THE GT335 competitor 300c SRT8 is going to be cheaper...

[Rodge]

Poyal, I've going into this with an open mind, very impressed by all the technology and equipment Chrysler have crammed into the car & curious how the package comes together. If I wasn't curious I wouldn't be doing it.

[Grunter]

Got a call from the dealer today and am having a test drive tomorrow morning of the SRT8 300C. Have no interest in buying a 300C, but has the same engine in the upcoming SRT8 Jeep!

Can't compare it directly to the S/C 5.0 (against a tuned F6 should do), but should be interesting to see how it looks (inside particularly), handles and goes.

[mcnews]

Don't think you can compare it to a tuned F6 really mate. The GT335 engine feels a fair bit tame in comparison to a standard FF F6, let alone a tuned F6, actually pretty much anything feels pretty damn tame compared to an F6 coming on boost, lol. Different feel altogether in the 335, and no doubt the SRT different again, but I'm wagering probably best of the lot all round. Until you go to put fuel in it....

But I do get a horn thinking about that amount of power from a huge N/A V8 in the SRT.

The W427 donk is still the ultimate thing ever put in an Aussie car to me, dry sumped seven-litres of goodness, sort of thing you had wet dreams about when a kid!

[Grunter]

Yep agree Trev, but will still be interesting to see how it stacks up in the interior and handling department. Also interested to see how it compares to the previous SRT8.

[Rodge]

SC donk needs at least 2,000 km's on it before it starts to give its best. Be interesting to hear your thoughts on the SRT8 Grunter. I know the SRT8 I'm driving tomorrow is a pre-production unit that has been used as a press car In N.Z. so should have been loosened-up a bit. Whether I allowed enough latitude to give it a decent belting is another matter so for goodness sake if you get the chance to really open it up, take it !!

[Norpus]

The Harmon kardon sound system will be v good. I was surprised how much better on the benz than the g6et system which I regarded as ok

No doubt the sound system under the bonnet will likely be impressive too

[Grunter]

Went out to test drive the SRT8 300C this morning, but it was raining when I arrived. I decided I couldn't really test it out properly (aka give it heaps) in the rain, so will go back when the weather is a bit more friendly in the next couple of days.

It looks a lot better in the flesh (they have a black one) than I expected (be that off a low base to start). The front end is a lot more subtle than the previous model, but still has a bit of agro about it. Side profile looked the same to me and I'm not a fan of the rear lights with the pin striping around them. Overall to me it's an improvement in looks over the previous model.

Interior is a metric **** ton better than the previous one! Fit and finish to me looks good and the carbon fibre look trim gives it all that performance feel. The dash and ICC are fantastic looking. The ICC (EVIC) screen is a monster in size and does dominate the dash, but the blue glow from the gauges and matching ICC, gives the interior a top notch looking appearance. Steering wheel is meaty in the hand and the front sport seats seem to have good support and I think will be good for the twisties even if the car isn’t.

The EVIC system itself is very good and easy to use and has all the goodies you can imagine, with everything you’d expect to find, including the "performance" set-up ala the HSV's, with additional gauges available for oil pressure, temps, tyre pressures, etc. plus g-meter, 0-100, 1/4 mile timings, etc.

The standard features are very impressive. For those that like sunroofs, it comes with a panoramic jobbie that literally runs from the front to the back of the roof. Some of the stand outs to me listed below:

Heated/ventilated front seats, heated rear seats and heated steering wheel
Heated/cooled cup holders (never thought about this, but now want them!) ;)
Voice activated Bluetooth phone system, and also has voice commands for the ghetto blaster.
Frontal Collision System
Adaptive Cruise Control
19 speaker sound system.

The stereo system is a ripper (reckon you’ll love it Roger). The Harman Kardon system sounds great (as it should) and in comparison to the Falcon is a hell of a lot better than Ford's "Premium" sound system. Easy to use and connects with the iPod and iPhone I tested. For the doof doof lovers it's a little light on in the subwoofer dept., but still better than what I'm used to.

