[AussieHemi]

Hi Guys,

I'm from Melbourne and currently drive a 300C with 22's, Magnaflow exhaust blah, blah, blah...........Love it.

My wife has fallen in love with the look of the Nitro and as they are so new over here, it would be great to get some feedback from Aussie owners and their experiences so far. We would be looking at the SXT with Luxury Pack and MyGig options.

My problem is convincing the better half to go with the diesel. She test drove it today and found it very noisy (the diesel clatter) and very sluggish off the line. She is convinced she only wants the petrol. However every review I have read says don't consider the petrol, the diesel is the definite better option.

I drove both the petrol and the diesel yesterday and found the diesel had heaps of grunt (although it is pretty noisy) and quite frankly I felt the petrol really struggles with the weight of the car and the 4 speed auto is just not up to the task. The 5 speed in the diesel is definitely the better gearbox (same as my 300C apparently).

I would really appreciate some honest feedback here guys, as owners are going to give an honest opinion. Don't hold back, I wanna know everything!! Convince me to buy her one of these things!

Thanks in anticipation and I look forward to your replies.

Cheers,

Shane

 

[Quiet Lunatic]

ok..here is my thoughts!!

I have the SXT Luxury 3.7Petrol and love it!! NO way id go a diesel now I have a few thousand km,s on my petrol, the motor has opened up and runs great...I can give it half throttle off the lights and look in my mirror and see the other cars 100mtrs behind me ...it defiantly has ok grunt the more the motor opens up with km,s

The aussie nitros are basically the R/T without the 4.0ltr motor, they have the R/T interior, R/T suspension,wheels etc.

I must admit the interior is kinda plastic...very easy to scratch as i found out when installing my LCD screen, i actually also cracked the fascia around the stereo...so im super annoyed that it cracked so easy.

The sunroof is awesome, the seat warmers are a gem...i go to the snow alot and the seat warmers are like drinking a beer on a hot summers day after mowing the lawn...JUST KICK ASS!

Plenty of room in the back seat and cargo area, the leather is ok..but creases badly..im addressing this problem with dodge...

The stereo is great, has great sound, clarity and bass and with the 6 disc DVD stacker and my LCD screen it is great!! (no pornos) lol

Ive tinted my windows with another 10% tint and you cant see in the windows at all..its great.

The continual questions from people and everyone taking photos of it is hell funny...ive never had a car like that apart from my Brocky..lol

Anyway it is a great car and well worth the coin...I much prefer the Petrol...so many more mods and power options than the diesel.

Good luck with it...PM me if you want any more details

Cheers

jas

 

[AussieNitro]

Hey AussieHemi,

Well I have to disagree with Jaz, I have the Diesel and now have nearly 2K on and the engine has really come on strong. At first it was very tight but has really eased up. The power over the petrol is massive so if you intend pulling anything go the diesel, I had fun on the freeway this last weekend overtaking on the hills as the torque just kicks in and the gearbox did not even drop just kept pulling and pulling.

Speed wise there is nothing in it and put the pedal to the floor and the diesel will shoot off the line as fast as the petrol too, the spec are:
Engines:

3.7-litre V6 with 151kW power, 314Nm torque;

2.8-litre common-rail V6 turbo-diesel with 130kW power, 460Nm torque.
Transmissions: Five-speed automatic in diesel models; four-speed auto in V6 petrol.
Performance: 0-100kmh in 10.5 seconds (diesel), 10.3 seconds (petrol); top speed 190kmh.


I have had 2 test drives in the petrol but the other week I had my towbar fitted and had the 3.7 for a whole day. Well to start with the engine does sound great but the 4 speed box which is really a 3 speed with overdrive is a weak point compared to the 5 speed in the CRD and yes I understand its the same as in the 300C, every reviewer tends to agree the same. The engine I felt was less smooth than the diesel and on the freeway the CRD is a quiet as the petrol infact I enjoy the engine note when you give it some welly.

The handling I found better too with a little more weight in the front end and it did tend to ride over the bumps better, my wife mentioned this first too as she drove it back from the dealer.

There are lots of cool features in the car and the simple ones are the best. The wing mirros fold back for parking but if you set off they automaticaly fold out again which is cool as I forgot. The stereo is great, very powerful and clear. Parking sensors, Aux input on the stereo and lots of other bits make it a real good buy in comparision to other 4X4's and anything else in the price bracket.

You have a 300 so you know what it is like to feel like everyone is looking thinking "what a cool motor", well the Nitro is the same so you will be ready.

Every review I have read too says go for the diesel and over my 6 weeks of ownership and having the petrol version for a day totally proved that we made the right choice, this reviewer agreed too http://www.search4cars.com.au/index.htm?Action=research_car_reviews_display&StoryID=1341&StoryType=REVIEW

Ditto with Jaz, tint the fronts and it will improve the look.

