2011 Chrysler Town & Country Review and Prices

By Chuck Giametta

2011 CHRYSLER TOWN & COUNTRY BUYING ADVICE

• The 2011 Chrysler Town & Country is the best minivan for you if you recognize that this is one vehicle class in which American products truly are world-class.  

• The 2011 Chrysler Town & Country could be in line for some styling revisions and perhaps a new V-6 engine. The 2011 Town & Country is the upscale version of the minivan also sold as the 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan. They share powertrains and seven-seat interior layouts, including the option of Chrysler’s engaging Swivel ’n Go table-and-chairs arrangement. Town & County is marginally more expensive than comparable versions of the Grand Caravan, making it the smarter choice only if you’re brand-conscious. Both are family rooms on wheels, just in different neighborhoods.

• Should you wait for the 2011 Chrysler Town & Country or buy a 2010 Chrysler Town & Country? Wait for the 2011 Town & Country if you want the latest styling and features and are intrigued by the possibility of a V-6 designed to raise the bar on both power and fuel economy.

2011 CHRYSLER TOWN & COUNTRY CHANGES

• Styling: The 2011 Chrysler Town & Country styling changes would be confined to a revised front end, maybe tweaked taillamps, and perhaps some new cabin-surface textures. The size and shape of the body would be unaltered, and Town & Country would continue with a grille and trim details that make it look more conservative than the Grand Caravan, which is in line for its own 2011 appearance updates. Both these minivans were fully redesigned for model-year 2008, gaining slab-sided styling that serves their main function: maximizing interior space. They have sliding side doors on both sides and a rear liftgate; power operation for all those doors is available, and the sliding doors have roll-down windows.

• Mechanical: The 2011 Chrysler Town & Country will continue with front-wheel drive and a choice of V-6 engines. Front-wheel drive locates the engine and transaxle in the nose of the vehicle. This benefits packaging efficiency and helps wet-weather traction by placing the powertrain’s weight over the wheels that drive the vehicle. The big mechanical news for model-year 2011 would be availability of Chrysler’s new 3.6-liter V-6, the first member of a new corporate engine family variously known as Pentastar or Phoenix. This V-6 already is confirmed for the all-new 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee, where it’s rated at 280 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque. That’s more horsepower and torque than any of Town & Country’s three model-year 2010 V-6s, the strongest of which is a 4.0-liter with 251 horsepower and 259 pound-feet of torque. The Pentastar/Phoenix V-6 also promises to beat the 4.0’s mileage ratings. The Town & Country’s other model-year 2010 engines are a 175-horsepower 3.3-liter -- a price-leader that feels overmatched by this minivan’s weight -- and a 197-horsepower 3.8-liter that’s much more capable but no substitute for the preferred 4.0-liter.         

• Features: The 2011 Chrysler Town & Country will continue in several trim levels with ascending tiers of equipment. A continuation of a lineup that includes a base-level LX, midline Touring, and top-line Limited models is a good bet. Chrysler might find ways to enhance or expand the already long list of comfort and convenience features, but that would require real imagination. Currently standard or optional, depending on model, are separate climate control for each seating row, multi-screen DVD video and satellite TV, mobile Internet Wi-Fi, USB iPod and Bluetooth phone linking, and voice-activate navigation. Town & Country can also be ordered with blind-spot sensing systems to warn of unseen vehicles in adjacent lanes or approaching from the sides in parking lots. Stain-resistant cloth or leather are upholstery choices. The front seats are buckets and all Town & Country models come with a split third-row bench that folds into a floor well; power-folding control is available. Buyers get a choice of second-row seating types. With Stow ’n Go, two forward-facing buckets can be folded neatly into compartments in the floor. This eliminates the need to remove them to maximize cargo space and makes possible a flat, uninterrupted load surface when the rear bench also is folded. The alternative Swivel ’n Go seating allows the second-row buckets to be turned 180 degrees to face third-row passengers. A removable table can be set up between them as a dining or game surface.

2011 CHRYSLER TOWN & COUNTRY PRICES

• Chrysler won’t release 2011 Town & Country prices until shortly before the vehicle goes on sale. But don’t expect much deviation from 2010-model pricing.

