The tease they offered during the 2003 Miami Beach auto show was an enticing one.

Chrysler executives pointed to the nose of the powerful-looking V-10-powered Chronos concept car of 1998 and told us to look for its shape in their next big sedan.

Gone was the cab-forward design Chrysler had sprung on us a decade ago, with front-wheel-drive and a windshield shoved forward over the wheels. That concept's huge crosshatch grille went all the way to the bottom of the nose, flanked by big vertical headlights, lower air intakes and integrated fog lamps. We also learned that a rear-wheel-drive sedan with boldly carved lines and a more muscular presence was coming.

The result, born from the Chronos and honed with heritage cues from the past, is called the 300.

The line includes two V-6-powered sedans and a new V-8 Hemi-powered flagship, with an even more powerful (425 hp) 300C SRT-8 version coming soon. The numerical name is an homage to the legendary Chrysler's "letter series'' cars of the 1950s, some of which were best known for a Hemi under the hood.

The new 2005 300 sedan is based on the company's new rear-drive architecture, and here's what you see on a tour:

The grand grille at the end of the long, power-dome hood has a slightly squared Chronos grille faired into a bulging bonnnet that ends with a bold crosshatched pewter gray grille, trimmed with chrome on the 300 Touring. This is the new face of Chrysler as seen on the Pacifica and Crossfire coupe.

Unfortunately, the hood's curvature east and west of the power dome didn't mesh with the nose cap on our test car, leaving gaps big enough to shove fingers through.

The large headlights' low-beam carves a rounded notch in the integrated turn signals underneath, while thin chrome strips accent the large bumper over lower air intakes and fog lamps, like the Chronos. The leading edges of the fenders curve as they rise off the bumper ends and head past large fender flares that frame Goodyear Integrity P215/65R17-inch radials on buff silver seven-spoke alloy wheels.

The flat-sided body gets some character lines to break up the flatness. The roofline looks low and almost chopped, while the high beltline seems to rise slightly to merge with a short trunk deck framed with large taillights that carry a slight blade-like look of the fins of the later-1950s 300-series cars.

The overall look is bigger and bolder, with a wide, hunkered-down look for a family sedan, and a hint of aggressiveness that makes this V-6 sedan look a bit more powerful than it is. The look polarized, some like a co-worker calling the nose "fancy-schmancy." Others including a passer-by said they didn't like the big grille. But a close look at the spec sheet shows that while the new 300 Touring has a longer (120 inches) wheelbase than the (113-inch wheelbase) front-wheel-drive 300M that preceded it, its body is an inch shorter (196.8 vs. 197.8 inches).

That long wheelbase's effect is readily apparent when you step into the two-tone gray interior via big front doors. The driver's bucket seat is big and comfortable, with eight-way power adjustment and a manual lumbar support, although it doesn't have a lot of lateral support in turns. The driver gets a four-spoke, leather-wrapped steering wheel with silver plastic accents, but surprisingly, no remote cruise or stereo buttons. We liked the chrome strip on the doors that turned into the door handles.

The steering wheel tilts and telescopes, framing a simple (140 speedometer, 7,000-rpm tach, gas and temperature) silver-faced (fluorescent green at night) gauge package under a gently curved, padded cowl. The cruise control is a Mercedes-style stalk on the left. The squared-off dash center offers a classic analog clock flanked by big air vents with rubberized controls, the fascia done in a buff alloy with dot-matrix design. The four-speaker AM-FM-CD stereo sounds great, and has big knobs and buttons for easy use.

The same can be said for the big climate control knobs, while we liked the rubber-padded storage slot under it. Most of the switchgear had a precision feel to it. But in another case of poor fit and finish, the vinyl over the padding on the cowl top and the dash center was dimpled, like the adhesive was failing in the Florida sun.

The cruise control activation light on the stalk is hard to see when you turn it on -- the system needs an idiot light on the gauge package so you know it's ready. And speaking of idiot lights, we laughed when we saw the "Trunk Open" light -- it's the silhouette of a minivan, obviously a borrowed piece.

The center armrest is padded, and opens to reveal a huge storage area with 12-volt power outlet. Twin cup- holders hide under a flimsy door, while the chrome and leather gearshift resides in a slotted gate like a Mercedes, with a slot next to it for a cellular telephone. The glove box is OK, as are the door map pockets. Still, even with the touches of metal to accent the interior, it looks a bit old-style Chrysler, with shiny gray vinyl, especially the door pull handles.

Access to the rear seats is easy through long doors with small map pockets, while the 60/40 split folding rear seat offers great head and leg room for two adults and a center armrest with cupholders, or three friends for a shorter trip. They get a rear a/c vent, rear windows that drop all the way into the door and classic family sedan coat hooks. And while the rear deck looks short, the trunk is huge and deep, with a cargo net on top, and space-saver spare under the floor.

The rear-wheel-drive Chrysler 300 owner has a choice -- a 2.7-liter, 190-hp V-6; a 3.5-liter, 250-hp V-6, or the 300C's 340-hp Hemi V-8, with all-wheel-drive available. Our 9,700-mile-old test car had the mid-level engine, offering a decent growl when pressed and a 0-60-mph time of 8 seconds with smooth shifts, the same as the front-wheel-drive 300M we tested. In the wet, we could get rear wheelspin with ease, the traction control seamlessly handling it even in turns.

The 300 Touring is quiet at 70 mph, with no wind noise despite the bluff face it presents to the world. Its short- and long-arm front suspension, with an independent five-bar multlink rear suspension, offered a firm-yet-controlled ride on most surfaces, never bottoming out even when we jumped over the rounded railroad crossing on Kingsley Avenue in Orange Park.

On my favorite dry off-ramp, the 300 Touring was neutral and stable, while we induced some understeer and a bit of body roll on our skidpad, proving it was a (well-mannered) family sedan after all. The power steering was direct, with good feel and precision. The all-wheel disc brakes offered a good pedal feel, lots of control and decent stopping power without much fade, even after repeated hard use. But one rotor may have been warped, since we had pulsation in the pedal.

The 300 Touring goes up against the Ford Taurus, Chevrolet Impala, Buick Regal, Pontiac Grand Prix, Volkswagen Passat, Audi A6, Mercedes-Benz C- and E-Class, Cadillac CTS, Volvo S60, Saab 9-3 and 9-5. Most of those (except Cadillac and Mercedes) are front-wheel-drive. The Caddy and Benz also offer V-8s in their models, as does Chrysler with its Hemi.

Our Chrysler 300 Touring's base price was ,770, with 3.5-liter V-6, four-speed automatic transmission (optional all-wheel drive with five-speed automatic), 17-inch seven-spoke aluminum wheels, fog lamps, ABS, traction control, electronic stability program, emergency brake assist, leather trimmed seats, steering wheel and shift knob.The only option () added side-curtain air bags and a/c filters, for a manufacturer's suggested retail price with destination of ,985.

Bottom line -- the new 300 is a bold, and to some, beautiful sedan that combines traditional rear-wheel-drive with a powerful V-6 and high-tech traction control and suspension tuning. It's comfortably big inside, yet not a hulking monster like we remember big sedans of the past. The fit-and-finish lapse with the hood was surprising, but the rest of the car felt and looked like it would last.