There are a lot of features for the money, and it really does show the Aussie Ford and Holden up in this area. But funnily even with all the goodies it has (and given I haven’t driven it yet), it didn’t really grab me. For my tastes I just can’t get past the look. It doesn’t look bad, but the front looks a little out of place and the rest of it looks the same as the old one (same wheels as well).

Walking back to my F6 and getting back into it, I didn’t feel any disappointment. Sure I’d love all the gadgets and goodies (and can’t wait to get my SRT8 Jeep next month) in the FPV, but in reality the “vibe” of the 300C isn’t for this boy. Felt great to get back into the F6 to be honest.

It’s worth going down to your dealer to check one out if only to see the interior and features. Will add in more after I've actually driven the thing.

[Rodge]

Hey Grunter, thanks for that, I enjoyed your comments. Weather was dry here, salesman was a former John Andrew Ford one that I know from days gone by and I knew I could have some latitude with driving it enthusiastically, so I was locked an loaded. Here's my review, hope you guys enjoy it.

2012 CHRYSLER SRT8 DRIVE REVIEW

The last few months has seen a bit of chatter on here regarding the extensive kit and technology in the new
Chrysler's and questioning whether this new model will be a formidable competitor for the established large car
manufacturers.

I guess I was as surprised as many others by the pricing and technology and curious as to how the car comes together
as a package. Curiosity got the better of me and I decided to have a look.

I have to somewhat sheepishly confess I went into this with pretty low expectations, have to put my hand up and
admit I evaluated the previous model with its diesel engine way back in 2007 when we were looking for a luxury
cruiser and found it the consummate "American Tank" entirely unsuited to the very hilly area we live in with its one
thousand and one corners and bumpy pot holed roads.

So how would the new model with its adjustable suspension cope with what are ostensibly conditions it wasn't even
expressly designed to handle ? Average at best was my initial pre-determined thinking and besides the styling is so
retro and hideous they should almost be handing out free boxes of airline vomit bags to all buyers, or so I thought.

As you can see I went into this with a mixture of things I liked, (all the technology at such a gob-smacking
reasonable price), but some genuine reservations. How does it compare to my SC GT-P ?

I decided to rate the two cars with points for each section dependent on how relatively important I feel each aspect is
to the others, very subjective I know and of course everyone will have their own theories how important various
aspects of the two cars attributes are in relativity to each other which if given different weights would naturally give
a materially different result.

First Impressions / Exterior Styling (Maximum 10 Points)
Sitting on the showroom floor was a brand new un-driven black one all shined up and looking much better in the
metal than I had imagined it would. Somehow the front of the vehicle didn't look so bad with its deep spoiler and
led's shaping around in a C shape, the black matt grille looked substantially less prominent than the OTT chrome
ones in other models and the rear spoiler enhanced an otherwise slightly awkward angular rear profile. Okay, no
need for the vomit bags then.
Exterior Styling 5/10 (SC GT-P 7.5/10)

Interior Fit and Finish (Max 10 Points)
Extremly well appointed, (I'll post a link to another gentleman's video review and he really goes into it in great detail
and there's little further value I can add to his review), other than to mention the appointments and technology I
especially enjoyed.
In terms of the interior fit and finish I noted a well shaped bulky race style steering well, very soft to touch and with
excellent feel, (heated of course), excellent for getting a good handle on things on cold winter mornings like the one
experienced today, real carbon fibre trim, nappa leather seats, heated ventilated and cooled, well padded with decent
amounts of lateral support, sort of halfway between the soft ones of a GT-E and the very firm supportive seats of a
GT-P. Certain to be a good compromise that I'm sure most people would find extremely comfortable and
supportive.
Leather surfaces were nappa, perforated, with suede inserts I'd prefer nappa leather all round but hey we're all
different. Leather dashboard door tops and from memory leather on some other surfaces was a nice touch but
definitely not in the same class or quality as top line Euro's, but a great effort nonetheless and certainly a first in this
price category for any large car here. A noticeable squeak made itself known on the drive which leaves assembly
quality and tightness of the interior fit and finish as an open unresolved question.
Score 8.5/10 (SC GT-P 7.5/10)

