Photo: Simon Hill, Canadian Auto Press |
Not only will the new Town & Country be following in the footsteps of a carefully refined, eminently practical and immensely popular design that’s been serving families faithfully since 2008, it will also be stepping into the spotlight solo: After 31 years in the marketplace its Dodge Grand Caravan sibling is slated to be discontinued.
The transition should see some interesting changes in the Town & Country lineup, especially north of the 49th parallel. After all, while the Town & Country is the segment leader in the US (followed closely by the Dodge Grand Caravan), in Canada
Photo: Simon Hill, Canadian Auto Press |
To help me experience the ultimate in minivan luxury Chrysler set me up for a week in its range-topping 2015 Town & Country Limited Platinum, fully loaded with all the most desirable options. As minivans go, it’s hard to argue the result. The 2015 Town & Country may be the last of its generation, but in Limited Platinum trim it’s certainly going out in style. Complementing its True Blue Pearl Coat paint and polished 17-inch alloy wheels, my test van featured a two-tone grey and black interior colour scheme with soft Nappa leather upholstery, Stow ‘n’ Go
Photo: Simon Hill, Canadian Auto Press |
Chrysler has clearly expended effort to ensure that the Town & Country’s interior has a look and feel befitting its "ultimate luxury minivan" boast, with a fat leather-wrapped and wood-infused steering wheel, soft-touch front door uppers and inserts, a trés chic analog dashboard clock, and plenty of brushed metal and chrome accents. But there’s no disguising the family van bones underneath the luxury,
Photo: Simon Hill, Canadian Auto Press |
Storage is one department where Chrysler’s minivans truly shine, and the Town & Country Limited doesn’t disappoint. The centre console is capacious and well thought-out, with plenty of hidden space for all of life’s accoutrements. It would be nice if there was a system in place to make the console move quickly and easily out of the way in case you want to clamber into the back of the van, but I guess
Photo: Simon Hill, Canadian Auto Press |
My wife was thoroughly impressed with the big under-floor bins available when the Stow ‘n Go seats aren’t stowed, and for long trips there are cupholders galore, plus small cubbies even for the third-row occupants. Cargo space behind the third row is a reasonable 934 litres, and this jumps to 2,359 litres when it’s folded flat, and 4,072 litres with the second-row seats also stowed.
Under the hood, the Town & Country gets Chrysler’s proven 3.6-litre Pentastar V6, which cranks out 283 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque. Hooked up to a standard equipment six-speed automatic transmission it’ll easily squawk the front tires
Photo: Simon Hill, Canadian Auto Press |
On the road I found the drivetrain amply willing if a perhaps little unrefined. This isn’t a case of noise, vibration of harshness – the V6 is a nice-sounding engine with a muted, mellow roar during heavy acceleration, and overall noise levels in the van are quite low. The lack of refinement is more to do with the slightly abrupt, rubbery manner in which everything operates: The throttle tip-in is distinctly front-end loaded, so the van feels powerful but takes a deft touch to launch smoothly, and the brakes bite with equal enthusiasm when it comes time to stop. The transmission also tends to lurch a little on shifts, and my test van’s power delivery was less than
Photo: Simon Hill, Canadian Auto Press |
Fuel economy using the new five-cycle test method is rated at 14.1 / 9.5 L/100km (city/highway), and I got reasonably close to these numbers myself, using a little more than 15 L/100km in the city and about 10 L/100km on the highway.
In terms of ride and handling the Town & Country is both comfortable and well controlled, with a decently solid feeling structure. The steering is a bit vague, but it’s nicely weighted and the van tracks well, goes where it’s pointed with a minimum of fuss, and hangs on surprisingly well if you decide to push it a little through the corners.
In addition to the Nappa leather upholstery, standard kit with Limited Platinum trim,
Photo: Simon Hill, Canadian Auto Press |
All Town & County vans get electronic stability control with trailer sway control, four-wheel antilock disc brakes, tire pressure monitoring, active head restraints, and a comprehensive array of airbags. Safety-wise, the Dodge/Chrysler minivan twins, as well as the Nissan Quest, were recently called out by the IIHS for poor performance in the challenging
Photo: Simon Hill, Canadian Auto Press |
On top of all its standard equipment my test van had $5,220 worth of optional gear including a power sunroof ($1,395), towing package ($700), navigation package ($475), a DVD/Blu-ray entertainment system with second- and third-row screens ($2,000), and the previously mentioned power folding third-row seat ($650). All in all it’s a list of equipment worthy of a premium luxury sedan and sure to keep the kids happy on even the longest road trips.
To help keep buyers happy at purchase time, Chrysler was offering significant incentives on the Town & Country Limited Platinum at the time of writing. My test van’s window sticker indicated an all-in pre-discount
Photo: Simon Hill, Canadian Auto Press |
At that price the Town & Country Limited Platinum is competitive with comparably equipped competitors such as the Honda Odyssey or Toyota Sienna. The difference is that while both of these competitors can be fitted with similarly sumptuous levels of equipment as the Town & Country, neither offers Chrysler’s convenient Stow ‘n’ Go seating. For those wanting the ultimate in both minivan luxury and minivan practicality, the Town & Country Limited Platinum is worth a look.
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