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Are Chryslers Luxury Cars, And Should You Get One?

Are Chryslers Luxury Cars, And Should You Get One?

We’ve written extensively about Chryslers and done in-depth research about the features and capabilities its lineup offers. Today, we will talk about Chrysler as a luxury brand. Is it a luxury brand? What does it offer? How does it compare to other brands? Let’s have a look:

Chrysler is a premium brand, not a luxury one. It offers a small lineup of three vehicles and costs between $30,000 to $60,000, a suitable price point for premium and entry-level luxury cars. However, it doesn’t offer sufficiently premium materials or features in its sedan to achieve luxury status. The minivans offered have higher quality materials, such as quilted Nappa leather seats, satin chrome seat controls, and better overall features.

This is but a small summary of our research on Chrysler. Please continue reading to understand what Chrysler offers, what it doesn’t, and where it falls short.  

Are Chrysler Considered To Be Luxury Cars?

Chrysler has a lineup of three vehicles. It offers the Chrysler Pacifica, a minivan, the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, a minivan hybrid, and the Chrysler 300, a sedan. As one could imagine, most luxury vehicle consumers would only be interested in the sedan that Chrysler offers; not everyone is out looking for a minivan.

In general, those looking for luxury look towards sedans, coupes, and SUVs. This means that Chrysler only has one model, which is already a drawback. The text below explores what Chrysler offers and what it doesn’t or lacks.

Luxury Features

Chrysler does well in this category. It provides some of the features found in premium and luxury cars; this includes heated eight-way power driver and front passenger seats, along with power lumbar adjustment. Heated rear seats are also available.

It offers a panoramic sunroof; an impressive feature usually found standard in luxury vehicles. The connectivity technology found on the Chrysler 300 covers most standard features and includes a 4G LTE WI-FI hotspot that can connect eight mobile devices. It also offers an impressive nine-speaker Alpine premium audio system.

However, it lacks options for many features that are standard or at least available in luxury vehicles. In terms of seating and comfort, most luxury brands offer ventilated and massaging seats or even memory seats.

Regarding driver comfort and convenience, Chrysler offers a leather-wrapped heating steering wheel but lacks more luxurious options like a head-up display. Overall, it provides excellent features as a premium vehicle but not enough to be a luxury one.

Interior

Then there is the interior, a crucial factor for luxury owners. Chrysler fails to deliver an interior that meets the high standards of luxury owners. It’s a fine interior for premium car standards. The Chrysler 300 has a spacious interior with many leather trim options and a radar red performance leather trim option.

The materials available do not create a luxury feel that’s up to the mark; it lacks refinement. It also has limited lighting and ambiance options; it provides sufficient lighting for functionality, but luxury is more than just functionality. It’s about going beyond to please.

Exterior

The exterior and stance of the Chrysler 300 give it a premium look; it finds a balance between sporty and class. It utilizes a Dark Chrome grille and 20” black noise wheels to create its elegant yet athletic exterior. Again a recurring issue would be the limited options; limited trims are available that do not offer impressive upgrades or variations in exterior styling and design.

However, the main drawback of the exterior would be the lack of a signature look, as it may be considered to resemble Rolls-Royce or Cadillac. A confident identity is of the utmost importance in a good luxury brand.

Pinnacle model for Chrysler Pacifica

The Chrysler’s minivan, Pacifica, is available in the Pinnacle trim and makes for an impressive luxury minivan. It gives you a more luxurious interior with its quilted caramel Nappa leather-trimmed seats and satin chrome seat controls paired with a Berber carpet. It makes the spacious interior of a minivan feel exquisite—an excellent option for minivan users who want a more premium or luxurious vehicle.

Capabilities

A defining factor of cars is performance capabilities. Chrysler does well in these terms and offers 363 horsepower, 394 lb-ft of torque, and 0 – 60 mph time of under 6 seconds in its 5.7L Hemi V8 configuration, found in Chrysler 300S V8. The table below showcases the horsepowers of Chrysler’s lineup.

ModelHorsepower
300 Touring292
300 Touring L292
300S V6300
300S V8363
Pacifica287
Pacifica Hybrid260

Chrysler has an incredibly small lineup, meaning that consumers interested in sedans only really have one option, the Chrysler 300. Fortunately, the Chrysler 300 offers some performance options in its trims; it gives you three main options, with the highest performance trim being the Chrysler 300S V8 giving you 363hp.

For those interested in the Chrysler 300, this is an impressive performance option for its price. The minivans offer one performance option for Pacifica and Pacifica Hybrid.

Price And Cost

The starting prices for Chrysler’s lineup models are listed below, along with the specific trim levels.