Technology and Equipment Maximum 15 Points (Stereo Scored Separately)
See this Gentleman's extensive video commentary on the features of this car.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRkzk4lE490 What can I add to that ???
Well unless you've been beamed back in time or travelled back on the Delorian you'd have to be most unreasonable
to possibly expect Chrysler to cram more technology in to the car than they already have.
I noted, (very, very deep breath), bi-xenon headlights, which are directional, self levelling and auto high / low beam,
adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring, adjustable suspension, adjustable heated, cooled and ventilated seats
with multi adjust-ability every which-way including two position memory settings, heated and cooled cup holders,
powered steering wheel with a high level of adjustment, ambient lighting, standard reverse camera, 8.4 inch touch
screen with excellent clarity quick response, excellent fast acting GPS system with live real time speed and a range
of other latest technology items the list of which is frankly just stunning. There's heaps more technology than what
I've mentioned, see the link to the video review for an in-depth look at the STR8. Technology and features are
easily the Chrysler's strongest aspect and frankly is makes the kit in an FPV quite spartan by comparison.
Score 15/15 (SC GT-P 10/15)

Stereo (Maximum 5 points)
I rank this separately as its important to me and is the primary form of on-road entertainment unless my wife
happens to be in a co-operative mood, but best we don't go there
19 Speakers, Harmon Kardon, need I say more...just go and listen and prepare to blow your ear drums to bits

Score 5/5 (FPV 2.5/5)

Engine / Driveline / Handling / Braking / Performance Strap yourself in and be prepared for a surprise. Brief Drive review:-
So we eased off into the traffic and the characteristic Hemi burble was humming away, hmmm, not too bad I
thought. Get to the first corner and hello where's the characteristic American tank handling AWOL that's where, it
just didn't exist. Nice...on to the motorway and its cruise time, lest have a play with that adaptive cruise, set up for
100 k.p.h. and set to number two of the three different distance settings which is two seconds to the vehicle in front,
brilliant easy cruising, very comfortable, adaptive cruise reacts brilliantly when someone pulls into the two second
gap I've set and brakes firmly but not too uncomfortably so as to re-establish the required gap with the minimum of
fuss and no effort on my behalf. Very quiet, acoustic glass all round so I'm told. Very nice experience so far.
Smooth shifting from the five speed auto gearbox that's an adaptive unit but by any stretch of the imagination its no
match for intuitiveness of precision of the six speed ZF in the FPV cars. Finally we get to some twisties that I'd been
driving towards for ages, a favourite eight kilometre stretch of black-top that's pretty close to where I live, this will
be where the suspension is found out surely ???

No lets be fair to this car I'm thinking to myself, into the touch-screen menu and select the sport mode suspension,
(which makes a noticeable difference no question) and also speeds the accelerator and transmission response, so
were into it and is where's the excessive body roll I was expecting AWOL again, simply not there, where's the
bumps unsettling the suspension through the corners, nope, no problems there...there's got to be some archilles heal
surely ????, well there sort of is, there's the extra 190 kg's of weight to contend with which makes itself known when
flicking between a series of corners, changing direction is not quite as good as the FPV, turn in not quite as good
either, well balanced through the corners though and holds a good line and the chassis seems to cope well with the
smooth linear delivery of 340 odd kw's of good old Hemi muscle and then there's the characteristic good old Hemi
sound that many of us including myself love. Importantly body roll is no more pronounced than with a SC FPV
which was a genuine surprise to me.

