And now, down to business. Sliding aboard the T&C, I can safely say that Chrysler has managed to seriously spruce things up. The cabin is nice, far better than previous, and lends credence to the fact that Chrysler did and does listen to its customers and critics.
The new dashboard flows in a conservative fashion with a simple ergonomic design. Better than that, fit and finish as well as materials are light-years ahead of where they were until very recently. I wasn't very enthralled with the navigation system provided by Garmin. The driver interface is far from user-friendly and the display quality is sub-par at best.
Kudos to the large front seats, which are genuinely comfortable, and especially to the van's best feature, Stow n’ Go seating. The new perches are wider, taller and more inviting than previously. I did notice that the second-row buckets are somewhat flimsy or not completely locked down when in place. I have never observed this before; on my tester, the two buckets appeared loose when shaken, but obviously weren't.
Minivans are gloriously spacious, and telling you that against the competition, this minivan offers up 37 litres more volume with the 3rd row up but looses out by 69 litres when the 2nd row is in place is, in my opinion, pointless. The T&C's cabin is seriously capacious and if it won't do for you, consider a Chevrolet Express or Mercedes Sprinter.
The other most notable change, many would call improvement, is the arrival of the home-grown Pentastar 283-hp, 3.6L V6. This engine is now very common and in the T&C, I found the power adequate and fuel consumption acceptable. The Pentastar is refined and docile. I think it may have had something to do with the weight of the vehicle as it seemed well-matched to the T&C's girth. This was not the case with the Avenger I also recently tested.
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| The cabin is nice, far better than previous, and lends credence to the fact that Chrysler did and does listen to its customers and critics. (Photo: Sébastien D'Amour/Auto123.com) |
The new dashboard flows in a conservative fashion with a simple ergonomic design. Better than that, fit and finish as well as materials are light-years ahead of where they were until very recently. I wasn't very enthralled with the navigation system provided by Garmin. The driver interface is far from user-friendly and the display quality is sub-par at best.
Kudos to the large front seats, which are genuinely comfortable, and especially to the van's best feature, Stow n’ Go seating. The new perches are wider, taller and more inviting than previously. I did notice that the second-row buckets are somewhat flimsy or not completely locked down when in place. I have never observed this before; on my tester, the two buckets appeared loose when shaken, but obviously weren't.
Minivans are gloriously spacious, and telling you that against the competition, this minivan offers up 37 litres more volume with the 3rd row up but looses out by 69 litres when the 2nd row is in place is, in my opinion, pointless. The T&C's cabin is seriously capacious and if it won't do for you, consider a Chevrolet Express or Mercedes Sprinter.
The other most notable change, many would call improvement, is the arrival of the home-grown Pentastar 283-hp, 3.6L V6. This engine is now very common and in the T&C, I found the power adequate and fuel consumption acceptable. The Pentastar is refined and docile. I think it may have had something to do with the weight of the vehicle as it seemed well-matched to the T&C's girth. This was not the case with the Avenger I also recently tested.
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| The other most notable change, many would call improvement, is the arrival of the home-grown Pentastar 283-hp, 3.6L V6. (Photo: Sébastien D'Amour/Auto123.com) |