Chrysler invented the front wheel drive minivan and for many years held more than 50 percent of the market. In recent years, however, there have been many new entrants into this category. As a result, DaimlerChrysler's share of this important market has been declining. For the 2001 model year, they have once again redesigned their market-leading minivans. What has been done to counter the new competition, and is it enough? To find out, I took a look at the new Town & Country.

This was more than idle curiosity on my part. I now have two children, and my wife wants a third in a couple of years, so I suspect I will not be able to put off buying a minivan for much longer. Already my wife and I engage in a casual, at most half-serious debate on who will have to drive it. At some point, this debate will become fully serious, perhaps even violent. She simply doesn’t want the “Mommymobile.” I’d like to think I’m not so bound up in image (right). But I currently greatly enjoy driving, and would hate to have to drive a vehicle with less than stellar responses and handling. I suspect we represent thousands of other couple in this resistance. Has DaimlerChrysler done anything to mitigate such resistance?

Chrysler Town & Country Reliability

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Lots of Stuff

In case I lost the battle with my wife, I looked for a Town & Country equipped the way I would like. It turns out I have expensive tastes. I didn’t care for the top-of-the-line Limited, the seats of which are partially covered in suede. This isn’t unattractive, but I want leather in large part to make the interior easy to clean. In the past I’ve found that suede is hard to clean and tends to show wear too easily. Also, I couldn’t figure out what the substantially higher price of the Limited added over the LXi. Other than chrome wheels, which I HATE. This put me into the LXi, which until a few years ago was the top-of-the-line. And which had nicer looking wheels, both due to their design and their lack of cheap-hubcap-mimicking chrome. The LXi I looked at had every option, according to the salesperson. Just about all of these seemed like ones I would like to have. The sticker topped $34,000. Though $2,000 less than the Limited parked next to it, this was still higher than I had expected it would be.

What did $34,000 include? Well, all of the new features for this year. These are worth discussing in some detail. A few years ago GM came out with a power sliding door. Many customers found this useful, since it was then possible to open and close the right side sliding door without leaving the driver’s seat, or while walking towards the van with your arms full. Some customers thought it might be dangerous, but the door moves so slowly no one could unintentionally get stuck in it. Certainly it would be easier to have the door manually slammed on someone by mistake. Also, these doors are designed to reverse if they encounter obstacles (though I’ve never tested this). I suspect I’d want this feature if I was really buying a van.

For a few years this feature was only available on GM vans. Then in 1999 Delphi, the now independent supply arm of GM, started selling the feature to other companies. Ford, Honda, and Toyota all signed on. The first two even offered something GM’s vans didn’t at first, a driver’s-side power door. DaimlerChrysler was the only hold-out among the major players in this market. Instead of licensing the patented technology, they issued statements about how customers didn’t really want power sliding doors.

It seems they were just buying time to find a way around Delphi’s patents. The 2001 minivans have dual power sliding doors standard on many models, and optional on some others. The system works much differently. While the Delphi system positions the motor in the body and uses cables to operate the door, the DaimlerChrysler system mounts the motors in the doors and operates using a toothed cam and track below the door opening. They get around the problem of supplying power to a motor in a moving door with a cable that appears well protected by a case composed of hinged plastic segments. Overall, the DaimlerChrysler system appears more robust than the Delphi system used by everyone else. This is important, because I’ve read many reports of reliability problems with the Delphi system.

The operation of the doors is very smooth, if a bit noisy. Like with the GM system, people have plenty of time to clear the doorway. A button just inside the door can be deactivated by the driver to prevent children from using it when not desired. Though I did not check, I suspect that the doors will only operate when the shifter is in Park. Sorry for spending so much time on this, but this feature appears very useful and I find it interesting.

More dubious is another innovation available on the new vans. It seems DaimlerChrysler decided to match everyone else with the dual power sliders and then raise them one with a power liftgate, priced at $295. No one else offers this feature, at least not yet. A motor inside the body operates a large cam connected to the liftgate by a short rod mounted about six inches down from the left hinge. It appears to be robust, and operates smoothly. When told to close, it first issues a series of warning beeps so no one will unintentionally get hit in the head. (I did not check for any auto-reverse feature, sorry.) As slick as this feature is, I’m not sure how useful it would be. The liftgate is easy to open and close, would not be used as often as the sliding doors, and you’d have to get out of the vehicle to load it anyway. Maybe shorter people who have trouble reaching the handle would find it worthwhile. I suspect if I were buying a minivan I’d pass.

A third innovative feature on the new minivans is a movable and removable powered center console. This center console has a number of sizable storage compartments, one of which appears designed to hold a phone, and a couple of power outlets. It can be placed between the front seats or in the second row between the captain’s chairs. If you want a second console so you can have one in each row, the dealer will sell you one. Usually I’d want to keep the pathway between the seats open, to get to the kids easily, but the idea of additional storage is appealing, and it’s easy to remove and replace once you figure out how it’s done. Installed it’s as solidly mounted as the average fixed console. Very slick, especially since it includes an electrical connection.

