I presently have two vehicles at my household. One is a sports car that offers average fuel efficiency and has been dependable since I purchased it new seven years ago. My other vehicle is a Sports Utility Vehicle with sub par fuel efficiency but still a good record for reliability. Lately, I have been looking at replacing at least one of these two vehicles and one possible replacement for the SUV is the
2006 Chrysler Town and Country, a nice mini van from Daimler Chrysler.
Features/Options:
The 2006 Chrysler Town and Country Mini Van is offered in four different trim levels and remains virtually unchanged from the 2005. In order of luxury level (highest to lowest), they are: Limited, Touring, LX, and Town and Country (the base model). Each of these different trim levels offers standard equipment like Rack and Pinion steering, power door locks, power windows, power rear vents, tilt steering, remote keyless entry, 4- speed automatic transmission, etc., etc. They all offer seating for up to seven passengers and they all offer sliding rear doors (for the second row of seats) on both sides of the vehicle.
Many key differences, however, come into play when deciding which Town and County trim level is right for you. If you want second row bucket seats, they are offered only on the Limited, Touring, and LX models. The Base model offers only a bench seat in the second row. A security alarm is offered only on the Limited and Touring models. With power seats, the situation is the same- they are offered only on the Limited and Touring models. Many other options are offered only on the top two trim levels.
Statistics/Measurements:
Starting with the engine, Chrysler Town and County offers a 3.3 liter V6 (180 horsepower at 5,000 RPM) engine on the base and LX models and a 3.8 liter V6 engine (205 horsepower at 5,200 RPM) on the Touring and Limited models. The fuel tank holds 20 gallons and the fuel economy ratings are 19 mpg city and 26 highway for the base and LX models; 18 mpg city and 25 highway for the Touring and Limited models.
On the inside, the passenger space is very similar across all four trim levels. Passengers in the front row enjoy 39.6 inches of head room, 40.6 inches of leg room, 62.9 inches of shoulder room, and 57.2 inches of hip room. In the second row, the amount of space is 39.5, 36.5, 64.7, and 67.6 inches respectively. In the third row, the space is 38.2, 33.8, 62.1, and 48.8 inches respectively. These amounts are almost exactly the same (give or take a fraction of an inch) across the four different trim levels.
One area where the numbers show a greater difference is in cargo capacity. With the base model, there is 15.1 cubic feet of cargo space behind the third row of seats. The other three trim levels offer 26.4 cubic feet. Behind the second row, there is 44.2 cubic feet of space in the base model but 54.9 cubic feet in the other three trim levels. And behind the first row of seats, the base model offers 142.3 cubic feet of volume compared to 160.7 in the other three trim levels. The reason for the differences is because the base model is a little bit shorter (about eleven inches) in overall length than the other three.
Pricing:
Typical retail prices on the four different trim levels are $21,300 on the base model; $25,600 on the LX; $28,000 on the Touring; and $36,000 on the Limited. There are presently some excellent incentive offers from Chrysler to make ownership more affordable. The company is offering $3,500 to $4,000 cash back or 60 months with no finance charges to qualified buyers, helping to shrink the cost of a new Town and Country down to a level easily affordable to many families.
Final Thoughts:
Chrysler 2006 Town and Country is a very nice minivan with many different options and many different pricing levels to make finding an affordable match a relatively easy task. I never had much interest in minivans in the past and I generally snubbed them in favor of sport utility vehicles and other tougher, more aggressive looking large vehicles. But today, things are different. The addition of youngsters and my desire to stop shelling out so much money for gasoline has made minivans a more attractive alternative to the large, heavy, gas guzzling SUV’s that once occupied my thoughts.
Among all the different minivans offered by manufacturers, Chrysler Town and Country caught my attention initially because of the great incentive offers and some added bonus incentives offered at local dealerships. One dealer had a sign out front advertising the new 2006 Chrysler Town and Country for less than $15,000!! This sounded too good to be true, so I had to stop and find out if there was a catch. The “catch” was actually not a sales gimmick at all. This price was the bottom- line cost for a base model Chrysler Town and Country after all possible rebates had been taken into account. I was impressed, so I decided to take a closer look.
