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Posted April, 2007

Road Test: 2007 Chrysler 300 C vs Mercedes-Benz S550

By Thomas E. Bonsall

The two cars we're reviewing here are the flagship sedans of DaimlerChrysler's American unit (the Chrysler 300 C) and German unit (the Mercedes-Benz S550). At first blush, it might seem silly to compare the two. After all, you could buy three 300 C's for the price of our S550 test car. "Aren't you comparing apples and oranges?" you say. No, I don't think so. To me, the comparison is fascinating and illustrates a very real philosophical difference behind the Chrysler and the Mercedes.

But first, some data.

The 300 C is powered by a 5.7-liter, Hemi V8, mated to a five-speed automatic transmission. The EPA fuel economy rating is 17 city/25 highway. The final sticker price on our test car was $38,505.

The S550 is powered by a 5.5-liter V8 mated to a seven-speed automatic transmission. The EPA fuel economy rating is 16 city/24 highway. The final sticker price on our test car was $105,045.

Something else the two have in common is that they are wonderful driving machines and have a surprisingly similar feel to them. As for styling, I will admit that when I first laid eyes on the current generation 300 I thought it was the ugliest car I had ever seen. I was truly shocked. It's grown on me over time, though, as I have slowly gotten used to it and come to understand what the designers were trying to do. For their part, the current S-Class Mercedes-Benz's are among the best-looking cars the company has ever built. So you've got two "lookers," each in its own distinctive way.

We were overwhelmed by the amount of gadgetry on the S550. The sound system was way too complicated in its operation. Practically every thing not directly involved with driving the car goes through the central console, which includes the navigation system and screen. Thus, you have buttons and dials that are multifunctional and non-intuitive in the extreme, and, in general, I felt as if I could spend the rest of my life just figuring them out.

Also, the navigation system was defective. We had an appointment way out in the Maryland countryside, which is exceptionally beautiful — especially now in the spring as I write this. But the roads, while excellent, can be extremely confusing. There are tales of people setting off for Sunday drives in the Maryland countryside and never being seen again. They're still lost out there wandering endlessly like the Flying Dutchman, never to see their loved ones again. Anyway, not wishing that fate we tried to key the address we were going to into the navigation system — and couldn't. It didn't have the address, one that has existed for decades! This is the first such lapse we have ever experienced with a navigation system from any manufacturer. If it can't help you out when you really need it, what good is it?

Anyway, back to the philosophical difference between the 300 and the S550. Some years ago I was dining with a group of auto writers and someone asked, "How much can you spend for an actual car, not for electronic gadgets and gizmos that the most expensive cars pile on to justify their higher price tags?" Now this was, as I say, some years back, but the figure we finally agreed on was (adjusted for inflation) perhaps in the $40,000-$50,000 range. Granted this is one man's opinion. There are many others who would argue that the $60,000, $75,000 or even $100,000 or more that some manufacturers charge for their luxury sedans are worth every penny. Call me a traditionalist, but I prefer a car in which you can operate the controls without a degree from M.I.T. While I truly enjoyed driving the S550, at least in that respect the 300 C was refreshing, indeed.

I've been here before. When I compared the 2004 Lincoln Town Car to the then current S500, I wrote the following:

Mark Twain once wrote a devastatingly funny article about James Fennimore Cooper's writing style, in particular the way in which Cooper would sound the full literary charge regardless of the importance of the subject at hand. Whether Cooper was attacking an entire army or merely a cow, said Twain, he would hurl everything he had at it. Mercedes is a James Fennimore Cooper kind of car company in that respect. All manufacturers expend serious resources improving their braking systems, for example, but Mercedes will make the same kind of investment in automating the operation of a retractable cargo cover, as in the case of the 500E 4Matic wagon we tested recently. To some car buyers, this is doubtless what true luxury is all about. To me, it's unnecessarily confusing complexity and just one more thing to go wrong two or three years down the road — if it takes that long.

Don't get me wrong, the 300 C has plenty of state-of-the-art electronics on it, too, it just seems to me that the people who designed it had a more balanced concept of what is really needed in a luxury car, on the one hand, and what constitutes mindless overkill, on the other. As I say, a philosophical difference.

In sum, I loved driving both cars, but the 300 C is the one I would buy. R&D