Four pot brembo's all round with decent sized slotted, (not drilled) rotors provided good stopping power but I prefer
the fantastic feel and superb ability to modulate out the braking power accorded by the FPV's six pot Brembo's
which are materially better in my opinion. All in with its ability to materially change the suspension settings to
convert the Chrysler into a very capable luxury cruiser, (which is if people are really being honest with themselves
and few really are, is how they drive the vast majority of the time), you'd have to give the suspension handling thing
as a win to the Chrysler mainly as a result of its decent really comfortable but still well controlled ride in the normal
suspension setting and not materially inferior handling in the firm setting as compared to the FPV. Now there's the
big surprise of the review right there !! A win overall for the ride / handling / suspension in the Chrysler, well I'll be
dammed. Brakes and performance are a narrow-ish win to the to the FPV and the drivelive a resounding win to the
incumbent performance hero as the 6 speed ZF is light years ahead of the ageing five speed box in the Chrysler.

So scoring this section separately -Performance 20 pointsSTR8's a big heavy car powered by a fantastic and raunchy 6.4 Hemi engine. 0-100 and quarter mile times are very,
very similar as has been reported in the many reviews and any difference in outright performance between this, the
SC FPV and the F6 is truly splitting hairs stuff in outright acceleration terms but the forced induction FPV pair have
on-road performance anywhere, any revs, any time that the Hemi can't match and in addition the Hemi is saddled up
with a not inconsiderable weight disadvantage. I rate the performance aspect of the Chrysler as very good at 16/20
and the FPV pair at 18/20.

HandlingSorry due to its adjustability and the ability to provide very comfortable almost limousine type ride in the standard
setting I have to be objective and give this as a very marginal win to the Chrysler, I accept others may have a
different call on this but my FPV is a daily and 90%+ of its use is just regular city driving so comfort and versatility
as far as I am concerned is a valuable virtue. SRT8 8.5/10 FPV 8/10

Driveline / GearboxSRT 2/5 (FPV 5/5)

BrakesSRT8 4/5 FPV fitted with 6/4 Brembo's 5/5

Value for MoneyAny way you slice and dice it what we have here is the classic outcome of the efficiencies of world wide mass
manufacturing vs small niche manufacturer who can't hope to compete on a value for money basis.
There's almost ludicrous level's of kit and technology in the Chrysler much of which has previously been the
preserve of high end Euro';s costing several times the price.
Its impossible to score the Chrysler at anything less than 10/10 in this regard.
Does that make the FPV cars bad value for money ? I'd argue not. There unique blend of extra hard performance,
lighter weight, slightly crisper handling when pushing on and good level's of kit in area's that count for serious
performance motoring hasn't previously been available elsewhere in the market for the money asked.
I still rate the FPV cars as fair to good value for money. 7.5/10

Resale and Servicing Maximum 10 points.
Six monthly servicing requirements for the SRT8 are something of a surprise these days..
Resale value for the Chrysler brand has been a real bloody shocker historically and as resale value in particular and
servicing costs to a more limited extent are really major factors that affect the overall cost of ownership over a
typical three year ownership cycle I rank them as quite important considerations.
FPV SC V8's are not cheap to service by any stretch of the imagination but at least its only once a year and resale
according to Red book and my own experience has been very, very good.
On the other hand I'm rating the Chrysler's resale and servicing costs very low based on my perception of how I think
that will turn out but acknowledge this is a very subjective area and there are bound to be very wide variances in
people's opinion.
SRT8 2/10 FPV 8/10

God's honest truth I haven't added this up as I go so what have we got.
Chrysler SRT8 76/100 SC vs FPV GT-P 79/100So there you have it, its very, very close, much closer than I thought going into this. The Chrysler impresses as an
extremly well equipped and capable vehicle fitted with a vast array of latest technology that would make a superb
grand tourer or every day city ride and all at a very reasonable price for a large car. If you like its styling and are
prepared to accept the shortcomings of the ageing gearbox then my advice would be "Don't Hold Back" otherwise
waiting till the 8 speed ZF's on board will result in quicker acceleration, better fuel economy, (ZF are claiming a
whopping 14% improvement for this box compared to traditional five speed auto's) so with its variable cylinder
management (which is a bit of a pain in the backside to be honest in its operation), we could see the combined cycle
fuel consumption of the SRT8 drop from 13L/100 km's down into the low-mid 11's !!Interesting that it would only take a minor change in perception to something like exterior styling or re-sale value
and any other prospective buyer could easily have the Chrysler as the lead contender. As such, I'd suggest in my
opinion the SRT8 poses a serious and highly credible alternative to the established Australian performance cars.

