The Chrysler 300 is gaining some precious metal as the newest member of the "Platimnum Trim" club. In addition to the new top-end trim level Chrysler has added freshened ends, an eight-speed automatic for V8-engine models, more features and connectivity to the classic Motown (made in Canada, by the way) luxury sedan. However, whether it was to make room for the platinum trim or simply due to a lack of enthusiast interest, there will is no 2015 SRT version of the 300.

Disclosure: Travel, accommodations, meals, and a predetermined route were provided to the author by the automaker. Vehicles driven were U.S. specification but Canadian versions are expected to be of identical performance.

New nose, new butt, so what?

The new trim may be called Platinum, but the 2015 Chrysler 300 is heavy metal in the best sense. The sheet-metal hasn’t changed like the Dodge Charger’s and remains the buff four-door it’s always been. A forward wedge is pronounced in profile, and few rear-drive sedans hunker down over the front wheels so well, seemingly stretched just to cover them.

A new nose adds a larger main grille aperture with more apparent angle and the Chrysler wings floating on it. Headlight contours are familiar but the LED jewelry is updated and most models with front fog lamps use LED for those as well. Chrome corner slivers are gone, yielding more acreage of painted surfaces outboard and a continuous slash of paint across the entire nose. Previously segmented fog light nacelles and lower grille are replaced by a single section.

Out back is similar simplification: Chrysler wings, a bumper-top trim piece functional and aesthetic, and wide tailpipe outlets that might have pinched from a Jaguar XJ. All the rear lighting elements are LED, though I think it’d have been more trick if they used bi-color LED for turn indicators and brake lights.

The 300S gets handsome 20-inch wheels, a substantial rear spoiler and black out trim virtually everywhere—only the outer wings and tailpipes escape. Should you prefer solar heating, you can order the roof (including the shark fin antenna) painted black as well. On Platinum models much of the bright exterior trim is matte-finish, not unlike the aluminum-style finish Audi applies on their S models.

It’s a handsome car, and the sentiment from many 300 owners is that they don't give a damn what anyone else thinks.

Classic luxury

Primary changes inside include a new control panel, instruments, steering wheel, shifter, and the Platinum’s extensive luxury upgrade: my uncle the animal-husbandry professor has likely never seen this much cow inside any car this side of a Bentley or Rolls-Royce.

Base model 300s get high-back cloth seats, but at the next level, you get leather upholstery and thickly padded thrones that make old aviation seats look slim, never mind modern articulated hammocks. And those in back sacrifice nothing for room.

The steering wheel is shared with the 200, and has a nice button layout that doesn’t assume we all have third-graders’ thumbs. Beyond it are revised gauges with a seven-inch configurable display between. One complaint is the blue illumination that makes it look like a jeweller’s display case: it’s good for appearance but not for nighttime vision and recovery.

Despite adding more buttons and more features, the controls and touchscreen are as easy, if not moreso, to operate than in the previous generation. The dash clock still echoes the grille’s geometry, there’s an elegant sweep to the console and little glare. Climate and audio controls have nice shape and feel, but leave a fair amount of open panel around them, and the rotary shifter (which replaces the inverted golf putter that frustrated me more than any golf course) also looks like a less-than-ideal use of space. It’s not unattractive, just leaves you wondering what might have been.

The Platinum trim ladles on the fancy stuff, including upgraded leather that covers the dash and door panels as well. It’s stitched in a quilted design that opens to a more traditional vertical weave on the seats, and applied horizontally from the dash rearward on the doors. It’s also offered in some striking color schemes you’d expect from a British luxury maker, not Detroit.

The only thing at odds here is the heated steering wheel: the two shades of leather warm the hands, but that matte-finish trim strip around the periphery feels as cold as the outside door handles.

Modern tech

Chrysler’s UConnect 8.4-inch touchscreen is the default setup, with Bluetooth hands-free, SiriusXM for a year, and a media hub with SD card slot. Audio systems remain as before, from a 276-watt, six-speaker setup to harman/kardon’s 900-watt, 12-channel, 19-speaker reproductive arrangement. Expanding in-your-face attitude to in your ears as well, the S comes with a 552-watt Beats jukebox with subwoofer.

Uconnect has been updated. Where before it announced a sender and text, you can now reply with semi-canned message, it’ll read it back to you error-checking, then send it hands free. US models (Canada, not yet, at publication) have integrated Yelp, on-demand wifi, Aha, iHeartRadio, Slicker and Pandora.

Adaptive cruise control is now full-stop capable; when it stays stopped for two seconds, tap “resume” to reactivate. Forward collision warning has mitigation braking (degree dependent on speed), and sensitivity for lane-departure and lane-keeping is adjustable.

Some of these systems are optional, but they all appear to help more than annoy as some do.

All for six, two for eight

Every 300 now comes with the 3.6-liter V6 engine and eight-speed automatic standard. The V8 option also gets the eight-speed for 2015, but the bigger motor no longer offers AWD. Although the AWD system is transparent and on-demand, engaging Sport mode switches it to full-time.

Suspension has been mildly recalibrated and alignment settings rejiggered, keeping the 300 a stable, hushed cruiser. It’ll get down a challenging road with surprising verve given its soothing demeanor, but you’d not want to consider it the equal of a more sporting sedan like a Jag XF or Audi S6. S models have decidedly firmer suspension for a larger performance increase than ride comfort decrease, so a V8 S is as close as you’ll get to the SRT.

All 300 models get electric-assist steering to help with fuel economy and make maneuvering easier. I didn’t get to try a 2014 back-to-back, but the 2015 feels just as good as before and increases effort with cornering load, and it doesn’t have the characteristic free-wheeling feel while exercising the wheel in a tight parking lot. There’s not much road feel but this seems appropriate in the luxury mission, and you can change the effort through touchscreen menus.

With 292 horses (an even 300 in S trim) and 260 lb-ft of torque, you’ll have to give the V6 accelerator a good prod for serious motivation, but the transmission’s lost some its laziness and better matches the torque deficit to the 1,828-kg minimum weight. The payoff is fuel economy rated 12.4/7.7 L/100 km (city/highway). I tend to do better on the highway but worse in the city; all-wheel drive will cost you almost a litre on the highway, less than half in the city.

The 5.7-litre V8 gets a minor bump in economy with the new eight-speed, but it’s quicker at virtually any speed given the added cogs. I more notice the sound and effortlessness from an additional 134 lb-ft of torque than I do the extra 63 horses, and I know few people who can match the 14.8 l/100 city consumption.

Big car, big value

I think a $40,095 S a better buy than a $37,395 Touring, and the Platinum makes a decent argument at $44,000, probably not quite $50,000 all tarted up. Add $2,200 for all-wheel drive, or more for a Hemi because it includes stouter brakes, transmission and other bits. Since the Chevrolet SS isn’t sold here, that leaves the Charger as the sole direct domestic competitor, and the 300 fits adults better figuratively and literally. Hyundai’s new Genesis is a worthy challenger, but it starts at $43,000, the V8 only loaded from $62,000; Mercedes’ E-Class and Infiniti’s Q70 have similar pricing issues.

Whether or not national pride plays a role, the 300 can stand on its own merits and has the performance chops to back up the S exterior or the quiet luxury you would expect from a Platinum badge. Choose your colours carefully and you’ll have a certain amount of exclusivity to go with it.