2007 Chrysler Town & Country Beatdown

Odometer: 6836
MPG: 24.8

I spent July 6 - 12th in Mexico. My group rented mini-vans in San Diego to go down to Ensenada. The mini-van I got to know very well was the 2007 Chrylser Town and Country.

My first impressions were that this is one comfortable car. I was immediately comfortable in the driver's seat. The door arm rest was at the right height and position for me (unlike on the Elantra where the armrest seems a couple of inches too far away).

The shifter was located strangely on the right of the steering wheel. Not a stalk, but a "straight-line" version I am used to seeing seat level. It was an awkward position for me, since I needed to lean forward to use it. Manually shifting to 2nd, 3rd,and 4th requires jostling it laterally left or right. Not a very user-friendly. I downshifted to 1st accidentally a couple of times, when trying to get to 2nd and 3rd.

We really packed it in with 6 passengers and luggage. We made use of the stow and go storage area under the seat. There are sliding doors on both sides, though the one on the driver's side has a child-proof thing so you can't open it from the inside. We needed to use AC when the engine was off when we were stuck in heavy border traffic. Not cold when the engine is off.

Power was adequate except on freeway hills (note we were 7 passenger full the whole time). Reviewers bag on the 3.3L engine as being weak, but at slower city and rural speeds, get up an go was fine. We passed many beater cars and 18-wheelers.

We took it up and down some steep and bumpy dirt roads all week long. These are things you generally don't do to a FWD mini-van. The suspension rocked a lot, but handled everything fine.

Part of our mini van torture course.

Coming back we were late, so we need to book it on I-5. Getting to 80mph took more effort than I thought it would. The guy I was trying to keep up with had a Toyota Sienna. But it is an easy car to drive, given its size.

After coming back to the Elantra after a week in the T&C took some re-acclimating. My left foot kept hunting for the parking brake, which wasn't there. My right hand reached for the shifter near the steering wheel a couple of times. And I was a lot more heavy on the gas than I needed to be, because the T&C required more throttle to get up to speed. I was zooming past 40 faster than I should. After a couple of days I am getting used to my car again.

FYI: Dollar Rent a Car in San Diego is the only outfit that lets you take mini-vans across the border. 2nd FYI: You can fill up the tank of a mini van for under $55 in Mexico. Aye caramba!