Interestingly by my own scoring if the widely rumoured 8 speed ZF becomes available on the SRT8 next year I
would have to change the relative scoring on the gearbox driveline to 5/5 for the Chrysler and they'll then be a dead
heat at 79 / 100 each !! If I were then to extrapolate the above comparison by factoring is some scoring for fuel
economy I could have the Chrysler as the lead contender myself and that's before factoring in the enhanced real world performacne the better box would confer. My brand loyalty may be very seriously challanged next year.

Unsurprisingly I'll be re-evaluating the SRT8 when the new gearbox is released. By then my car will be 2 1/2 years
old and I'll be approaching the 3 year typical change-over period. Keeping my powder dry till then. Hope you've
enjoyed my review. Please be kind, this has taken a lot of time and I'm not a professional writer and have never
pretended to be so take it easy with your critique.
Cheers.

[xcopbf]

I'm in the market for a new car to go under our company, the FG is for weekends. I'm going to really consider the 300C as always like them, will be test driving the SRT version Saturday morning. Think it's a great alternative to a FPV or HSV, best part will be that there won't be as many as the other 2 on the road.

[MAGPIE]

Great review Rodge, I'm just wondering how the GT-P scored 10/15 for tech & equipment

[Rodge]

http://www.drivesrt.com/2012/300-srt/8/

I think that's a fair question Magpie.
TBH I think the SC GT-P has a fair bit of what really counts and a rating of 10/15 is obviously a two thirds rating. I'm looking at it from the current MK2 versions kit, (not my Mk 1 version). 8 inch touch screen, significantly improved GPS system, very clear reverse camera, super laterally supportive perforated leather seats, (debateable whether these should be included in interior fit and finish or not but as far as i'm concerned IMO they're arguably the best feature of the entire car and I'd go so far as to say they're the best seats I've ever had so I'd debate they're a vital part of the cars key gear. Bluetooth Ipod connectivity, projector headlights e.t.c., you know its a debateable point but I reckon its reasonable to make the assertion the GT-P has a reasonable level of kit, you might score it a bit lower, perhaps significantly so but 10/15 is where I see it. 7-8/15 for my MK1 version, no standard GPS or reverse camera, how mean was that !!!

[mcnews]

And Chrysler 2 versus 8 for FPV for resale/service! Reads pretty good though, just that the old point score thing has always sucked in reviews and always will.

The GT-P seats thing must certainly be love or hate Rodge. You love them, pretty much all the dealers I spoke to hated them.

[Erko]

good review Rodge, and confirms what i have been suspecting...i've been following the US reviews for what seems like a year. test drive booked for saturday.

[Rodge]

On the 2/ 8 thing.
Resale on the previous SRT8 and Chrysler models has been arguably the second worst in the entire motor industry from what I've heard, second only to certain models of Citreon, namely the C6. My re-sale experience on FPV's has been extremly favourable by normal motor vehicle industry standards, (I only wish I was half as fortunate with the Merc and have copped a real beating with that puppy), anyway as i'm sure everyone realises resale percentage is the single biggest factor in considering overall cost of ownership, that's why I rated FPV at 8 and the SRT8 at 2. Six monthly service requirements is also a serious pain in the butt and an un-necessary milking of consumers wallets IMO so that's another point or two lost.

People buying an SRT8 now and paying retail can expect a serious beating IMO especially given that next years model will be a fair bit quicker with the new 8 speed box along with significantly more fuel efficient.

Points thing might not be to everyone's taste but its my way of differentiating the various aspects of the cars attributes and their value to me and similar sorts of systems are still widely used by many leading motoring magazines. People inclined too value latest technology highly could easily rate that as 20% of the cars overall weighting and if they scored the SRT8 at 20/20 which would be a fair call IMO and the FPV at an average rating of 10/20 because it didn't have the latest gizmo's they'd have the SRT8 in front.

