Mother Proof's view

One of my favorite test drives is what I refer to as the Thanksgiving gauntlet. I load up the car with kids, dogs and a tolerant husband. Then I drive about 250 miles on city freeways, over rivers, mountain passes, and finally through a couple of resort towns. After five hours in the car, we finally arrive at Grandma’s house (singing Jingle Bells all the way). The Ranch where my parents live is miles from anywhere, so even a trip to the grocery store is a long-distance excursion. This environment is perfect for testing the Chrysler Aspen. It has plenty of luxury to keep the natives entertained but enough utility to perform on the dirt roads at the Ranch.

The design of the Chrysler Aspen is strikingly familiar. It looks a lot like her cousin, the Dodge Durango, but it also has many styling features that I identify with the Chrysler brand. The bright silver accents look luxurious, the grill is distinctively Chrysler, and the raised lines on the hood evoke images of Chrysler’s sporty Crossfire. Driving the Aspen is very comfortable; the adjustable pedals make all the difference in finding a seating position that places me far enough from the steering wheel yet affords me a commanding view of the road. The ride is very smooth, almost to the point of being soft.

The first feature that stands out is the enormous center console. Normally this would be a huge collector of crap in my car, (depth seems to just attract junk) but the Aspen’s console has a removable tray that splits the console in half vertically. In the bottom I can keep the mommy gear that I don’t access very often and in the top tray I put my phone, receipt holder and my garage door opener. The only problem with this console is that it opens from left to right rather than on a back hinge, making it difficult for my front seat passenger to help me find something while I’m driving. The massive rear console is another plus. My kids can keep a box of wipes for cleaning up after themselves (revolutionary concept), and some drawing supplies to keep them occupied on our long drives.

Speaking of keeping kids occupied, the rear seat entertainment system is pretty robust. Its remote control is cleverly hidden in the overhead console and can be removed, which makes it much easier for the kids to lose… I mean, use. The system also features a 110 volt plug and audio/visual inputs on the back of the front console. My teenager spies these on the very first ride in the car and begins scheming about how he will sell me on the idea of bringing his game system along. I give in to his request, but my husband stymies his plan by using the plug for his laptop for most of the trip. Did you get that mental picture? My husband in the passenger seat typing away, kids watching a movie in the back seat, teenager sulking about not being able to play video games, all while driving through the beautiful mountains of Colorado on a gorgeous fall day. At least I enjoyed the scenery.

My test vehicle is equipped with a laundry list of other features. The highlights include: an automatic hatch (which exasperatingly does not have a close button within the rear compartment); UConnect, which allows hands-free phone use through the car’s speaker system; remote start capability, so I can startle people by firing up the engine of an empty car; and last but not least, side mirrors that tilt down when the Aspen is put into reverse. One understated, but much appreciated feature is the LED interior lighting. The inside of the car is bathed in bright white light each time I open the doors and is awesome for kids finding their buckle receptors at night.

Now, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t mention a few issues. My biggest complaint is that the navigation system and radio controls are just maddening. This non-touch-screen system requires the user to press the enter key at each menu item even though the joystick thingy begs to be clicked as an “enter” button. There are so many buttons surrounding the Navigation screen that it literally takes me a full day to figure out how to quickly switch between the nav system and the satellite radio. Not good, considering that I am a gadget girl; I fear for my less technical sisters. Another issue is the location of the rear windshield wiper control. It is difficult to find because it resides by my passenger’s left knee near the heat adjustment buttons; not exactly intuitive. Then, in true SUV fashion, the Aspen gives me great pause in the fuel efficiency department. My average mileage is about 14 miles to the gallon.

At the end of our Thanksgiving adventure I can truly say that the Chrysler Aspen is a nice family mobile, especially for those who have to carry more than two kids. It is luxurious, full of utility and outside of the bewildering array of dashboard controls, is very comfortable to drive. Just don’t forget to budget a little extra cash for gas.

*For more information on the Chrysler Aspen and its safety features visit Cars.com.