Enjoy and keep us posted with what you decide and if you can drive them back to back and over some bumpy roads do it.

 

[AussieNitro]

Dude you don't pay for petrol so your laughing :chuckle:.

At the end of the day so long as the wife is happy is what matters, if she ain't then we have big problems :thk:

 

[AussieNitro]

True Jaz.

Aussie hemi for FYI I am getting 10.2 at nearly 2000km, a little more than your 300 hemi

 

[AussieHemi]

Thanks guys - I appreciate all your feedback.

Can you tell me, does the diesel get quieter as more kms rack up? I've heard that they get quieter and more responsive the more you drive it. Does this seem to be the case?

The wife is adamant that she hates the diesel - says it sounds like a truck and is gutless. Can you write something here to back me up and show her that the diesel is a good thing!

BTW, my 300C averages about 16l/100km around town and about 10l/100km on a trip. Hemi on!

 

[AussieNitro]

I can say yes it has got quieter with time, it took about 1200Km before it felt that it was not restricted and things were loosening up. The noise from outside certianly does not sound like a tractor thats for sure, my friend has the jeep Cherokee sport with the 2.8 diesel and he was amazed how quiet it was compared with his. When cruising it is very smooth as you are hardly revving it to achive a good speed and this is when overtaking becomes fun as it just picks up its heels and your off.

Power well make sure you test drive both, I ordered mine with the option to change but when I drove them I did the petrol first then the diesel and power well the figure speak for themselves with 0.2 sec in times 0 to 100Km. The torque is the big thing with the CRD having nearly 150Nm more than the petrol, just drop your right foot and it picks up very quick with the turbo and the gearbox drops a gear and your flying, i have even spun the wheels and had the back end kick out.

Before the Nitro I had a Mazda6 2.3L which was fast, nimble and very fun to drive and truthfully have always had a thing for good fast cars, the Nitro well i have to say I have been very surprised by it, firstly its the first American car i have had, second the diesel engine is brand new with the latest technolgy, and last but not least it handles well, goes fast and is so much fun, like jaz says floor it and you can beat alot of stuff away from the lights, maybe not your Hemmi:shy:.

Have you test drove either yet? come to the Central coast NSW and you can drive mine for as long as you want....but i get to drive the 300:smileup:

 

[Quiet Lunatic]

My CRD nitro avg 9.5l/100km after 2000km. I am getting used to the diesel engine and it does get a bit quieter once the engine beds in. It is not any noiser than say, fitting a louder exhaust pipe Personally, I like the diesel sound and the torque. Plus, you get the Merc 5-speed auto with the CRD (Oz petrol Nitro uses 4-speed). And of course diesel engines last longer than petrol's and have better resale values :smileup:

BTW your wife will want to test drive it again to see if she's comfortable with the pedal, some people with shorter legs may find it a fair stretch and can get tired over long distances. If you move your seat closer, your knees knock against the lower console.

 

[AussieNitro]

I may stand corrected but the Patrol does not use commonrail technology which is what has made diesel cars quieter over the last few years, infact the 2.8 in the patrol uses indirect inject which is old hat stuff.

Would be interesting what the noise level is in comparison with the petrol and some of the other diesel engines.

 

[StreetBob]

Speed wise there is nothing in it and put the pedal to the floor and the diesel will shoot off the line as fast as the petrol too, the spec are:
Engines:

3.7-litre V6 with 151kW power, 314Nm torque;

2.8-litre common-rail V6 turbo-diesel with 130kW power, 460Nm torque.
Transmissions: Five-speed automatic in diesel models; four-speed auto in V6 petrol.
Performance: 0-100kmh in 10.5 seconds (diesel), 10.3 seconds (petrol); top speed 190kmh.

Just to fine tune this, the CRD is a 4 cylinder not V6.

 

[Guest]

Hi All,

I've had my SXT Diesel for 4 weeks now and have put 3500k's on it in that time. As far as the noise from the engine is concerned I have noticed no noticable difference from when it was brand new, however the more K's I put on it the better the engine is getting as far as loosening up is concerned. I've had several diesels in the past (Land Rover with the Isuzu, Land Rover with Brit TD5 engine and a Patrol) and must say this is the best so far. Diesel technology has come a loooong way in the past decade. I'm getting on average about 9.5L/100, that includes city and highway runs and it's costing about $85 to fill the tank on average, so for economy you just cannot beat the CRD in the Nitro.
The noise from the engine in the cabin on the freeway is virtualy nonexistant, around the city (Sydney) of course you hear the diesel "rattle" a bit but no where near as much as previous cars I've had.