The first model I looked at was the base model since this was the one being offered for such a ridiculously low price. One thing that disappointed me immediately when I examined the interior of the base model is the fact that it doesn’t offer the famed “Stow ‘N Go” feature like the other three trim levels. This is a really cool feature that allows the second and third rows of seats to be tucked away, beneath the floor, completely out of site, thereby turning the minivan into a large cargo carrier. And when the seats are up, these compartments can be used as storage bins, adding additional places to keep travel gear and other items out of sight. The base model also does not offer the second row option of captain’s chairs. You can only have two bench seats with the base model and they can only be removed completely to get rid of them. There is no place to fold them away.
Even though I was frustrated with these shortcomings on the base model, I felt it was only fair to give it a spin and judge its value as a vehicle to drive. Acceleration in this model seems ok, but the ride was only average and I could feel the bumps as I drove over the unleveled road. This is likely due to the shorter wheelbase on this base model, making it less capable of gracefully gliding over the rough pavement. The braking is swift and firm and I liked the steering very much with its car- like handling and feel. This is in sharp contrast to the steering of my SUV, which has a truck like feel and has a tendency to lean. There was no leaning feeling at all with Chrysler Town and Country.
Quiet and comfort were pretty nice in this minivan. There was very little engine noise and the comfort in the front seat was good, even though I did feel a little “stiff” sitting in the very straight, vertical seat. I can’t really complain about this because I think it’s important to stay alert and this type of seating does exactly that. With softer seats, one has a tendency to slump and even get a little drowsy at times. There is no problem like this with Chrysler Town and Country.
The seat comfort is comparable in the second row of seats but a little less comfortable in the third row. One major problem I found with the base model is that the third row of seats cannot be moved forward or backward to adjust the leg room. This third row can recline, but that is it. The leg room is noticeably less in the third row and it cannot be adjusted in the base model. With the other models, the options are more wide open and some of them do have a way to move the seat backward and forward to control the leg room and improve comfort.
Cargo space is good with Chrysler Town and Country but it is a notch better if you skip the base model and buy one of the other three trim levels. All trim levels offer a good deal of space when the seats are tucked out of the way (or removed, in the case of the base level). But with the Limited, Touring, and LX models, you get additional space in the rear, behind the third row of seats. More than 26 cubic feet of space can be utilized behind the third row on any one of these trim levels vs. only about 15 cubic feet on the base model. Depending on your needs, this can prove to be a substantial difference. Yet another important thing to consider is whether or not you plan to use the Town and Country for towing. If you do, you need to keep in mind that the base model offers a towing capacity of only 1,800 pounds vs. 3,600 for the other three trim levels.
The base prices from one trim level to the next are a few thousand dollars apart and this could be the deciding factor when choosing among the different Town and County trim levels. But another important consideration is the insurance costs. According to the dealer rep that assisted me, the insurance expenses rise quickly as you move up the ranks to more luxurious trim levels. The Limited edition will demand more than
double the insurance cost of the base model. Add this to the higher monthly payment if you decide to finance, and the total monthly cost of owning a Limited model instead of a base model can easily add $200 to $350 to your monthly vehicle expense.
The low cost of the base Chrysler Town and Country model is very tempting and this is especially true once the different rebates are removed from the base price. But when you consider all of the luxuries that the other trim levels offer; the Stow ‘N Go storage; the longer length; the greater cargo room; the superior towing capacity; the optional overhead rail system with additional storage bins; and so forth, the base model might be difficult for many buyers to accept. I love the fact that I could actually drive a new minivan off of the lot for under $15,000. But when I look at these other trim levels and see how much more they have to offer, I think I would be inclined to spend a few thousand more dollars and purchase at least the LX model. It costs about $4,000 more, but it includes many of the extras listed above, making it a solid buy for a vehicle in this class.
Many companies make minivans but Chrysler was the pioneer in this area and the Town and Country is still the premiere minivan offered by this automotive manufacturer. Present incentives make this comfortable, charming minivan more affordable than before and it could easily become a fixture in my driveway in the next several months. Decent fuel economy, very good crash test ratings, comfortable steering and handling, and the ability seat up to seven passengers are among the many positive points of the 2006 Chrysler Town and Country.
Be Sure to Click the Links Below to Read Reviews of Other Minivans:
2006 Dodge Grand Caravan
2006 Dodge Caravan
2006 Honda Odyssey
