Chrysler Town & Country
A fresh start
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By Richard J. Newman
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NITS: The front cup holders are too shallow to support a standard 20-ounce soda bottle. Also, the windshield wipers, which both flap inward in a counterparallel fashion, evoke a school bus. That's exactly the image minivan makers should be trying to dispel.
G-FORCES: The optional 215-horsepower V-6 engine is lively and refined. A 180-horsepower V-6 is standard and might seem underpowered, although I didn't test it. As for handling, there's some tilt on curves, which is typical in minivans, but the Town & Country is more agile than others in its class. Highway ride is cushy.
GIZMOLOGY: Controls are a mixed bag. The dashboard feels cluttered, and there are lots of buttons elsewhere too, such as two strips of switches on the headliner, near the overhead map lights. Those include controls for the optional power sliding doors, which are hard to see at night and leave you groping, even with the interior lights on. But the knobs for the radio are large and textured and easy to manage. The rear climate controls functioned simply and intuitively, which for some reason is not the case in other minivans. And there were fingertip radio controls on the back of the steering wheel, a clever and successful twist on the usual placement.
KID MARKS: There's plenty of everything for kids-space, storage compartments, seating configurations. The third row is somewhat confining, which is typical, though it's perfectly suitable for children younger than teenagers. The only drawback is that cup holders on the middle-row bucket seats are down near the floor, where smaller kids can't reach them. And while the suede accents on the seats and elsewhere in the test vehicle were stylish, I wondered how well they would stand up to juice stains and marker smears.
HOT OR NOT? Not. The podlike styling common to all of Chrysler's minivans can be cute, from the right angle. But it is quintessential minivan.
ENVIROMETER: Rates 4 out of 10 on the EPA's emissions/air pollution scale. Mileage ranges from 18 mpg city to 27 mpg highway, depending on the engine. Details: http://www.epa.gov/autoemissions/
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CRASH COURSE: Earned eight stars out of 10 on the government's frontal crash test, and 10 stars out of 10 on the side-impact crash test. Rollover resistance rating is three stars out of five. Ratings for other Chrysler minivans are similar. Details: http://www.nhtsa.gov/NCAP/
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Copycats: The Town & Country shares the same platform with the Dodge Grand Caravan and the Chrysler Grand Voyager.
PRICE POINTS: Base prices range from $24,700 to $39,220 for the Town & Country, and from $22,005 to $35,235 for the Grand Caravan and Grand Voyager. Price as tested: $36,120. (All prices include delivery fees.)
MORE INFO: www.chrsyler.com
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Model year tested: 2003
One of the biggest fights of my marriage–while it lasted–was over a minivan. A Chrysler, at that. Suffice it to say that she wanted one, and I didn't, and the whole disagreement became a proxy battle over the direction our lives were going. First I lost the fight, then the marriage. And I hated that minivan.
So there was a bit of baggage to overcome when I got back into a Chrysler minivan for the first time since then. But I can say with confidence that I've come a long way, baby-and so has Chrysler. In contrast to the clunky ride and the styleless interior I recall from just a few years back, Chrysler's modern minivans have finally shed their own baggage, which was a rough utilitarianism derived from the vehicles' blue-collar roots. The '03 Town & Country is no carpeted-over plumber's van, in other words. It's a smooth and comfy family vehicle that could just as easily have evolved from a wagon or a sedan.
The nicest surprise was an efficient, well-mannered, 215-horsepower V-6 engine, which is optional on the base Town & Country but standard on the higher trim lines. It was quick and quiet, and it stayed in the background, a huge improvement over the dutiful but clunky power plants of yore. The T&C was also surprisingly agile around town, with sprightly handling for a relatively large vehicle. If anything, I noticed a bit of understeer, a sensation associated with front-wheel drive that feels like the tires bite a bit too hard on bends. But that is much better than the pronounced yaw of some minivans, which tilt so heavily on curves that you have to stay under the speed limit to feel in control. Overall, the ride was just smooth enough that it never distracted me, leaving me free to concentrate on my kids' activities in the cabin. And although the Town & Country is the top-line Chrysler minivan, the body frame, suspension, transmission, and other essential components are the same as those on the Dodge Grand Caravan and the Chrysler Grand Voyager, which start at about $22,000.
There are a few dated features. The one in greatest need of an update is the third-row seat, which does not fold flat into the floor like the one on the Honda Odyssey and Mazda MPV minivans, and even on some SUVs. To get the extra cargo space you have to physically remove the seat, although at least it is split into halves to make that laborious job a bit easier. It's also a tight squeeze getting into the back row, since the midrow bucket seats don't slide inward for extra space, another advantage of some competing minivans. There are some other innovations, though. Storage consoles between the bucket seats in the first and second rows can be removed, to leave more space for moving around (although I've never quite understood the allure of minivans' internal maneuvering room). And I was quite pleased to find a cellphone caddy right at my fingertips, in the center console. There was enough to like that I think Chrysler and I are poised for a new beginning.
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