In this week's issue:

• Road Test: Chrysler's Graceful New Beast
• Road Test: BMW's 6 Resurrects Tail Fins

  Road Test: Chrysler's Graceful New Beast

Chrysler has a bit of a problem - it has built a great new four-door saloon but Britain can't have it yet.

The US is already behind the wheel of the new 300C and mainland Europe gets it around about now but right-hand drive markets have to wait for more than twelve months.

It's a pity. Not only because it's one of the most interesting new four-door saloons in years, but because it is also a vitally important car for Chrysler. Daimler-Chrysler, the world's third biggest car company and parent to Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler and smart, finds itself in an impossible position: it can't launch the car worldwide and ignore major right-hand drive markets and yet it can't currently supply right-hand drive versions because it wasn't part of the plan at the initial design stage.

It's easy to be cynical about this but whatever the reason, the pace of Chrysler product development is such that irrespective of the original plan, a policy decision altered all that and Britain, South Africa, Australia, Japan et al will receive right-hand drive 300Cs. It still leaves Chrysler in a bit of a spot though. What if press and customer reaction in RHD markets is good but interest then wanes due to unavailability? Worse still, what if press reaction to the new car is a bit on the whiffy side? If the car's a stinker, a year from now there may just be no market at all.

Fortunately that is not the case. The 300C is impressive - you only have to look at it to get the idea, don't you? Admittedly, it isn't stunningly pretty, rather awkwardly - but undeniably - attractive; more Sophie Ellis-Bexter than Rachel Stevens. According to Joe Grace, Senior Manager of Premium Vehicle Engineering at Chrysler, the styling is the result of rather more than a slavish adherence to wind tunnel data. Not only does it show, it is hugely refreshing and for this alone, Chrysler is to be applauded.

300 is a magic number for the US giant too, being one of the most famous model names in its history since being introduced on the first ever road car to develop 300 BHP. The original was a big, fast -- albeit two-door -- sports saloon and its spirit is alive and well in the 300C. Under the bonnet of the flagship model in the new three-car range is a 5.7 litre HEMI V8 engine. You read that right - 5,700 cubic centimetres and eight V formation cylinders, developing an emulsifying 340 BHP. It's unlikely that Chrysler is looking at a product placement deal with Friends of the Earth.

A Graceful Beast

In fairness, there is rather more to this engine than a galloping greed for fast-disappearing fossil fuel. Big numbers such as those above result in small numbers when it comes to fuel consumption - single figures, very often. But this engine is different. Aside from its HEMI designation - the legendary name for high performance Chrysler engines, derived from the hemispherical cylinder heads used in their design - it is also among America's first multi displacement power units. Through clever computer management and mechanical engineering, the 300C is able to shut down four of its eight cylinders when not required; during sustained constant speed cruising or at very low speed, for example. This is advanced stuff and it adds to the unique appeal of the car, affording the 300C a sort of mechanical Tourrett's quality - one minute it might be casually idling along, all grace and poise and the next it's a thundering beast, snarling its way along the highway.

It may sound a little gimmicky - and there are no official European test figures to support Chrysler's claims - but US economy tests suggest the V8 300 will return low-to-mid twenty miles per gallon. Any attempt to induce lag through extreme acceleration from low speeds proved unsuccessful and for such performance capability, this is impressive (there will also be 3.5 and 2.7 litre V6 variants). Brakes and gearbox are both up to the jobs in hand, if unremarkable in isolation. The five speed auto box features Chrysler's unique Autostick side-to-side manual operation option.

And what power and performance this thing has! 0-60 in 6.3 seconds and an electronically limited 155 MPH top speed in a big saloon is mighty. It's also a relief to see that the 300 is rear wheel drive. As a result, it delivers a satisfying sense of balanced performance and, at over 16 feet long, you have to pinch yourself to remember it is a big, four-door saloon, not a sports-tuned, two door coupe. It would be stretching the truth to describe the 300 as nimble and when hustled aggressively across twisting, turning B roads, things can get a touch nautical but this is not a fair criticism. The car's size is deceptive too - it is only six inches longer than a BMW 5 Series, but offers more interior space than a 7 Series.

Easy Living Inside

Once inside, the 300 is classically Chrysler - a curate's egg. Ergonomically, the new car is nicely thought out, with the usual decent level of standard specification and an easy cabin to travel in. Everything works well, is easy to find and there are yet more innovative touches; not only does the steering wheel adapt for rake and reach but, together with electrically adjustable front seats, the electrically adjustable pedals ensure any driver can find the perfect driving position. And then store it in one of the 300C's memory settings. This is an example of what Chrysler does very well and is a very American quality - high levels of equipment that make life as easy as possible. What is less satisfying though, is the feel of the materials. Everything looks good but in use, a number of the knobs, flaps and surfaces feel just a little low rent. It's a tricky point, this, though. Chrysler's German bretheren, Mercedes-Benz, is a major competitor in this sector with its E Class and the German maker's reputation is founded on undisputed quality. As is arch rival BMW's. And yet increasingly, there are stories about these two premium brand's newer models showing signs of cost-cutting and inferior build-quality.

So where does this leave Chrysler and its 300C? Only a period of time spent living with the car could prove conclusive. Without ever quite feeling good enough to bear final comparison with a Benz or a Jag, it is not convincingly inferior to the rest of the sector, either. Which means the real value of the 300C will all come down to cost.