Anyway, thats my 2 cents, hope everyone is lovin there Nitro's as much as I am lovin mine.

Cheers.

 

[AussieHemi]

Hi All,

I've had my SXT Diesel for 4 weeks now and have put 3500k's on it in that time. As far as the noise from the engine is concerned I have noticed no noticable difference from when it was brand new, however the more K's I put on it the better the engine is getting as far as loosening up is concerned. I've had several diesels in the past (Land Rover with the Isuzu, Land Rover with Brit TD5 engine and a Patrol) and must say this is the best so far. Diesel technology has come a loooong way in the past decade. I'm getting on average about 9.5L/100, that includes city and highway runs and it's costing about $85 to fill the tank on average, so for economy you just cannot beat the CRD in the Nitro.
The noise from the engine in the cabin on the freeway is virtualy nonexistant, around the city (Sydney) of course you hear the diesel "rattle" a bit but no where near as much as previous cars I've had.

Anyway, thats my 2 cents, hope everyone is lovin there Nitro's as much as I am lovin mine.

Cheers.

Hi mate - thanks for the feedback. How do you find the comfort? Are the seats nice? And what about the ride on the 20"s - I've heard with the solid rear axle it's pretty bouncy. I have 22"s on my 300C but the rear suspension is a multi link set up so it it still a nice ride.

Are you in Melbourne? If you are, I'll trade you a ride in my 300C for a ride in your Nitro!:chuckle:

Keep the advice coming - I'm lovin' it!!

 

[tcrosses]

What do you really want from the SUV?

I own the petrol SXT and opted for this because of the slightly extra power and the nice sound it gives. We really couldn't justify a diesel for towing reasons when the towing capacity of the car itself, would what be restricting the weight you tow, and not the engine type. Sure the engine would be happier after a few years and 100's of 1000's of Kms from towing or been driven, but I'm sure I'd upgrade to a newer one before it ever got to that stage anyway.

Basically, my wife and I find this car a fun car to drive and we always fight over who gets to drive. And it certainly turns heads, if getting noticed is what your wife likes!

I have had the exhaust worked on though, which gives my car a nice rumble on idle, a grunty sound on acceleration, and almost non-existant sound when cruising. This is exactly what I asked for and was surprised that it could be done. (My old commodore sounded beefy, but the exhaust droning when I cruised gave me a headache.)

So it is possible to have the best of both worlds.

I can tell you that the chrome kit and side steps also made my car very nice and is surprising classy - rather than cheap, blingy looking.
The rear air deflector, was an option I was unsure about getting, but am very glad I did, because it changed the look of the car again by breaking up the squarish back area.

In a nutshell, I say forget the specs for a moment and enjoy the car for what it is in whatever option she feels most comfortable driving.

Corie

 

[AussieNitro]

Hey Tcrosses,

Any chance of some pics of the side steps too, I have a 4 1/2 year old who has a little trouble getting in, I was thinking of putting a handle just inside the door frame to help her along with the side steps.

Ta.

 

[tcrosses]

Side steps and Exhaust

I got the side steps that came with the Chrome accent kit, which I'll post some pics of tonight. I think it makes the car look sweet.

Re - the exhaust, basically they installed a Lukey 2121 sports muffler into the centre of the system. They left the factory resonator (at the back) in the system, which took the droning away when cruising.

Sounds similar to a commodore with a sports exhaust, but again - and most importantly, without the highway drone!

 

[tcrosses]

Here are some pics of the side steps as promised.

Alright JasOz, I'm happy to record it, but how on earth do I post a sound for you to hear?????

 

[tcrosses]

Ha Ha, Dude..... You didn't read my question.

I know how to record it, I don't know how to post it.

I only know how to post pics etc.

I guess if it can't be done, I'll just email it to you.

 

[AussieNitro]

Hey tcrosses,
do the side steps take any weight or are they just for looks, would they help a little one get into the car. reason i ask is that its hard to tell the hight of the step in comparison to the actual step on the car.

Any help mate would be appricaited.

 

[AussieHemi]

Hi guys - I appreciate all your replies - it's been great.

Do any of you live in Melbourne? If so, wanna a trade a ride in my 300 for a ride in your Nitro. I did this when I was contemplating buying my 300. Joined 300cforums and found some guys in Melbourne that were more than happy to help me out. Made some great friends too! I don't expect to drive it, just sit in the passenger seat.

Any takers?:smileup::chuckle:

 

[Quiet Lunatic]

Hey tcrosses,
do the side steps take any weight or are they just for looks, would they help a little one get into the car. reason i ask is that its hard to tell the hight of the step in comparison to the actual step on the car.

Any help mate would be appricaited.

'Looks like they are designed to be stepped on mate, since they have the black rubber strips for stepping on.