Video: 2009 Chrysler 300C SRT8

Now the exterior change for 2009 is a new grille for the SRT8. Now the normal 300 has more of a waffle maker pattern. This is more of a chain-link pattern, which isn't what they call it, but you get the point. It's a smoked chrome look instead of a bright chrome. And it's not real wire mesh like some performance versions have, but it's not bad-looking. The car's a sleeper, not everyone knows that it's a performance car, but if you know what to look for, there's a deeper bumper here, more vents. And the side vents out here to cool the Brembo brakes, which are specific to the SRT8. They have four pistons, larger disks. And you really need that extra stopping power. You need the extra stopping power because of this. Instead of the 5.7 liter Hemi V8 or the V6, the SRT8 has a 6.1 liter version. With 425 horsepower, does zero to 60 in about five seconds. Now another unique performance feature in the SRT8 is a computer. It says performance features. That does a number of things. It'll clock your zero to 60 time, says "Ready". Hit the gas, when you hit 60, it records it, shows it to you. It also has one eighth mile time, quarter mile time, braking distance from speed to zero. And a G-force meter that gets you basically in all directions. Now this car is fun to drive. The engine is extremely powerful. You got rear wheel drive, it jumps off the line, and it sounds terrific. Now there have been suspension changes. The handling is still good, good road holding, but the ride quality is better. Doesn't really give up too much in terms of performance. And if you want to drive this every day and have a performance car, it's quite comfortable. Now it's unfortunate you can't get a manual transmission in this model though. You can get it in some competitors. And it also seems like they tweaked it to make it more efficient this year, and it's a little bit less responsive, but what it's done is given you 19 miles per gallon on the highway instead of 18. That's brought the gas guzzler tax down from $2,100 to $1,700. Unfortunately, the price of the car itself is up almost $2,000. Now this is a large car, you'd expect a large trunk. The specifications are 15 cubic feet, which really is not that much. You've got 20 cubic feet in the tourist, but I gotta say, it seems to me like that's wrong. There's a lot of space in here, and the backseats fold. And in full-sized cars, that is still pretty rare. It's also rare in performance cars. 'Cause sometimes they'll put bracing back there. If you had folding seats, you'll lose them. So I really like the Chrysler 300 SRT8, and I kinda like the 300 also, even though it's not as popular as it was when it first came out. In terms of the things that need updating, that could come pretty soon. It's rumored that the redo, the complete redesign of the 300 will come as early as the 2010 model year. We'll have to wait and see. <v Announcer>For more car-related news, go to cars.com, or our blog, kickingtires.net.