• That means the least-expensive 2011 Chrysler Town & Country would start around $26,000, with a midrange model priced from around $30,000, and the top-of-the-line version starting at $36,000 or so. (Price estimates include manufacturer’s destination fee; Chrysler’s fee was $820 for 2010 models.)  

2011 CHRYSLER TOWN & COUNTRY FUEL ECONOMY

• EPA fuel-economy estimates for 2011 models were not available in time for this review. At an EPA-rated 17/25 mpg (city/highway), however, the 4.0-V6 is not only the 2010 Town & Country’s highest-mileage engine, it’s among the most fuel-efficient in the entire minivan class.

• The Pentastar/Phoenix V-6 is designed to improve on those numbers, but by how much isn’t yet known. Nor is it known how introduction of this next-generation engine would affect the entire 2011 Town & Country engine lineup.

• The 2010 EPA fuel-economy estimates for the 3.3-liter V-6, which used a four-speed automatic transmission, were 17/24 mpg. EPA estimates for the 3.8-liter V-6 were 16/23. Like the 4.0 V-6, the 3.8 used a six-speed automatic.

2011 CHRYSLER TOWN & COUNTRY RELEASE DATE

• Look for the 2011 Chrysler Town & Country in showrooms during calendar 2010, but whether it would be released for the traditional fall new-car season depends on numerous factors, including the need to counteract redesigned versions of the 2011 Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna minivans.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE CHRYSLER TOWN & COUNTRY

• Normally, a model-year 2011 facelift for the Chrysler Town & Country and its Dodge Grand Caravan cousin would come under the heading of a mid-cycle freshening. That’s the customary tag for relatively modest changes intended to sustain interest until a vehicle is fully redesigned. Based on the seven-year life-cycle of the previous-generation Town & Country and Grand Caravan, the next all-new Chrysler and Dodge minivans would arrive for model-year 2013 or 2014.

• But little is normal these days in the auto industry, particularly for Chrysler Group LLC. This is the company born of a 2009 government-sparked “global strategic alliance” with Italy’s Fiat Group. Basically, the Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep brands, along with the newly spun-off Ram truck brand, are now controlled by of one of Europe’s largest automakers. The alliance is likely to eventually return Fiat-branded cars to the U.S. market, and almost certainly will bring Fiat-engineered small and midsize cars to the U.S. as the basis for new, fuel-efficient Dodge and Chrysler models.

• However, there is nothing in Fiat’s vehicle portfolio -- or in its designers’ experience -- to replace the classic American minivan, a vehicle in fact invented by Chrysler in the mid 1980s. This very likely ensures a future for a home-grown people-mover in the vein of the current Town & Country and Grand Caravan. Whether the new corporate braintrust will perceive a continued business case for both a Chrysler and a Dodge version of the same minivan, however, is a pivotal question. A factor in Town & Country’s favor is its relatively strong sales numbers, which have crept to within just a few thousand of the Grand Caravan’s.

• Note that Chrysler lent its minivan design to Volkswagen, which retrimmed the interior and exterior and marketed the result as the Routan.

2011 CHRYSLER TOWN & COUNTRY COMPETITION

• Honda Odyssey: This roomy people mover stole the title of America’s best-selling minivan from the Dodge Grand Caravan on the strength of its sporty looks, lively handling, and Honda-brand quality. Odyssey is due for a full 2011-model-year redesign that ought to bring new styling, better performance and gas mileage, and a wider range of features. This Honda has proven is a serious rival for Town & Country’s upscale audience and the 2011 redesign won’t make things easier on the Chrysler.

• Toyota Sienna: This minivan also is slated for a model-year 2011 redesign that’ll include a restyled body, new interior, and more features. Improved fuel economy will be a target, too, and could lead to a model-year 2012 or 2013 introduction of a gas-electric hybrid Sienna model. Expect Sienna to build on traditional Toyota strengths of refinement, comfort, and a reputation for strong resale value and reliability.  

• Ford Flex: If you can’t cotton the minivan image, consider this mingling of station wagon, minivan, and SUV. The unorthodox-looking Flex crossover has conventional side doors rather than minivan-type sliders, and it has much lower roof than a minivan. But it seats seven on three rows, offers front- or all-wheel-drive, and has a relatively low center of gravity that benefits handling. And Ford’s 355-horsepower EcoBoost V-6 option gives it performance no minivan can match.