Imagine this but much more beat up and way overpriced. It was in the wholesale lot at a local dealership so I went by to drive it around a little. Diver front end was mushed up, passenger door handle missing, some interior bits were just gone, the dashboard was a Christmas tree (lol MY2005 things), and it hat 140k. This thing had seen some shit.

So I sat down expecting the interior from my mom’s ‘06 PT Cruiser but, surprisingly instead of a hard plastic dashboard like I thought and it looked in the pictures it was a rubbery sort of soft material textured to look like [generic cowhide texture number 03]. Most of the switchgear felt fairly skookum and the window switches didn’t wiggle around a bunch or anything. Windows went up and down smoothly and automatically, sunroof opened with a buzz, despite the CEL the engine started right up and the A/C started blowing cold. I was... impressed?

Hit the road to the sound of “clunk clunk” from the front suspension. I was told that was an issue on older cars and usually sway bar related. But damn once we got to highway speed, coming from a Miata and riding there in my mom’s Saturn Sky I was just a bit blown away. For how cheap these are used (in more reliable 2007-2010 model years) I am astonished at how competent they are. Super smooth and dead silent, the sound system was pretty damn great, the seats were like Buick couches but with tiny little bolsters that at least make a vague effort to keep you centered while you (lol) go around corners. It handled like a barge but turn-in was quick which gave it a perception of better handling than it had.

Accleration was... brisk? It didn’t *feel* super fast but there could have been engine troubles because CEL. Torquey though. Got up to 75 in an entertaining manner.


Annoyingly the 300 was better than my beloved early 2000s FWD Buicks in pretty much every way, leading me to a crisis of faith.

I want one tho.

TL;DR gonna buy a 300c later this year JUST TRY AND STOP ME FUCKERS.