Love it!

Having 3 children makes a minivan a must - especially when my 11 year old is 5'4" and growing at an alarming rate. We decided to join the league of minivan owners this spring and set off on a fact finding mission.

My husband and I spent 3 weeks visiting dealers test driving minivans and creating all kinds of lists to make comparisons. Our coffee table was covered in minivan brochures, on-line review information and Consumer Reports magazines - all tools of the well informed buyer.

We visited the Chrysler show room and loved the Town and Country on site. We loved the styling and the overall classy looks - very important because my husband didn't want to look like a soccer mom driving around town. We looked at the LXi model on the showroom floor. It had lots of nice features - dual sliding doors, automatic windows and rear quarter vents, cruise, tilt steering, etc. We were worried about the sliding doors until my 4 year old decided to jump into the van while the door was closing and the door bumped her and immediately returned to the open position. I breathed a sigh of relief and added this to my mental checklist of facts I was accumulating on various minivans.

We asked to test drive the Town and Country. We took one out and I liked the drive by I thought the engine was a little weak. I mentioned this to the salesman. He told me to turn around go back to the dealer and try the 3.8 liter engine instead. WOW! I absolutely loved it. Great pick up getting on the highway and it just ran so smooth and quiet. Getting off the highway the brakes slowed the van down nice and smooth and with very little effort. I drove down a winding side road littered with pot holes and found the drive to be very smooth. I do admit that cornering took a little getting used to. I drive a 99 Nissan Altima which handles much differently. I felt a little top heavy in the Town and Country my first few corners. Once I adjusted my mindset from a sportier 4 cylinder to a larger 6 cylinder minivan, I found cornering to be quite easy.

I left the Chrysler showroom in love with the Town and Country. I found myself comparing all of the other minivans we tested to the Town and Country. Needless to say, the Town and Country is what we decided on in the end.

Now here is where things can get sticky. As I said, I have 3 children. They range in age from 4 to 11. My husband and I figured this will probably be the one and only minivan we will own. Once the kids are gone, I can't imagine driving a van around. I may change my mind at some later date, but when we purchased the van, we decided this would be our family vehicle for the next 12 years. Why is this important? It is important because this is where we come to the 'con' portion of my review - the van can get pricey once you add on the extras.

My husband and I went through the list of options and decided that we were going to order our van with exactly what we wanted and pay a little extra. We decided on the LXi with the 3.8 liter engine. We opted for the leather seats, security alarm, roof rack, single CD, moveable center console, and rear cargo organizer. We quibbled a bit about the options - do we really need the CD? Do we really need the rear cargo organizer. As we plan on making this our one and only minivan for the next 12 years, we decided to go for it.

When all was said and done, the sticker price came to $32,017. We negotiated down to $30,000. We got the rebates ($2000 and $400) and ended up paying just under $30,000 once you add on the tax, title, registration, etc.

We took delivery 6 weeks after we ordered and have never regretted it. My husband says that he wishes we got the remote hatch release. I can't agree with him on that. I didn't think it was worth it for the 5 times we would use it over the next 12 years. We have the key fob which opens either of the side doors and I thought that was enough. And, once you use the key fob to unlock the doors, the hatch is unlocked and easy to open. The cargo organizer is amazingly flexible. It can lay flat on the floor or be raised up which you can use it as a cargo cover to hide things. There are cupholders everywhere and little extras that show there was a lot of thinking that went into the making of this minivan. For example, if you fold up the middle row captains chairs and back bench and lift the rear cargo organizer into the upright position, you have a flat level surface to carry 4x8 sheets of plywood. Assist handles are well placed and the center console can be put between the front seats or the middle captains chairs. Seats are easy to remove and replace and the rear cargo tray can be easily removed as well.

It took a few weeks for us to learn how to use all the bells and whistles and get used to backing up a large vehicle. But now that it has been introduced into my family, I can't help but think, "Why did I wait so long?".