Holden Commodore is in Chrysler's sights as it prepares new 300 range with sharper st

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Holden Commodore is in Chrysler's sights as it prepares new 300 range with sharper style and pricing.

Chrysler says it’s preparing to take on the all-conquering Holden Commodore in the sales race with a refreshed version of its 300C due to arrive in Australia next year.

Ford this week waved the white flag in the Falcon’s pursuit of the lead in the large car sales race that Commodore has held for 15 years, conceding it could never catch its rival. It has also not guaranteed the car’s future beyond the current model’s expected retirement in 2015.

And while Chrysler Australia chief executive Clyde Campbell isn’t counting on toppling the evergreen Holden in the short term, he believes aggressive pricing and less-polarising styling will help the new 300C (which may drop the “C” as it is now known internationally as the 300) find wider appeal than its predecessor in the diminishing family car market.

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“We’re pretty bullish about the prospects for that car here,” Campbell says. “We’re being able to take advantage of pretty favourable trading prospects between us and the country of manufacture at the moment.”

The current 300C base model kicks off from $40,000 (plus on-road costs), just $10 more than the entry-level Commodore Omega, but Chrysler is determined to seize the pricing advantage.

“It will certainly come in cheaper than the previous model, and with more equipment. That will see us go head to head with some of the more traditional players in that segment and increase volume,” he says.

The original 300C was a cult hit when it arrived in Australia in 2004 with its distinctive three-box shape and gangster styling.

The new model was unveiled earlier this year at the Detroit motor show. It retains the original’s outrageous metal-to-glass ratio and unfashionably squared-off silhouette, but has a much more corporate appearance and a redesigned interior.

“The looks are still pretty iconic,” Campbell says. “It’s less different than previous model was, but it provides a genuine point of difference for someone who is looking to stand out from the crowd a bit and have a bit more refinement and luxury than perhaps they perceive in some of the traditional offerings.

“It’s still very much a 300C. It’s revolutionary technology, and evolutionary in shape and design. But it’s certainly more refined, and deliberately designed to appeal to a broader market on a global basis. It’s less polarising, for want of a better word, and we certainly think it’s going to bring some numbers to the showrooms.”

The new 300 range will arrive in Australia with a choice of a “Pentastar” petrol V6 mated to an eight-speed automatic, or a turbo diesel V6 - the same engines as those used in Jeep’s Grand Cherokee.

Unlike the Commodore and the current 300C, though, a petrol V8 isn’t a walk-up starter for the new range.

“The V8 we haven’t planned for at this stage, we’re still trying to map out what the volume case for that is,” Campbell says. “It seems the buying public has moved away from that a fair bit, V8s in that size car.”