1998 Chrysler Town & Country Minivan Reviews & Ratings

We'll never understand who handed down the initial edict, in the early days of minivans, that said one

sliding door would be offered and it had to go on the passenger side. Anyone who experiences the ease of the

Town & Country's sliding driver's-side door will be a convert for life. Indeed, whether you're a busy parent,

an arts-and-crafts type or a Home Improvement devotee with an armload of tools, you'll love the convenience of

loading your cargo from your own side of the vehicle, instead of having to circle around to the passenger's

side.

The Town & Country LXi was so spacious that we thought about choosing up sides for a game of interior touch

football--after removing the seats, of course.

In years past, that would have required a yeoman effort.

But seat removal is much easier than it was in bygone days. Our test model's center-row bucket seats can be

unlatched and removed via the sliding side doors, while a solid yank on a lever pops the third-row bench seat

up onto a set of wheels, allowing it to be rolled backwards and removed via the tailgate. However, it's still

a two-person job. For smaller loads, the seat backs can also be folded down--affording enough room for the

proverbial sheet of plywood.

Head and legroom were quite sufficient, in both the front bucket seats and the second-row seats. Although

Chrysler says the Town & Country's rear bench can seat three, one of those persons would have to be

pre-pubescent.

Kudos also go to designers for the accident response system--which has been designed so that, after the

airbag deploys in a crash, the power locks unlock and the interior lights turn on.

The 1996 redesign included a retuned suspension, so the Town & Country handles much more like a sedan than

the minivans of yore. Plus, the substantial torsional rigidity means the vehicle feels firmly planted. That's

definitely a benefit in the Town & Country, which, at 68.7 inches, still tends to lean a bit on freeway cloverleaf

ramps and during quick turns at medium to high speeds. Even when it leans, however, the Town & Country feels solidly

planted on terra firma.

Some of the credit, of course, goes to the power rack-and-pinion steering, which made the LXi just as

responsive during abrupt lane-change maneuvers. The smaller base-model SX will likely be even more light-footed.

Last year, designers improved the Town & Country's ride quietness. As a result, the Town & Country sounds

as quiet as many sedans.

The Town & Country offers two engine options--the 3.3-liter V6, which is standard on the SX and LX, and the

3.8-liter V6, which is optional on the SX and LX and comes standard on the LXi. A four-speed automatic

transmission is standard on the SX and LX. A four-speed automatic with all-wheel drive is optional on the

LX and LXi.

Our LXi test model was powered by the 3.8-liter V6. We recommend this engine for the LX and LXi because

they are heavier and stretch across a longer wheelbase than the SX. With this beefier powertrain at our disposal,

we found that the Town & Country stepped up to the plate and responded to most of the demands we placed on

it--from standing starts to high-speed freeway passing.