Sliding doors on both sides make getting in and out of the Town & Country a breeze. It sure beats walking around to the passenger side to get a toddler out.
LXi comes with heated leather front seats, which are an option on the SX and LX.
For smaller loads, the seat backs can also be folded down -- affording enough room for the proverbial sheet of plywood. The back seats can be removed for big loads. The center-row bucket seats can be quickly unlatched and pulled through the sliding side doors. 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. These seats are heavy, however, so it still takes two people to lift them out and store in your garage.
The front seats are comfortable and supportive and provide a panoramic view of the road ahead. There's plenty of head room and leg room, whether you're in the front seats or the second-row seats. Getting into the back seats is easy and they provide good comfort for adults. The rear bench can seat two adults or three children.
When you're spending $32,000-plus for a minivan, storage space isn't the most important factor, but it's still nice to know that the long-wheelbase Town & Country-along with its cousins, the Plymouth Grand Voyager and Dodge Grand Caravan-continue to offer more cargo space (168.4 cubic feet) than any other minivan on the market except for the Volkswagen Eurovan, which holds 187 cubic feet. GM's extended minivan family-the Chevrolet Venture, Oldsmobile Silhouette and Pontiac Montana-hold 156 cubic feet.
When Chrysler overhauled its minivans in 1996, it took great care to retune the suspension to ensure a sedan-like ride. At the same time, they increased the torsional rigidity by 50 percent. That translates into greater stability, which is always a plus in a tall vehicle. Driving our Town & Country hard around an on-ramp, we discovered that the more rigid suspension ensured that the vehicle felt firmly planted. The same was true during sharper, low-speed cornering maneuvers.
Our confidence was bolstered by the Town & Country's rack & pinion power steering, which was responsive in quick lane-change maneuvers.
Last year, Chrysler's engineers addressed the road-noise issue that was once a problem with many minivans, and their noise-abatement efforts produced a ride that is not only quieter than most minivans-it's also as quiet as many family sedans.
Our LXi test model was powered by the 3.8-liter V6, which produces 180 horsepower at 4400 rpm and 240 foot-pounds of torque at 3200 rpm. The 3.8-liter engine is the biggest offered in Chrylser's minivan line and it's definitely our favorite. The smaller 3.3-liter engine, which puts out 158 horses at 4850 rpm and 203 foot pounds of torque @ 3250 rpm, delivers sufficient power for the smaller and lighter SX, but we recommend the 3.8-liter engine for the longer, heavier LX, LXi and Limited models.
We found the 3.8-liter engine packed more than enough thrust when accelerating off the line. The extra power was appreciated in freeway-merging situations. Once on the freeway, the 3.8-liter plant definitely filled the bill when we wanted punch to pass a semi-trailer.
Brakes are a special concern in larger vehicles that may be carrying a heavy load-or a half-dozen kids. The Town & Country's brakes quiet such concerns by bringing the vehicle to a confident, controlled stop, with no grabbing or fading.