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New car reviews » 2010 Chrysler Town & Country Touring

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Better than: Any past Chrysler minivan.
But not as good as: Hmmm, still thinking about that one.
GRM Bang For The Buck Index: 60.06  

Remember how most of us grew up hating minivans? For some of us, though, a light eventually goes off: “Hey, these minivans are practical, roomy and easy to drive.”

Then we ask ourselves a seemingly innocent question: “Why doesn’t everyone else drive one?” Oh, that’s right, minivans have become the pariahs of the automotive world.

While the motoring public’s attention has turned to crossovers, cute-utes and other means of conveyance, the lowly minivan is still out there. Ford and GM may have dropped the minivan from their lineups, but Chrysler, the company who really introduced America to the minivan concept, is still at it.

The fifth generation of the Town & Country made its debut for 2007 and does what all good minivans should: capably transport a number of people and their junk. Honestly, it doesn’t look half bad, either.

Other staff views:

David S. Wallens Editorial Director:

We put this one through the toughest test possible: We drove it to a Fishbone concert. We even scored an ideal spot out front. What does that have to do with this particular vehicle? Okay, not much.

However, the T&C did transport us there quickly and quietly. It’s also quicker than you’d expect. A 4.0 V6 backed by a six-speed automatic in a minivan? Come on, that’s cool. It even has a slap-stick shifter, although to be honest that one piece felt a little flimsy.

You know, now that I think about it, we have driven Chrysler minivans to a few other concerts lately, including Depeche Mode and Skif Dank. You know, getting old is a bitch. Hey, at least we can still rock. With our minivans.

Reader comments:

1. ZOO: — Mar 11, 2010 8:31 a.m.
   

   I rented one recently for a business trip. For an out the door price in Canada of less than $20000 with the StowNGo option, it seems a no-brainer.

2. YaNi: — Mar 13, 2010 7:26 a.m.
   

   My dad was one of the first people in his company to get one as a company vehicle. I can’t remember if its a 2009 or 2010, but nevertheless it has had numerous problems. Within the first 10-15k miles he had a rear caliper take a dump and lockup which required a tow, and at about 30k the other one went. The vehicle was “too new” for Chrysler to have replacement calipers, so he had to wait about a week on both accounts for them to find the parts.

   He is just north of 40k miles and the transmission is whining, and the dash is lit up like a Christmas tree (ABS, traction, and stability lights on). It wasn’t just one bad apple, because his coworkers are experiencing similar problems. These are fleet vehicles too. All maintenance is done per the owners manual, so they should be in better condition than the average vehicle.

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