Video: 2011 Chrysler 300

Now this is the first overhaul of the car since the full-size rear wheel drive sedan arrived on the scene in late 2004 to widespread acclaim. The new 300 has updated styling cues, though it does keep the same general shape as its predecessor. There's a new V6 engine, and the interior has also been completely redesigned. We'll take you through all three of those areas. Similar themes as the last 300, you've got these horizontal headlights flanking a pretty deep grill in the center. Rather than the old mesh grill insert, you now have these seven different bars. Kind of a cool three-dimensional appearance if you get up close to them. Same thing goes for the headlights. They have these C shaped LEDs in the center. It looks kind of like jewelry actually, pretty cool. Underneath the hood there's a new V6 engine. It's Chrysler's Pentastar V6, and it makes close to 300 horsepower. Plus it gets better gas mileage than the old V6s. Wouldn't be a 300 without a Hemi. And there is a 5.7 liter V8 in here, making 363 horsepower. The trunk has the same sort of squared off appearance as the old 300s did, but there's a little bit more ornamentation going on here. You look at the tail lights and there's these sort of white frames encircling them. There's also this chrome strip that runs all the way across the bumper. Speaking of the bumper, it runs really kind of forward, straight into the back of the trunk. Pretty seamless appearance. Kind of cool, especially when you look at it from the side. This is the base interior. It's been completely redesigned, but this is what less than $30,000 will get you in a Chrysler 300. Pretty nice, given that you have a standard 8 1/2 inch touchscreen in the center. Pretty nice, soft blue back lighting to the gauges, and plenty of room, both front and rear. Back in '04 and '05, the 300 was such a success that rappers like Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent even had to buy one. Chrysler probably doesn't care if they repeat that, because the bigger task is convincing a lot of Americans that a struggling post-bankruptcy automaker can build compelling, high quality vehicles. The 300 is a promising start and it should help Chrysler's case when it goes on sale the second half of this year. <v Announcer>For more car related news, go to cars.com, or our blog kickingtires.net.