CHRYSLER has returned to the large-car fold in Australia with the launch of the new 300 – a successor to the retro 300C – with hopes of poaching more sales from the struggling Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon.

The return of the company’s flagship model and volume-seller to the local market comes more than six months after the discontinuation of the original and, while the evolutionary styling clearly links it to the old one, the cabin is now a much classier affair.

Likewise, while the platform and many mechanical components soldier on from before – thank Chrysler’s financial woes following the global financial crisis – the company has added a smooth new Pentastar V6 and eight-speed ZF automatic transmission combination, and tweaked the rest.

The new model is available in four specification levels, but will be sold exclusively as a sedan. The previously available wagon body-style has gone the way of the Dodo.