Honestly I didn't add it up as I went and was surprised it was so close.

With the model mix as it stands I reckon the most compelling model is the 300 Luxury with the petrol 3.6. The 3.6 engine is a smooth unit, spins freely to its 7,000 r.p.m. red line and is well matched to the 8 speed ZF replete with steering wheel paddle shifters.
Comes with 90-95% of the kit of an SRT8 and in N.Z. is just on $20,000 cheaper. About 100 kg's less weight and fuel use is good at 9.4 L/100 km's.

I can see a few guys asking themselves if they really need a V8 what with fuel prices and all. Why not go a little less rapidly, what's wrong with 7.0 seconds to 100 k.p.h. use a third less fuel and cruise comfortably with your adaptive cruise control, while listening to your 19 speaker Harmon Kardon sound system and drinking your favourite beverage from your heated and cooled cup holders ? Sounds pretty damm fine to me....maybe I'm just getting older

[dingdong555]

I wonder how the SRT8 would go compared to a GTSC with a $1000 tune....

[Rodge]

Both cars are tuneable, I don't really see that as all that relevant, best to compare stock to stock besides there's rumours of SC Hemi power next year. But yeah, if making north of 400 rwkw's is high on one's list of objectives then certainly it would be a comfortable win to the SC FPV at present.

[Rodge]

^^Thanks for your "most professional" contribution.

[Grunter]

Great review Roger. Got me itching for the drive now.

[PHawk]

You didn't fail to produce a comprehensive and unbiased review Rodge. Thanks for spending the time and effort doing this review, I'm sure everyone on this forum greatly appreciate the effort you have gone to!! Great stuff

[johnson]

great review. this is just my personal opinion.One day when you hop in your car and youdecide you only want 2pedals instead of 3, yourdriving along and you want the car to do most or all of the work for you, you think i want more gadgets to play with,you look across at your wife and she's got the blue rinse in her hair, you know it's time for a chrysler.

[Rodge]

Originally Posted by PHawk

You didn't fail to produce a comprehensive and unbiased review Rodge. Thanks for spending the time and effort doing this review, I'm sure everyone on this forum greatly appreciate the effort you have gone to!! Great stuff

Thanks Phil and others. It was a most enjoyable day, only wish in hindsight I'd had time to edit my review a bit better.

Further random thoughts / info upon reflection.
Steering feel on the SRT8 isn't quite as feelsome as on the FPV's.
Foot operated parking brake is a throw-back to years gone by and is awkward in its operation as there's a reasonably pronounced intrusion into the drivers footwell area due to what I understand is the transmission tunnell.
I've subsequently found out the urban fuel consumption of the SRT8 and its 20.4L/100 km's and requires 98 Octane so only those with deep pockets should consider this as an urban daily driver.

Still there's a lot to like and I'd speculate with the 8 Speed ZF I would adjust the scoring as follows:
Re-sale add 2 points, (I expect resale with the 8 speed will be significantly better)
Transmission, add 3 points to take it to the maximum of 5.
Performance - Add 1-2 points, there's no doubt it'll be quicker with the new box.
So that would put the SRT8 with 8 speed at approx 82.5 points vs 79 for the MK2 FPV GT-P. Obviously FPV need to move the game on to retain their customers and it sounds like they are but whether that's enough remains to be seen. Some of us would prefer latest technology over even more overt performance and I'm not sure FPV understand this...and obviously they are handicapped by what's in the core Falcon product. Adaptive cruise and blind sopt detection in particular can't come soon enough for Falcon's and FPV's better spec'd models.

Everyone sees things through a different set of eye's so I'm really looking forward to hearing other people's thoughts on their drive experience.

[edwin]

Guys I had a look online for the 300 SRT.