ModelPrice
300 Touring$32,215
200 Touring L$35,215
300S V6$39,165
300S V8$43,165
Pacifica Touring$37,095
Pacifica Touring L$41,098
Pacifica Limited$49,172
Pacifica Pinnacle$54,167
Pacifica Hybrid Touring L$46,978
Pacifica Hybrid Limited$52,922
Pacifica Hybrid Pinnacle$56,172

In general, luxury cars are considered expensive, with many models costing more than $40,000. As you can see, the Chrysler sedan offers its lowest trim at a starting price of $32,215 and its highest trim at a starting price of $43,165.

This isn’t the most attractive price considering the features and refinement; other brands offer similarly priced vehicles with much better finishing and features. The Pacifica and Pacifica Hybrid prices are more justified considering their higher level of sophistication and the fact that they are much bigger minivans.

Also read: The Complete Cost Of Maintaining A Chrysler

Safety

Safety features have been integrated into every modern vehicle available. Let’s take a look at the most important safety features that Chrysler has to offer.

  • Full-Speed Forward Collision Warning with Active Braking which gives you visible and audible warnings and can apply brakes in an emergency.
  • Pedestrian Automatic Emergency Braking System automatically applies the brakes when required after a pedestrian is detected.
  • LaneSense Lane Departure Warning With Lane Keep Assist which helps you stay in your lane.
  • Blind Spot monitoring system helps detect vehicles in blind spots when changing lanes.
  • Rear Cross Path Detection which helps reverse out of parking spots by detecting cars moving left or right at your rear.

What Chrysler Is Top Of The Line And Why?

The top of the line Chrysler would be its minivan, the Pacifica Pinnacle. In the sections above about luxury features, we focused on the Chrysler 300 which is a luxury sedan. We did this because most luxury owners or car enthusiasts looking to buy luxury cars prefer sedans, coupes, or SUVs.

Thus, we felt that focusing on the luxury sedan, Chrysler 300, would provide a good insight into what Chrysler offers in sedan luxury. However, it’s safe to say that the Pacifica Pinnacle minivan, although not attractive to everyone being a minivan, is their most esteemed vehicle.

The Pacifica starts at $37,095, with the Pacifica Pinnacle being offered at a starting price of $54,167. It comes in AWD and FWD options with a V6 giving you 287 horsepower.

It offers two main luxurious trims: the S appearance package, which gives you black leather-trimmed seats with diesel gray stitching paired with a piano black accent steering wheel, and the Pinnacle exclusive; luxury quilted caramel Nappa leather-trimmed seats with leather pillows, satin chrome seat controls, and Berber carpet.

It offers a passenger volume of 165 cubic feet and an interior cargo volume of 140.5 cubic feet along with available extra storage bins. The Pinnacle provides other convenient and practical features like wireless charging and Stow’n Vac integrated vacuum.

It also offers heated and ventilated driver and passenger seats, 19 speakers, and a sunroof. The Pinnacle offers abundant features, comfort, and refinement, making for a great luxury minivan.   

Where Does Chrysler Rank Amongst Other Luxury Car Brands?

Chrysler doesn’t really make the cut in luxury brands. This is primarily due to its lack of refinement and luxury feel, which is incredibly important for luxury owners. Similarly priced options of other brands like Mazda and Acura provide better refinement and interior options than Chrysler, making them more attractive options.

Thus, Chrysler isn’t able to make its space with attractive pricing either. It could be considered a premium brand instead of a luxury one. Of course, there are also top-of-the-line luxury brands like BMW and Mercedes-Benz, which excel where Chrysler falls short.

It does offer one good luxury option: the minivan, Chrysler Pacifica Pinnacle, but again only caters to a particular consumer. Since it doesn’t make the cut there really isn’t much to say.

Should You Get A Chrysler?

If you’re looking for a luxury sedan, we wouldn’t recommend Chrysler. The best option available in Chrysler’s limited lineup is the Chrysler 300S V8 which provides decent features and milage performance but doesn’t quite achieve the standards of a luxury vehicle, especially in terms of refinement and premium features.

It also has a relatively high price compared to brands like Acura or Mazda, which offer much better features and refinement at a similar price. 

Therefore, if you’re interested in a luxury sedan within a similar budget, Acura and Mazda have some great options; if you’re willing to go higher with the budget, there are always brands like Lexus, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz.

However, if you’re interested in a luxury minivan, then Chrysler may be the brand for you. Many big luxury brands do not offer minivans as a part of their lineup so the Chrysler Pacifica Pinnacle presents a great option.

As we have seen, it provides better features, refinement, and comfort than the available sedan. Moreover, the price of the luxury minivan is in the mid $50,000s, which isn’t particularly cheap but is fitting for an entry-level luxury vehicle.

Sources

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