New seating system best in class in convenience.
This is a great time to be shopping for a new minivan. Ford, Toyota and Nissan launched all-new models for the 2004 model year and GM and Honda are introducing all-new models for 2005. To counter this, Chrysler has added more than a dozen new features to its Town & Country models, including an innovative new seating setup. And the price of entry has been dropped with the addition of two value-priced models.
Chrysler's new second- and third-row seats fold perfectly flat, flush with the floor, revealing more than 160 cubic feet of cargo space. That's substantially more than what's available in any sport-utility vehicle, including the behemoth Chevy Suburban. The Town & Country's seats are quickly and easily folded flat without having to remove the headrests. To accommodate the new seating system, Chrysler's engineers redesigned the Town & Country's underbody and designed a new fuel tank, exhaust system, parking brake cables, and rear climate control lines, and modified the rear suspension.
When the seats are in place, they provide comfortable perches for up to seven passengers. Storage bins and cargo nets assist with carrying groceries. Curtain air bags designed to provide full-length coverage for all three rows of seats are available, though they're not standard equipment.
The Town & Country offers a responsive engine, smooth, quiet ride. The luxurious Limited model comes with leather upholstery, upscale appointments, and dual power sliding doors and a power rear liftgate. GPS navigation, DVD entertainment, hands-free communication and other features are available for increased convenience. The Town & Country remains a solid choice in spite of new minivans from other manufacturers, and it makes a lot more sense for moving people around than an SUV.
Walkaround
The Town & Country presents a sleek, solid stance and remains an attractive vehicle, even if it isn't the newest design. Subtle styling changes freshen the looks for 2005. Chrysler's winged badge now extends the width of the grille, which now features four horizontal chromed bars. New dual headlamps and a new front fascia includes a better integrated license plate frame and new circular fog lamps. New cladding with chromed inserts highlights the side view. And a new rear fascia includes chromed inserts for the rear park-assist system.
The Chrysler Town & Country looks aerodynamic in profile, with its raked windshield, rising roofline and beltline, and fast D-pillars framing canted rear windows. Pronounced wheel arches complement sharp character lines that flank the integrated grille. Rear-end styling tends to make Town & Country look wider and not as tall as it really is. Huge taillamps feature clear red lenses and jewel-like reflectors. The black piece of trim below the rear bumper for the park-assist looks tacked on.
There's nothing mini about today's minivans, and the Town & Country ranks among the largest. All but the base model are built on a long wheelbase.
Power sliding doors on both sides add convenience when moving passengers. They're particularly useful when you find yourself herding children while carrying two armloads of gear. Press the button on the remote transmitter twice and the door slides open; press it twice again and it slides closed and seals. From the second-row seat, the power sliding door can be opened and closed by pressing a button; it can also be opened manually. A safety lock switch hidden on the trailing edge of the door can be engaged to prevent a child from opening the sliding door from inside. The power sliding doors can be fussy when passengers are in a hurry to get out, however, and they usually are. Pulling on the outside lever opens the power door manually, with just slightly more effort than opening a regular manual door.
Some models come with manually operated sliding doors, which are easy to operate, smoothly sliding open and closed with the pull of a nicely designed lever. The outside door handles are comfortable, easy to operate and well designed; they impart a feeling of quality in appearance and operation. All door handles should be this good, but they aren't.
A power rear liftgate is available that adds convenience when picking up groceries or supplies. Press a button on the remote control and the liftgate opens or closes automatically. It's great feature for those all-too-frequent times when you approach the van with an armload.
Interior Features
the years. Heating and air conditioning controls on the base and LX models are functional but rudimentary.
The instruments have been redesigned for 2005 and are attractive and highly legible. An electronic odometer doubles as the trip meter when a button is pressed. Cruise control buttons are conveniently located on the steering wheel.
Lots of glass means good visibility all around, though the thick A-pillars hamper front three-quarter vision. Rearward visibility is greatly enhanced by the big side mirrors. The high beams didn't seem effective on our 2005 model, however, lacking fill at closer ranges.
The base, short-wheelbase model still has the traditional seating setup, so the seats must be removed to turn it into an effective cargo hauler. We found the second-row bucket seats and third-row split bench easy to remove. All or any one of the four seats can be popped out and rolled away in three quick steps, providing a wide variety of seating and cargo configurations. Reinstalling them takes a little more practice, as you need to learn how to line them up before snapping them into place. Each seat is heavy enough that care should be exercised when lifting it off the garage floor. The seats can also be folded down to form a continuous load floor for large items.
Driving Impressions
The 2005 Town & Country Limited model we drove delivered enough performance to exercise domination on busy freeways in Los Angeles. Response from its 3.8-liter V6 allowed us to work through high-speed traffic with five adults aboard, while its handling permitted easy passing on the winding sections in the hilly country outside Pasadena. Yet the ride was smooth and comfortable, even on rough city streets and bumpy big-city freeways. Drinking a hot cappuccino while driving can be done without fear.