Name a Price

Part of the problem of not getting the 300 until next year means there are no details of final prices available yet. So what do you reckon? How much would you pay to not drive a BMW or Mercedes-Benz? This is another potential headache for the Marketing Department at Chrysler. A comparable E Class or 5 Series - without as much pace, space or equipment - will cost somewhere in the mid to upper-thirties. And will be nowhere near as exclusive, in terms of sheer number on the road. At the other end of the scale, an Alfa 166 or Volvo S80 are both nowhere near the 300 in terms of overall capability and individuality. The word is that the 5.7 V8 300C will be a thirty to thirty five grand car, but just exactly how much is crucial.

Chrysler thinks it has a car that will be of appeal to those of us who place high value on individuality. It's a valid point and given that the national sales target for the 300 is little different from the monthly sales target for a BMW 5 Series, it may well succeed, if the price is right. If not, it's hard to imagine many middle-class Brits being 'individual' enough to pass-up the chance of easing something German into the garage each evening. It may be boring, but Chrysler's American-built mafia staff car has a lot less bragging rights at the golf club.

Which is a shame, because the 300C - naïve as they may seem - has the feel of a car that has been designed without cynicism. BMW's 5 may well be the ultimate driving machine; a Jaguar S Type has all the heritage and Audi's A6 is impeccably built but the Chrysler is the sexiest car. Which for anyone who buys a car with their heart, will be absolutely no problem at all.

  Road Test: BMW's 6 Resurrects Tail Fins

Blue suede shoes and Rock Around the Clock may seem an eternity away from stone cold sober BMW, but the German car maker is making great play of the fins on the back of its new 645Ci.

Fins reached their height (literally) on pink Cadillacs circa 1959, when you weren't a proper man unless you had nine-inch fins above your rocket-ship tail lights. It may seem a bizarre idea to resurrect, but BMW is trumpeting what it calls its "innovative fin structure" on the new 6 Series Convertible.

Thankfully we're not talking chrome-tipped chintz here. BMW's fin idea is to get round a packaging problem with traditional convertible roofs. By designing fins that wrap back on the themselves, BMW has avoided the need for a large glass rear window, which is very hard to package and usually takes away luggage space. Instead, what you have is a small glass window that is still easy to see out of, but lowers electrically like a window.

The fin effect contributes to a much more handsome looking car than the 645Ci Coupe on which the Convertible is based. With the roof folded, especially, you get the feeling that this is how the 6 Series should have looked all along. That said, it's still hard to believe the designer of the front half of the car ever talked to the designer of the rear half. They just don't belong together.

Backdraught Effect

The fabric roof is one of the highest quality soft-tops I've ever seen, using multiple layers, rubber and steel to dampen down wind noise. It retracts electrically in 20 seconds, a feat you can accomplish even on the move - up to around 20mph at least. It's all very refined, roof up or down. But my one quibble is BMW's claim that tiny retractable rear window is also an effective wind deflector. It is not effective. Indeed it does a terrible job of keeping backdraughts from spoiling your hair-do - and BMW admits as much by offering a separate deflector at £210 to save your hair.

Inside, you get a pleasant mix of luxury and sportiness. Choose between sideboard quality wood or a light metal finish called Ruthenium; standard soft leather pampers your behind; power seats make getting into the back supremely easy. The dash layout is typically BMW - in other words ergonomically brilliant. Even the i-Drive system - the console dial that governs functions like the climate control, audio system and navigation - is much easier to use in its second generation than the controversial system fitted to the 7 Series.

Ace of Space

Interior space is the ace up the 645's sleeve. Few convertibles can claim to be genuine four-seaters that can fit grown-ups in the back, but the 645Ci is one. Keeping the soft-top so small means there's loads of room in the boot too - 350 litres beats most hatchbacks.

To drive, the 645Ci is definitely more grand tourer than sports car. Curiously, the automatic transmission version is virtually identical in performance terms to the manual version - only 0.1 seconds separates them in the 0-62mph sprint (6.1 seconds versus 6.2). Not only that, but the automatic gearbox is 2.5mpg more economical than the manual - surely a world first. Having said all that, don't buy the auto if you want a sporty drive. Even when you flip into the sequential manual mode, when approaching corners the gearbox tends to shift up as you enter a bend, which annoyingly leaves you in too high a gear on the exit.

Trying for a sporty image BMW does try and keep its sporty image going. You get a switchable Sports mode, making the steering, throttle response and auto shift points sharper. If you want to go one step further advanced, you can order optional Active Steering, which actually changes the steering ratio so that at low speeds, it takes fewer turns of the wheel to park, for instance, while at high speeds it firms up to offer better stability. It's very noticeable and definitely worth considering at £675. You can hustle the BMW along very confidently at high speed, even on twisty lanes, but there's no escaping the fact that this is a lardy car that lacks the sharp responses of, say, a Porsche convertible.

The 645Ci Convertible is only available with a single engine at the moment, the 4.4-litre V8. It's keenly priced for the market it's competing in, at just over £55,000. But perhaps that's because several items are missing from the standard spec list that you'd expect to be there: there's no multi CD changer, for instance, nor standard heated seats.

So what do I conclude about the 645Ci Convertible? Fittingly, BMW took us journalists to Malaga to drive it and I have to say that never has a car felt so much at home. It blended seamlessly into the throng of UK-registered ex-patriot BMWs being hastily driven to golf courses by unfeasibly heavily tanned men with bouffant hair-dos and medallions. If you're one of the 800 Brits who will buy a 645Ci Convertible this year, please do me a favour and resist the temptation to drive it to your second home on the Costa del Sol. I found myself sympathising with the Spanish graffiti which read Golf Is Murder.

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