Recently I had a chance to spend some extended time (nearly 2 weeks) driving around the desert southwest (Nevada, Arizona, Utah) in a 2010 Chrysler Town & Country (with the Touring package).<\/p>\n
Now, I’m not normally very fond of minivans personally, but I can appreciate them for what they are – very practical vehicles. And in this case, a minivan was exactly what we needed.<\/p>\n
We had 4 people, two of whom had just flown in from Australia, so they had all of their luggage for a 6-week stay in the US with them. So we needed a car that could fit all of that luggage, as well as seat all 4 of us comfortably for the very long drives between various national parks we’d be visiting.<\/p>\n
So, it was with all that in mind that I rented a minivan, and the 2010 Chrysler Town & Country is what we ended up with.<\/p>\n
Now, on paper it seems like this should be a very respectable vehicle – but, as is so often the case, reality turned out to be somewhat different.<\/p>\n
Now, in the sense of giving us plenty of room for luggage and people, the Town & Country did not disappoint. We easily fit 4 huge suitcases in the back (the 3rd row seats fold flat into the floor, a very neat trick) along with 2 big carry-on bags and various other stuff we picked up along the way (e.g., a huge pack of bottled water to keep us all hydrated in the dry desert). There was also plenty of space for the 4 of us, and we each got captain-style chairs which were very comfortable.<\/p>\n
However, the driving experience was less than I expected – and I didn’t expect too much, given that this is <\/em>a minivan, after all.<\/p>\n For one thing, the engine seemed to be a very bad match for such a heavy vehicle (4,507 pounds). While it was a 3.8L V6, it only put out 197 hp and it only reached that maximum horsepower at a very high 5200 RPM.<\/p>\n The transmission was also a source of frustration the whole trip – it was a very nice 6-speed automatic, but the V6 engine has such a narrow power band that even on the mostly flat roads we drove on, it was constantly switching gears, just to keep us moving at a constant speed.<\/p>\n And although the engine delivered impressive power, it did so when we least needed it – for example, at very low speeds. It was very easy to “surge” forward when pulling away from a stop, but on the highway when you needed to pass a slow-moving trailer (as you often do on the long single-lane state highways out there) you really had to mash your foot down into the floor.<\/p>\n And speaking of the long drives we had to make – although the passengers were very comfortable, as a driver I found it a bit annoying that all you have is the little captain’s chair-style armrests. You can’t even really lean your arm on the window – the van is so wide that the door is just too far away from where you are sitting in the driver’s chair.<\/p>\n All-in-all, although the Town & Country had the space we needed, it was not in any way a pleasure to drive. It really seems to have been designed to appeal to people who don’t like driving, rather than people who do. So, I guess if that’s you, then you’ll be happy with this minivan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Keith gets behind the wheel of a 2010 Chrysler Town & Country minivan while out in the desert southwest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"webmentions_disabled_pings":false,"webmentions_disabled":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":3,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[9,199],"tags":[134,81,100,124],"class_list":["post-3187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cars-and-trucks","category-my-opinion","tag-behind-the-wheel","tag-driving","tag-opinion","tag-review","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pimUj-Pp","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4700,"url":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/2015\/06\/22\/behind-the-wheel-my-mid-80s-k-cars\/","url_meta":{"origin":3187,"position":0},"title":"Behind the Wheel: My Mid-80’s K-Cars","author":"Keith Survell","date":"June 22, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"My first 3 cars were all mid-80's K-Cars, and since they were all so similar I figured I'd just lump them into a single review rather than try and do them individually. 1985 Plymouth Reliant This was my very first car, and though I only had it about 2 weeks,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cars and Trucks"","block_context":{"text":"Cars and Trucks","link":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/category\/cars-and-trucks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"1985 plymouth reliant","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2015\/06\/1985-plymouth-reliant-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1367,"url":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/2008\/10\/14\/behind-the-wheel-2007-chevrolet-trailblazer\/","url_meta":{"origin":3187,"position":1},"title":"Behind the Wheel: 2007 Chevrolet Trailblazer","author":"Keith Survell","date":"October 14, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"I rented a 2007 Chevy Trailblazer to drive Amanda's parents around in as we did a big tour of New England in the fall, so I had plenty of time to get aquainted with this vehicle - on both highways and tight city streets. 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