Still missing off the features list is a third row seat that folds flat into the floor. Honda and Mazda offer this feature already, and GM is supposed to add it for 2001, though I have not seen it yet. This feature provides for a lot of cargo room without removing any seats. DaimlerChrysler for whatever reason passed. You can flip the third row seats forward, but if you want to clear the rear area you’ll have to remove them as before. They aren’t too difficult to get out and put back in once you figure out the three-step process. Still, this is tedious, especially given the approximately 50 pound weight of each half and the space they take up in your garage. Any bets for how many years it’ll be before an into-the-floor seat appears in the DaimlerChrysler minivans?

That’s it for the really exciting stuff on the new minivans. Additional details include headlights large enough to do some good (mid-90s Chrysler design all suffered from inadequate headlights), lots of sizable air vents, for superior ventilation, and the availability of a touring suspension. The latter was a $95 option on the minivan I drove. I’d take it. A moderately exciting $200 option was the red paint on this vehicle. It looked sharp, but $200 for paint? I’m not sure how this will fly on an American vehicle. Must be Mercedes’ influence…

Styling

Enough about gadgets. The minivan has been completely restyled. The 1996 design revolutionized minivan design. With aggressive bulges over the wheels, hidden door tracks, flush side glass, and a sloped rear window, it was far more stylish than any previous minivan. In comparison, the 2001 is just evolutionary. Though all of the metal you see is new, much of what you don't see appears to have been carried over. As far as I can tell, the glass has all been carried over as well. So the size and proportions are virtually the same (with the exception of a front end that was extended three inches to improve crash safety). The most substantial change is that the wheel flares are gone, replaced by a prominent undercut groove running the length of the vehicle. The ends of the van have been given a touch more style (in part to allow for those larger lights), but many people are unlikely to be able to tell the difference except from the side. Overall, some sportiness have been exchanged for a more upscale appearance. Nearly everyone will still find it very stylish for a minivan. In my opinion it maintains the DaimlerChrysler minivans’ position as the best looking on the market.

The interior has similarly been restyled for a more upscale look. The Chrysler version borrows a few cues from the successful 300M. The gauges have cream faces and numerals in a classic watch-type font. The leather has a heavy grain that resembles that of some fine furniture. I find these the most appealing aspects of the interior design. The dash itself is a clean, conservative design that puts the controls where you’d like them but breaks no new ground aesthetically. There is some fake wood on the dash and doors, but it looks close enough to real and there’s not too much of it. On a functional level, the aforementioned large vents, three zone climate control, and the plethora of storage spaces (including bins under a few of the seats) are very welcome.

A lot of attention appears to have been given to the placement of speakers throughout the interior. It cannot be easy to provide sound for such a large interior, but this Infinity system does well based on my (admittedly not picky) ears. I do wonder why the optional four disc CD changer is a separate unit mounted under the climate controls, when many cars this year have a six CD changer integral with the stereo.

Accommodations

Less successful is the seating. The front seats are very supportive and comfortable. Their bolsters gripped me better than those in many of the sports sedans I’ve recently driven. Visibility all around could not be better, with a low beltline, relatively thin pillars, and acres of glass. No complaints from me about anything in the front seat. But I should note that I positioned the seat all the way back even though I’m only 5ֽ”. Taller drivers will have to raise it if they want to stretch out their legs. Plentiful headroom should allow this.

The problem is that with the driver’s seat all the way back legroom is woefully lacking in the second row. This surprised me, since this was the long wheelbase van. Part of the problem is that there is no room for feet under the first row seats. I assume that making the second row seats higher off the floor, so a passenger’s legs wouldn’t have to stick so far out, would have caused other problems. Perhaps I should have taken the driver’s seat up instead of back? I didn’t really want to sit any higher, but if I want my second row passengers to be comfortable I guess this is what I’d have to do. Taller drivers would not have this option. It’s a shame, since the seats themselves are shaped much like those in front and are very comfortable aside from limited legroom.

One thing that would help (aside from providing room for feet under the front seats) would be a fore-aft adjustment for the second row seats. Some GM minivans used to have this feature, and perhaps still do. Why not here?

The third row is a mixed bag. Since it is a split bench, of course it’s not as comfortable as the second row captain’s chairs. Especially not for any middle passenger, who would straddle a split complete with perceivable hinges. But there’s more legroom back there than in the second row, both because there’s just enough room to squeeze your toes under the second row and, if this isn’t quite comfy, you can stretch your legs between the captains’ chairs as long as the console isn’t mounted there. It’s odd that the less comfortable row has more legroom.

In some ways I suspect the rear seats are being designed with the idea that only humans with short legs, i.e. children, will ever sit back there. This seems misguided. At least half of all minivans are bought by people without young children, whether for the cargo space or for the ability to carry three couples at once without anyone having to sit in the middle. Older people find these vehicles especially easy to get in and out of. So it’s time to design the rear seats for adults.