With the price drop, have they dropped specifications

Reason being was, didn't the old 300C SRT have big Brembos all round on it. The brochure doesn't mention it and the picture looks like its got smaller brakes

Also the new 300C doesn't look like a thug like the old one

[Rodge]

I understand it has vetilated slotted 360 and 350 mm disc's, front, rear respectivly Edwin being clamped by four pot brembo's all round, not sure how that compares to the previous one, but these are bigger rotors than FPV use.
I dount anyone would overheat them even in the most spirited driving possible on public roads.

Just a note of Caution to prospective buyers:-
The vehicle I drove came with premium leather trim on the dashboard, above the instrument cluster and in certain other area's that was very nice but I was informed this was a N.Z.$2,850 "option" The reason that's in inverted commars is that I was told this option was compulsory for our market

Surely if this bizarre situation is correct then its not an option at all and Chrysler are misrepresenting the retail price ?

Perhaps the salesman had this wrong ? Surely that's the case. It would be good if one or two of you guys about to test drives could look into this for the benifet of other interested members.

[GTP534]

The leather package is for the dash, centre console and door armrests; here it's a $2200 option. In the USA it's about $2700 I believe. The Black Chrome package is $1500, almost double that in the USA. Metallic paint is a $500 cost. The on the road price I was given for that was $84990 (business registration). I'm not sure how much the sunroof is.

The dealer I popped in to had a customer car in the showroom, White colour with sunroof, Black Chrome package and leather package. He'd ordered it early and paid $80K; the dealer honoured the price he had quoted.

Sounded great, seemed fairly well built. Looks a lot better in the flesh. Unfortunately, couldn't have a drive as car was sold. Their "stock" SRT8, meaning floor stock, arrives in a couple of weeks and I might have a drive then.

By the way, thanks for your review Rodge. One thing, did it feel fairly "solid"? You know, the doors close with a satisfying "thunk", that sort of thing?

[Rodge]

Thanks for that info mate.
Felt solid on the road apart from one annoying rattle from the rear somewhere that made itself known on coarse chip surfaces. Doors didn't close with an especially resounding thunk you'd get on a top line Euro but not too bad... and certain interior items such as the super light and cheap feeling glovebox as one example, are a fair way behind the established premium brands, as was the leather dashboard trim finishing, which certainly isn't worth the fairly hefty asking price. I e.mailed the sales representative this morning to clarify the position on whether the dashboard "optional" leather is complusory and will provide the answer as soon as I hear back.

Only time will tell if its better nailed together than the incumbent Australian performance hero's.

[GTP534]

Thanks Rodge,

Agree on the leather, very overpriced, as is the Black Chrome package. The customer who pre-ordered got a great deal and it was good the dealer honoured the deal.

Just this morning I took the Territory in for the warranty work (minor only but the parts weren't available 2 weeks ago when it had the 45K Service), they have given me an FG II XR6 with LPG as a courtesy car. It feels so solid and strong. Why oh why aren't Ford pushing their cars! They have a great range but I fear "Falcon" as a name is on the nose due to its age and the buying demographic has changed. So sad really!

Cheers!

[Rodge]

So just updating you guys on the leather dash thing I was told was a "compulsory" $2,800 option, turns out this was just a salesman running away with his mouth...probably just trying to get a quick sale on the black one in the showroom which had the other over-priced option the black chrome wheels.

[ED Classic]

Hopfully theyve fixed the quality. I know 2 people that have voyagers and 1 the previous model of this and they all became twice as rattley and noisy after only a few years like auusie cars 25 years ago

[Rodge]

^^And that as they say is the $64,000...opps sorry, $66,000 dollar question.

[Erko]

Quoted 74,900 on the road for SRT8 with optional paint (pearl white) and black chrome pack yesterday. Concur with most of Rodges comments. It feels very solid on the road and interior is fantastic....features are frankly unbelievable. In a different class to FPV. Certainly the vibe is more luxury car than FPVs sports sedan type focus, but there would be very little in it on the track. Couldn't properly test the adaptive suspension in suburban environs but can confirm the ride firms up. General impression is it's a huge amount of car for the $$....with an 8 speed it would be fantastic