Chevrolet SS vs the Chrysler 300C SRT

Recently these two vehicles were pitted against each other, why; because it seems there are not a lot of affordable, rear-wheel drive sedans out there anymore that possess great power and handling.  Almost like when your favorite burger joint goes out of business, these two cars are about all that represent what good old American cars stood for.  Each has its own unique set of power and attributes, but both are what the classic car guys would think of when they think of a real sedan.

While the Chrysler 300 series cars are finding the prime of their existence, there will come a time very soon when you can no longer find the Aussie-built Chevrolet SS models anymore.  General Motors has already announced a plan to no longer produce any vehicles out of Australia, and the SS falls into that category.

Both cars are very easy on the eyes shouting “drive me” to anyone passing by, but there are a few simple differences you need to note here.  First of all, the starting price tag for the Chevrolet SS came in as expected around $46,000 while the Chrysler 300 was much higher at around $62,000, keeping in mind these are very similar vehicles.

When taken to the track, both cars performed beautifully on the speed and straight line tests.  The Chrysler 300 was slightly faster in the zero to sixty bringing a time of 4.6 seconds compared to the Chevrolet SS time of 4.8 seconds.  In the quarter mile test the Chrysler 300 was only slightly faster there as well with a time of 12.9 seconds compared to the Chevrolet SS time of 13.0 seconds.

The real kicker was on the track.  These two beauties were taken to the Streets of Willow Raceway and driven by professional race car driver Randy Pobst.  This proved to be a fantastic way to test both cars, bring in someone who does this for a living and let him have at it.

During the track test, Pobst stated the Chrysler 300 was rough on the steering when coming out of turns and the brakes did not hold up at all once they were used heavily.  Even though the Chrysler 300 had done so well on the straight line part of the test, it didn’t seem to hold up to the rigors of actual handling especially under track conditions.

As for the Chevrolet SS, Pobst informed Motor Trend the car did beautifully at the track.  Adding the braking was consistently great throughout the test providing confidence and handling during the entire test run.  The Chevrolet SS performed beautifully under track and handling conditions, which is a bit more comparable to an everyday driver.

When asked, Motor Trend said they would prefer the Chevrolet SS to the Chrysler 300. It is only slightly behind on the straight line tests, but makes up for this with amazing handling and braking.  To go along with this the serious difference in price tag made the Chevrolet SS the clear winner over the Chrysler 300C SRT.