A Luxury Vehicle!

I will not write the long way - as I see most other opinions are enough, and I don't have any specials to add. Very smooth & quite ride, good acceleration & braking, lot of interior space (it's the widest minivan, almost 79"), handles very well, turns very good. I tried all other minivans, and this one has the best and most quiet ride.

Some minor things I dislike: Key fob works only from a distance up to 27 ft (that's what the owners manual says), The Ford Windstar is working, I think, 50 feet. The Honda Odyssey also 50 feet.

Automatic door locks. You go in the car, close all doors, and start traveling. Once you reach 15 MPH, all doors automatically locks. In my opinion it's a lack of safety. I once had a young passenger (7 years old) who opened the sliding door while I backed up my driveway. Other cars locks automatically once you shift out of park.

Also, some minivans (GM's, Windstar) offer a rear parking aid. So when you're in reverse mode, backing up, and any object is in your way, it start beeping inside the vehicle to alert you. To bad that Chrysler with the most "Luxury" minivan doesn't offer it.

Also, though Town & Country have the largest cargo room, up to 168 cu. ft., it has the lowest load capacity in its class. Just 1,150 lbs. While others, ford & GM's are giving you over 1,350, an additional 200 lbs.

Also T&C doesn't offer all-speed traction control as ALL other minivan models. Just Low-Speed ctrl, up to 35 MPH. But it offers AWD, though. The only minivan yet. GM will offer it on 2002 models.

To take advantage of the luxury features, you got to take the expensive, top of the line, Limited model. It's a problem. Need Light-sensitive mirrors interior & exterior? Go with the Limited. Need a programmable electronic vehicle information center? Just the limited offers you that. And so is the memory option, rear assist handles, and more.

But besides these minor things it's the best minivan out there.

Actually, I was always love the Chrysler minivans, since the redesign in 1996. It has always features a nice, elegant, inviting interior. But the redesign on the current 2001 models is on the down side. The old models ('96-'00) was much more luxury inside, especialy at the front, with the wood trim, nice A/C ducts, big temperature controls, and more. But the 2001 model changes everything. The A/C ducts are rotated and aligned vertically which makes it look very ugly. The temp. & audio controls are not so comfortable, and hard to figure out the way it works. The cup holders are moved down to a lower position. The interior door handles are very tiny, and Traction Control button moves above the steering wheel, where the "Hazard Flashing" button used to be... The controls for the rear window washer/wiper are also not the best. Very funny and outdated.

And on the outside the story is not much better. The new design is not nice. The only really good update is the big new headlamps which is much bigger than the old ones. The front grill is also very nice & elegant. But the view from the side is not inviting at all. Very different door handles, and styling is also different. Even the big taillamps which "SHOULD" be nice, I don't like it too much.

Then, the options packages is also worse now more than before. You can not get fog lamps and traction control on the LX model, and you MUST take 50/50 split rear seat on the LXi model, even if you're like me and don't like it. It's not comfortable for the person seating in the center of the 50/50 seat. The leather feels like a school bus seat, and the wood trim on the doors of the Limited models is very outdated.

I don't know why Chrysler has picked a new designer. In my opinion, they should return to the old beautiful design.