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Industry: Email Alert RSS Feed2001 Chrysler Town & Country - Brief Article - Evaluation
Automotive Industries, Sept, 2000 by Dale Jewett
From the outside, you'd be hard pressed to see that Chrysler tore up the entire minivan platform after only five years, for the redesign of its market-leading, biggest-profit vehicles. Then again, earth-shaking styling is not the reason Honda dealers are getting sticker price or more for every Odyssey they sell.
It's the interior that makes or breaks a minivan for most customers, and here's where Chrysler engineers lavished a lot of attention on the new RS platform. Life is better from the driver's seat. The seat track was lengthened slightly, and moved back to give the driver more legroom. A thoroughly revamped power steering system has taken all the slop out of the steering feel. Reworked V-6 engines are quieter and more powerful. A stiffer structure and revised suspension calibrations give the Town & Country a new-found feeling of solidness.
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As someone who has moved seats in and out of every minivan on the market, the third-row split bench is a welcome relief to my back. The solution is not as elegant as the Odyssey's seat that folds into the floor, but the Town & Country's all-wheel-drive option ruled out that feature.
With the size of the minivan segment holding steady, I predict a "gimmick' war is brewing. I'm not convinced that two of the Town & Country's improvements -- a moveable console and power-operated liftgate -- are more than just gadgets.
Chrysler's share of the minivan pie may be getting smaller, but the new RS minivans will ensure it keeps the biggest piece.
COPYRIGHT 2000 Cahners Publishing Company
COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group
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