2011 Chrysler Town & Country: What's New

Vehicle Overview

The Chrysler Town & Country is related to the Dodge Grand Caravan, but it’s the more luxury-oriented of the two minivans. The Town & Country has been significantly revised for 2011 with new exterior styling, a substantially revised interior and a new V-6 engine. The seven-seat minivan competes against the Toyota Sienna and Honda Odyssey.

New for 2011
New exterior and interior styling highlight the Town & Country’s changes for 2011, but the minivan also gets a more powerful 3.6-liter V-6 engine that goes in all trim levels. The van’s suspension has been retuned, and the Town & Country comes with a number of high-end safety features standard.

Exterior
Chrysler didn’t go overboard trying to make the 2011 Town & Country look like something other than a minivan, but there are a number of subtle differences that set it apart from its predecessor. The minivan wears an all-new grille that incorporates a new take on Chrysler’s wing badge, and the styling of the front air dam is new. Around back, new taillights and trim give the tail a slightly different appearance.  Like before, the tracks for the sliding side doors are stealthily integrated. Exterior features include:

•     Standard 16- or optional 17-inch wheels
•     New chrome grille
•     Standard power-sliding side doors
•     Standard power liftgate
•     Standard SmartBeam headlights
•     Roof rack crossbars can be stored inline with rails
•     Standard rain-sensing windshield wipers

Interior
The Town & Country has room for up to seven people in three rows. An all-new dashboard with low-gloss, nicely grained materials makes the cabin seem more luxurious, and the instrument panel is new, too.

Having succeeded in part on the strength of its Stow ‘n Go second-row seats — which fold into bins in the floor — Chrysler has improved the standard feature for 2011 by giving the seats one-touch operation and making them larger for better comfort.  Stow ‘n Go second-row seats are standard; traditional second-row bucket seats are optional.

The Town & Country can have an optional power-folding 60/40-split third row with one-touch operation, up or down. There are also optional seat heaters for the front- and second-row seats. There are numerous storage nooks, pockets and bins throughout the interior, including dual glove compartments. A standard sliding console includes a power outlet and can be configured for second-row use. Interior features include:

•     Standard cloth and optional leather upholstery
•     Standard rear air conditioning controls   
•     Optional navigation system
•     Optional 9-inch overhead dual DVD screens
•     Optional second- and third-row window shades
•     Optional heated steering wheel

Under the Hood
For 2011, a new 3.6-liter V-6 engine replaces three V-6s that were previously offered in the Town & Country. The automatic transmission’s gear selector, which looks like a center-console shifter, is positioned high on the dashboard, to the right of the gauges. Mechanical features include:

•     283-horsepower, 3.6-liter V-6 with 260 pounds-feet of torque
•     Six-speed automatic
•     Regular gas is acceptable; midgrade is preferred
•     Econ mode improves gas mileage by altering shift points and maintaining torque-converter lockup longer
•     Optional load-leveling suspension

Safety
Some previously optional safety features are standard on the 2011 Town & Country, including a backup camera and a blind spot monitoring system. Additional standard safety features include:

•     Side-impact airbags for the front seats
•     Side curtain airbags for all three rows of seats
•     Antilock brakes and traction control
•     Electronic stability system
•     Active front head restraints
•     Rear parking sensors
•     Power-adjustable pedals