All in all, driving the Chrysler Town & Country is pleasant and enjoyable. It rides smoothly and feels very stable at highway speeds. It handles competently and is surprisingly nimble for its size. Its power-assisted steering is light, making it easy to maneuver and park in crowded lots, and the front air dam isn't so low to the ground that it scrapes on curbs. Careful suspension tuning, a recently redesigned steering system and a rigid structure have raised the Town & Country's handling prowess to that of the leading minivans.
We found our Limited model quiet at high speeds. Chrysler says the 2005 model is more than 16 percent quieter than previous models. Wind noise has been reduced on 2005 models by incorporating triple door seals, molded gaskets, a more aerodynamic roof rack, and a spiraled antenna. Carrying on a conversation inside the Town & Country is easy and pleasant.
Four-wheel disc brakes stop the Town & Country quickly and without drama. Heavy-duty brake rotors and calipers ensure strong braking performance, durability. We like the pedal feel and found the brakes easy to modulate in stop-and-go traffic. Anti-lock brakes (ABS) help the driver maintain steering control in an emergency or panic stop. Traction control reduces front wheelspin on slippery surfaces.
The 3.8-liter V6 that comes on Touring and Limited models is rated at 215 horsepower and 245 pound-feet of torque. It's considerably more powerful than the 3.3-liter V6 that comes on base and LX models, which is rated at 180 horsepower and 210 pound-feet of torque. Both are overhead-valve, push-rod V6s with two valves per cylinder rather than newer, overhead-cam, multi-valve designs. The 3.8-liter engine is rated 18/25 mpg City/Highway by the EPA, while the 3.3-liter is rated 19/26. Both are rated as low-emissions vehicles in all 50 states. The 3.3-liter V6 is a flexible-fuel engine, so it can use E85 ethanol.
The 3.3-liter V6 that comes on base and LX models delivers lively acceleration; we felt like we had plenty of motor to jackrabbit away from standstills or pull off that big pass. The engine is smooth and quiet when cruising, although it makes itself known under full-throttle acceleration.
Lineup
The 2005 Chrysler Town & Country lineup includes several trim levels: base, LX, Touring, and Limited. Two V6 engines are available: A 3.3-liter V6 comes on base and LX models and produces 180 horsepower and 210 pound-feet of torque. A 3.8-liter V6 comes standard on Touring and Limited models and develops 215 horsepower and 245 pound-feet of torque. All models come with a four-speed automatic transmission and front-wheel drive; all-wheel drive is not available.
The base Town & Country ($20,330) is a short-wheelbase model, an apparent replacement for the discontinued Voyager. It comes equipped with air conditioning, power windows, tilt steering column, remote keyless entry, AM/FM/cassette, and dual sliding doors. Standard upholstery is cloth. The new Stow 'n Go seats are not included, however, and the second row is a bench seat. Anti-lock brakes are optional; rear drum brakes are standard.
The LX ($24,770) is a base model built on the same long wheelbase used by the rest of the models. It's equipped similarly to the base model, but gets the Stow 'n Go seating system, a CD changer, heated power mirrors, four-wheel disc brakes with ABS, and upgraded interior and exterior trim.
The Touring model ($27,070) steps you up to traditional Town & Country convenience features with dual power sliding doors, power liftgate, three-zone temperature control, upgraded audio, upgraded interior trim, eight-way power driver's seat, improved interior lighting, overhead console with trip computer, leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio controls and speed control, tire-pressure warning system, universal garage door opener, roof rack, 16-inch wheels and tires, and traction control.
The Limited ($35,070) is a luxury model that comes standard with leather-trimmed upholstery, upgraded interior trim, heated seats, GPS navigation, air filtering, removable center console, power door locks, upgraded exterior trim, fog lights, automatic headlamps, Park Assist, power adjustable pedals, 16-inch wheels and tires, and a memory function for the radio, driver's seat and mirrors. It also comes standard with curtain airbags.
Loads of options and packages should ensure buyers will be able to come up with the perfect combination of features on the model they want. Leather upholstery is optional for the Touring model and is packaged with three-zone temperature control, the deluxe overhead console, and power seats ($2,100).
Side-impact airbags, curtain airbags, and ABS are optional on several models.
Final Word
Chrysler Town & Country is among the best in a field of great minivans. Its new Stow 'n Go seating design makes it more versatile than the competition. This isn't the newest minivan design, but effective updates and attention detail allow it to stand its ground against stiff competition from Toyota and other manufacturers.
The Town & Country is roomy, comfortable, practical, powerful and nimble. Order the Limited model and you can add the word luxurious to that list.