Cargo room is very generous. There’s even a decent amount of space behind the third seat, which has hooks for grocery bags on its back (such nice little features can be found everywhere inside this van). If you bother to remove all of the rear seats, there are supposedly 167 cubic feet of space back there, the most of any minivan by a sizable margin. And don’t think of matching this kind of capacity with an SUV. Even the gargantuan Ford Excursion contains only 146 cubic feet, and the new Acura MDX, a potential minivan competitor given its seven passenger seating, cannot even hold half as much.

On the Road

The minivan I drove had the currently most powerful engine, a 3.8 liter that produces 215 horsepower. This represents a significant increase from the 180 this engine produced in the 2000 minivan. In a few months the 3.5 liter from the large cars will be available, and it will produce 230 peak horsepower but about the same amount through the midrange. So I would expect the difference in performance to be negligible. As it was, the 3.8 moved the minivan about as quickly as I’d probably ever want a minivan to go. It pulled away strongly from a stop and was responsive up to highway speeds. It’s not an especially quiet engine when pushed, sounding much like other OHV American V6s, but the noise is not objectionable. Torque steer is absent. The transmission shifts smoothly. Nothing inspiring about this powertrain performance, but it’s just about ideal for this sort of vehicle. No surprises in either direction.

The Town & Country’s optional touring suspension provides decent handling, especially given the size and weight (about 4200 lbs.) of this vehicle. It’s actually something of an achievement that you never feel like you’re driving such a huge vehicle. Nothing inspiring, but definitely competent and safe. I’ll even go out on a limb and can it “maneuverable.” Unlike in some large cars, I didn’t detect any float over road undulations. It might not be tossable, but this minivan's suspension is well buttoned down.

The ride is also good over just about any surface, though it’s not quite up to that of a good luxury sedan. Every once in a while you’ll feel the rear end skitter a bit over some imperfection in the road. I suspect this is because the rear suspension is a simple beam axle and must be tuned for a wide range of loads. The ride probably improves with more weight in the vehicle, especially since the one I drove had a ride leveling suspension.

The new Town & Country seems quieter than any other minivan I’ve driven or ridden in. Road and wind noise are both notably low for a vehicle with so much interior volume. The engine, fairly loud though not unpleasant under heavy throttle, is also quiet while cruising. As with the ride, noise levels overall are just short of a decent luxury car. This does much to give the new Town & Country a sensation of refinement and luxury I've found in no other minivan.

Reservations

My largest reservations with this vehicle (other than my generic reservations that apply to all minivans) concern the quality of some interior materials. The interior may be stylish, and in many ways seems a half step up from the old one, but some of the materials in there could still use some help. The storage compartments in the third row are the most glaring example of this. The plastic lid on one side still had a lot of flashing attached. The hinge is the cheap integral plastic type; with repeated use the door will break off. The latch simply hooks onto a hole in the interior trim. All in all, I cannot think of a cheaper way they could execute this compartment except leaving the lid off altogether. I suspect this is because it’s in the third row and they figured no one’s going to look at anything thoroughly back there anyway.

A final thing I should mention is that I could hear a flutter in the engine whenever I tapped on the accelerator. My guess is something up there was in need of adjustment. Hopefully this isn’t indicative of any common powertrain problems.

Pricing

For quick, up-to-date new car pricing, and especially user-specified price comparisons, check out the website I created: www.truedelta.com. Why yet another vehicle pricing website? Well, I personally lacked the patience to keep using the others. They were too slow and required too much effort, especially when trying to compare prices. So I taught myself some programming and created a site where there is no need to dig through option packages, prerequisites, and the like one by one -- the TrueDelta algorithm figures these out for you in one swift pass.

Last Words

In the end this test drive left me no closer to solving the problem of who will get the minivan when the day of reckoning finally arrives. DaimlerChrysler has not taken a great leap forward this time around, but they have made worthwhile improvements in just about every area. The 2001 Town & Country LXi was a very nice vehicle, probably as good as long wheelbase minivans get. But I didn’t expect to greatly enjoy driving it and it didn’t surprise me. On a positive note, I can’t say I hated driving it, either. I hope to drive some other minivans, including the slightly sportier and more affordable Dodge, soon. But I suspect that none will make me ready to give up my car. Maybe if I could get my wife to take a test drive…

Update

I've since driven the Dodge, an older Plymouth Voyager, a nearly new Ford Windstar, and a Honda Odyssey. None of these came close to the level of luxury and refinement found in the new Town & Country. The Honda was a very nice van, but felt and drove much like a blown-up Accord. Very pleasant, but clearly designed to be a very pleasant appliance.

To learn more about my reliability research and sign up to participate in it, or to perform thorough, up-to-date new car price comparisons, visit www.truedelta.com. A link to this website and alphabetized links to my other vehicle reviews can be found on my profile page.
Amount Paid (US$): 33000
Condition: New
Model Year: 2001
Model and Options: loaded LXi 2WD