century still have a foot-operated park brake?

As a natural pessimist, I could talk for days about the things that irk me, but there is a lot of good in this car as well. The steering wheel is immensely comfortable and feels great in the hands. The centre bin is huge and the passenger foot well is very deep, so even with the chairs pushed further forward, the front passenger has ample leg room. The front seats-cum-sofas are great, with large bolsters to keep even the biggest American from sliding about in corners, and they offer electric adjustment and lumbar support.

The instrument cluster is very nice and never too hard to read, and the digital display in the middle gives you plenty of customisation and information, all at the touch of a button.

With the added dual-pane sunroof, the view my kids have from the back seat is a nice one. The 300’s exterior dimensions are deceiving, though, with the inside of the car actually quite tight. At 6ft 1in and with my seat at the lowest position, my head touches the roof, particularly in the mornings (you get shorter throughout the day – Google it). The front seats are also quite bulky, so you lose a lot of knee room and overall depth in the back row.

You’ll still fit three adults in the back, but trying to squeeze in a rear-facing Britax Safe-n-Sound child seat takes a bit of effort, and comes at the sacrifice of some of the front passenger’s leg room. I’m sure there weren’t many people rushing to buy a 300 SRT as their next family car, but I did and so here we are. The SRT does have ISOFIX anchors, which is fantastic for people with child seats, but just be aware they are quite difficult to clip onto.

The outboard seats in the back are heated and there are dual USB ports as well. The centre armrest opens up with two cupholders and a practical storage cubby.

This car comes with a fantastic 19-speaker Harman Kardon sound system and subwoofer. In my time owning it, I’ve only managed to find nine speakers, so I can only assume the rest are in the engine bay. Audio clarity is great, though the feature that adjusts the volume when travelling at a higher speed seems to always default to 'on' when I start the car, despite it being set to 'off'.

Time for the exciting stuff – the drive.

Each morning, I like to remind my neighbours of my existence with the loud bark of a cold start. And the fact I can start it remotely without stepping outside my front door is a feature that I’ve been missing in my life for far too long. This car will even automatically turn on your heated seats, steering and heater if it’s cold enough outside, or turn your cooled seats and A/C on if it’s a hot day. Brilliant!

The sound and power that the 350kW Hemi V8 produces are astounding. The way the engine is mated to the ZF eight-speed transmission is engineering perfection. The car is always in the right gear when you need it, and there are plenty of gears to choose from. Downshifts and upshifts with the paddles are very quick, and in the default drive (street) mode, the 300 trots around town without an issue.

In all conditions the car stays planted and is almost too easy to drive, with a level of refinement that I’ve never experienced in any other car. There’s never any wind-steer, the car soaks up bumps with ease, and the cabin is insulated extremely well with minimal road noise.

In all other modes (Sport or Track), the adaptive dampers become progressively stiffer, steering gives you more feedback, throttle becomes more responsive, and the gears hold up longer through the rev range. Start using the paddle-shifters and you’ll be met with the sound of V8 splendour. The car does prefer to be driven faster in these modes, and if you’re driving at low speeds in traffic, you’ll find the transmission a bit jerky. You can also pick a Custom mode, which lets you individually change the steering, suspension and transmission modes to whatever suits you.

In Street mode, the Multi-Displacement System (MDS – Chrysler’s fuel management system) will also deactivate four cylinders, which most owners seem to hate. Personally, I love the four-cylinder deactivation, as I spend most of my time on a motorway and see my combined fuel consumption sit on average between 10.5–12L/100km. On the freeway it’ll easily get down to 8–9L/100km.

Let’s address the thirsty elephant in the room for a minute, though. As everyone keeps reminding me, you don’t buy an SRT (or a V8 for that matter) if you’re concerned about fuel, and I knew that buying this car. But I still can’t help having huge range anxiety every single day. Not because of exorbitant fuel prices, but rather the unpredictability of the fuel consumption.

It doesn’t matter how consistently I drive, I can never be truly sure how much fuel I’ll have left. For example, I can have 600km of range showing, and I’ll drive 40km and the range remains at 600km. Then when I get back in the car later in the day, it’s suddenly down to 500km. I can get through a week without refuelling, or I need to refuel twice, without doing any additional trips. There’s no way around it, unless you’re constantly on the freeway, this car will drink.

For such a large car, the Chrysler actually handles very well around corners. I’ve previously owned a WRX, and while this doesn’t take corners anywhere near the way that car did, it does give you enough confidence to know that you’ll make it out the other side unscathed, or at least still have enough control over any oversteer.

Time for a gripe, and this may well be my biggest one. The turning circle is monstrous. I’ve never tried to park a large ship, but I’d imagine reversing my 300 SRT into the driveway comes close to being the same thing. I’m actually convinced you’d need a Master in Physics to work out what starting position is required to successfully complete a park in a single take in this car, because particularly in reverse, this car just does not want to steer at low speed. The rear mirrors do tilt when reversing, though, which is helpful.

Everything about this car is conflicting. A huge exterior footprint with a proportionately small interior. An 'Eco Mode' for improved fuel consumption, in a 6.4-litre engine. A car that’s frustrating to live with, but one I don’t want to live without.

And that’s the point. Above all the annoyances, this car delivers something others can’t: a huge smile on my face every time I drive it, thanks to that incredible engine, the noise, and the looks I get from everyone I drive past. I might not be able to park it in a shopping centre without the help of a calculator and tape measure, but I’ll damn well enjoy every bit of my drive there.

And while my stint with this car is likely to be a short-lived one, I’m incredibly happy I’ve had the chance to own this beautiful machine before V8s and internal combustion engines become nothing more than the very fossils that drive them.

Owner: Martin Zazvonil

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