2002 Chrysler Town & Country Review (continued)
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Walkaround

Form follows function in the minivan world, so they are not the first category we think of when we think of stylish designs. In spite of this, the Town & Country presents a sleek, solid stance. It looks aerodynamic in profile, with a raked windshield, rising roofline and beltline, and fast D-pillar with canted rear window. Crisp, formal creases have replaced the smooth forms of the 1990s. Pronounced wheel arches complement sharp character lines that flank the integrated grille. For visual stability, rear styling cues give the Town & Country a weighty appearance that makes it look wider and not as tall. Huge taillamps use clear red lenses and jewel-like reflectors.

There's nothing mini about this minivan. The Town & Country is about the same length as the biggest minivans on the market. It measures 200.5 inches long and 78.6 inches wide. The Town & Country stretches across a longer wheelbase (119.3 inches) than the Chrysler Voyager (113.3 inches). By comparison, the Honda Odyssey is 201 inches long on a 118-inch wheelbase; the Oldsmobile Silhouette measures 201.4 inches on a 120-inch wheelbase; and the Ford Windstar stretches 201 inches across a 120.7-inch wheelbase.

Dual sliding doors are, of course, standard on all Town & Country models. A right-side power sliding door comes standard on the EX and dual power sliding doors are standard on LXi and Limited models. These sliding doors can add considerable convenience to your daily life, particularly for those of us who often find ourselves with armloads of stuff. Press a button on the remote transmitter and the door slides open; press the button again and it slides closed and seals. From the second-row seat, the power sliding door can be opened and closed by pressing a button; it can also be opened manually. A child safety lock switch hidden away on the trailing edge of the door can be engaged to prevent opening the sliding door from inside. The power doors work particularly well when managing children and armloads of stuff. Pulling on the outside lever opens the power door manually, with just slightly more effort than opening a regular manual door. Our LX came with a power sliding door on the passenger's side and a manually operated sliding door on the driver's-side; the manually operated door is easy to operate, smoothly sliding open and closed with the pull of a nicely designed lever. The outside door handles are comfortable, easy to operate and well designed; they impart a feeling of quality in looks and operation. Power sliding doors in various combinations are available as options on models that don't offer them as standard equipment.

An available power rear liftgate adds further convenience when picking up groceries or supplies: Press a button on the remote control and the rear liftgate opens or closes automatically-great for those all-too-frequent times when you're walking up with an armload.

Interior Features

The Town & Country is a comfortable place to spend some road time. It provides seating for up to seven people, and all positions are roomy and comfortable. That's something that can't be said for a lot of sport-utility vehicles. Cupholders are available at each seat and the rearmost passengers each get their own storage console, though the plastic lid is flimsy. Seat belt anchors are height-adjustable in the front and middle rows.

A low floor makes getting in and out through the side doors easy. Caesar the 170-pound English mastiff puppy, which requires a ramp to get into an SUV, stepped easily and without hesitation through the side door to get into the Town & Country. Judging by his expression, this is one of his favorite vehicles.

Access through the rear hatch is a bit higher, however, and he'd need a ramp there. Loading groceries through here is no problem, though. Plastic grocery bags can be looped onto special hooks on the backs of the rear seats. There's a fair amount of space behind the third row, which is not true of the Voyager and other standard-length vans. An optional cargo organizer on the floor behind the rear seat opens to provide a bin for six grocery bags; and it is adjustable.

We found the second-row bucket seats and third-row split bench easy to remove. All or any one of the four seats can be popped out and rolled away in three quick steps, providing a wide variety of seating and cargo configurations. Reinstalling them takes a little more practice, as you need to learn how to line them up before snapping them into place. Each seat is heavy enough that care should be exercised when lifting it off the garage floor. The seats can also be folded down to form a continuous load floor for 4x8-foot sheets of plywood and other large items.

There are many features available, in addition to the power doors, designed for those of us who always seem to be dealing with armloads of stuff: A headlamp-off time delay lights the way when coming home in the dark with a load of groceries. Auxiliary outlets, two up front and one amidship, provide convenient power for gadgets. Four serious coathooks make picking up the dry cleaning a more elegant chore. Three dome lights illuminate the cabin well. An available overhead console houses power switches for the rear hatch and sliding doors along with compass and outside temperature readouts. Power window switches include the rear quarter windows. Dark tinting on the side windows provides privacy.

A center console houses a cellular phone holder, power outlet, storage tray, light, tissue holder, and a map holder. The console is removable and can be placed between either the front or middle seats.

Small buttons make the audio system a challenge to learn and use while driving and the column shifter blocks the driver's view of the volume knob and seek button; steering wheel audio controls are available on selected models and should eliminate this problem. Cruise controls were conveniently located on the steering wheel of our LX. Heating, ventilation and air conditioning controls were functional, but rudimentary, on our LX, with his and hers sliders for temperature control. (Automatic temperature controls on LXi and Limited models are nicer.) A separate knob controls the rear fan. Handsome and straightforward analog instruments use black on white graphics that reverse at night. A digital odometer doubles as the trip odometer when a button is pressed. Turn signal indicators and warning lights are in a thin hooded panel above the instruments.

Lots of glass makes for good visibility all around, though the thick A-pillars hamper front three-quarter vision. Rearward visibility is greatly enhanced with big side mirrors, though third-row headrests block the rear-view mirror somewhat.