Considering a 300 have some questions
 

Hi, I will be moving in another two years and I will need a new car considering my old car is 12 years old and it doesn't have the space, power or features I need. I have researched many cars and suv's foreign and domestic and for all the things I want this car comes closest to it. So I have questions about this car and its features. The people on this website seem very knowledgeable and helpful so after searching for a forum for the 300 I have found this. The 300 I plan on getting is the C with AWD, the Hemi, the nav system, etc. So my first question is does the AWD with the Hemi work well in snow and slippery conditions?; the area I'm moving into is going to have heavy snow during the winter so I need this feature. Also I notice their is no visible antenna so does this car have a antenna built into the rear window and how good is the reception? Another thing I notice is that this car has a fuel door without a lip like my present car so does this car have a switch or lever to open the door from the inside? How is the room/visibility in this car? Is the trunk big? Does the beeper come with a button on it to open the trunk and does it just unlock the trunk or does it totally pop open the trunk? Also in the forums I hear their is a remote start is this a feature factory installed, dealer installed or is this something I would have to do after purchasing the car? Also I was wondering if anyone has the rear seat DVD player does it work well and can you have it with the nav system? I also heard this car comes with rain sensing windshield whippers do they work well? I never had the auto a/c either does that work well? Do the side view mirrors fold in? Also does the rear view mirror come with the auto dim feature? Finally how good is the fuel economy and does this car need premium fuel? I'm considering this car over a suv since most suv's fully loaded are expensive, aren't too agile and consume too much fuel. Thanks for the help and I am sorry if I wrote too much because I am eager to find out information on this car and since it will be awhile before I get this car I won't get to ask the dealer these questions for some time.

RE: Considering a 300 have some questions
 

I can answer some of your questions. Don't know about the snow yet. Have heard that it will be ok with the traction control. We have a 300C RWD with all options except power pedals and the rear seat DVD. The antenna is in the rear window. We have not had a problem with reception. The fuel door looks like a locker, but it doesn't. Push on the end of it and it opens. Interior room is awesome. Visibility is Ok, you have to get your seat and mirrors adjusted right. I'm probably going to put a spot mirror on the side mirrors to help with the blind spot. Trunk is OK - the rear seat folds forward easily if you need more room for large objects. The key fob has a trunk button on it, it just unlatches it, you have to pick it up. Don't know about remote start. Rain sensing wipers are OK - kinda hard to get used to. There is a manual wiper mode. Auto AC and heat works good. Mirrors have auto-dim. Manual suggests 89 octane fuel - we use 89 or 93 in ours. Our average mileage, mostly city miles, is about 17.9. The car is not broke in yet - and I ran a couple of tanks of 87 octane fuel through it before I found out about it needing better fuel. So I think it will get better. The Nav system is cool, my only problem with it is that you can't program addresses, etc while moving. This is one of those "anti-dummy" deals so the driver isn't programming it while going down the road. Problem is - the passenger can't use it either. So you have to stop to put in a destination. Other than that it works great. Stereo system ( we have the upgraded one) is awesome. The car has many other features, rear view mirrors tilt down when you put tranny in reverse so you can see the curb, auto-dim headlights, heated memory seats, vehicle information center in the dash, etc. Ours has the Protection Group package with the rear parking sensor, side air bags, self-sealing tires, etc. Rear parking sensor is cool. We have the power sunroof also. It's nice and operates easily. As far as driving it.....what fun! It has a little hesitation in the pedal, but it HAULS ASS! It's hard to describe how much power and acceleration this car has. Steering and handling are tight. This is my wife's car and she absolutely LOVES it! I get to drive it on weekends if I'm nice to her and she's with me...........Go DRIVE ONE! You will be hooked. I looked at Caddys also - the 300C is a better vehicle with more features, for less money. I hope this helps you.

RE: Considering a 300 have some questions
 

Yea thanks man for all the info. This car seems really good and i'll probably get one. Just one with AWD, Rear Seat DVD player and power adjustable pedals since sometimes people other than me and shorter than me will drive it and this feature will make it easier for them to drive.

RE: Considering a 300 have some questions
 

I totally agree with Racinfan. My wife and I were all set to buy a new Cadillac STS and decided to drive the 300C just in case. Suffice it to say, we never made it to the Cadillac dealership.
Here are some observations after driving the 300 for 2.5 months:

I'll never have another car without the Nav system. Even with the exception mentioned by Racinfan, it is a must-have.

I have the rear DVD, and yes, it works fine with the Nav system (although DVD's can't be viewed from the front seat LCD panel). Also, I was hesitant about the value of the Sirius satellite radio, but I must say that I really have learned to love that as well. And the stereo really rocks!!

The trunk is a little small after driving a Concord for 6 years, but the fold-down seats more than make up for it.

We didn't get the AWD, so I can't comment on that. I just got it in August, so I have yet to do any winter driving in it.

The visibility may be an issue depending on what you're coming out of. I agree that the spot mirrors may be a good idea.

As for fuel mileage, I am a little disappointed with that. I just got back from an 800 mile round trip and could only average 23 MPG. The trip was interstate all the way, and I set the cruise to 72 MPH. On the other hand, it is a freakin' 340 hp Hemi, so I guess I shouldn't complain.

They say the 300 has a 120 MPH limiter from the factory, but I'll never know.

In comparison to the STS, the trim in the 300C is not as nice (IMO). The Caddy has way more leather in its trim package, the carpet is noticeably better, and overall is probably built a little better. But it was $8000 more than the 300, so that is probably not a fair comparison. We got everything we could get on the 300C with the exception of the AWD, the real wood trim, and the high-end head light package. Other than that, it's maxed out feature-wise, and still stickered for under $40,000 (albeit barely).

Let us know if you go for it.

-Brad

RE: Considering a 300 have some questions
 

Well I been hearing allot of positives and it seems this is the best car for the class. But I would never get a RWD car, we had two RWD cars back before FWD became the standard and we always had problems with them in the winter and I hear that RWD cars can fishtail. So it's either AWD or bust. But the fuel mileage isn't bad considering you got such a powerful engine, it sounds like it has the same mileage of my present car a 94 Honda Accord with a 4 cylinder engine. But it will be at least a year and a half before we get it. We live in Brooklyn and plan to move to the Poconos and since here we got no drive way or car port were waiting till we live their to get it since we don't want it to get banged up, scratched, stolen or vandalized. But thanks for the input. I also looked at BMW's and Lexus at the same price range of this car, they were very nice, had AWD and had many advanced features like push button start and the special key so the car knows when your near by and allows you to get in to the trunk/doors by pulling on the handles, they even had that cruse control which had radar which knows when your getting to close to somebody and slows the car down automatically. But what they were lacking is that their engines were only a fraction as powerful (the Lexus had around 205 HP and the BMW had 215 HP), plus not to mention they needed premium fuel to get this performance and finally they didn't have as much room. But anyway it don't matter their is a chance than in a year or two the 300 might have these features. Anyway thank you everybody that helped me decided.