2014 Chrysler Town and Country Review

The Chrysler Town & Country enters 2014 without any major changes.

With its comprehensive equipment and nifty Stow 'n Go seats, the 2014 Chrysler Town & Country looks great on paper, but rival minivans are fundamentally more refined.

At first blush, the 2014 Chrysler Town & Country seems like it should be the class of the minivan segment. Even the base Town & County Touring comes standard with a remarkable range of features, including a rear-seat DVD entertainment system, while higher-end models have enough goodies to rival those of luxury sedans. Although 2014 could be the current Town & Country's final year of production, the venerable Chrysler still checks most of the boxes for minivan shoppers. It's natural to wonder why this van doesn't get more respect.

But to get the full picture, you have to consider the current Town & Country's checkered past. Before the 2011 model year, when Chrysler unveiled extensive updates, both the Town & Country and its Dodge Grand Caravan sibling were frankly not competitive relative to the latest people-movers from Japan. And although those updates, including an interior overhaul and a new engine and transmission, restored the Chrysler twins to respectability, the van's basic design and structure remained intact. This explains why even the fancy Town & Country still goes about its business with a relative lack of refinement. There's only so much Chrysler's engineers could do with those pre-2011 bones.

For some minivan buyers, this might not matter all that much. All those standard and available luxuries are appealing, and the van's signature feature – the Stow 'n Go seats – are exceptionally handy when it's time for hauling cargo instead of passengers. Plus, the Town & Country's V6 engine offers a decent mix of power and fuel economy, even if it's not as well-mannered as we would like. To be clear, the Honda Odyssey, Nissan Quest and Toyota Sienna are better overall, and the Honda and Toyota also boast available eight-passenger seating. But despite its foibles, a 2014 Chrysler Town & Country may be worth considering at the right price.

The 2014 Chrysler Town & Country is powered by a 3.6-liter V6 rated at 283 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque. The engine drives the front wheels via a six-speed automatic transmission. EPA-estimated fuel economy is 20 mpg combined (17 mpg city/25 mpg highway).

In Edmunds testing, the Town & Country accelerated from zero to 60 in 8.1 seconds, which is average for the class.

Standard on the 2014 Chrysler Town & Country are antilock disc brakes, stability control, active front head restraints, front seat side-impact airbags, a driver knee airbag and full-length side curtain airbags. A rearview camera is also standard. Blind-spot monitoring and a rear cross-path detection system are standard on the Touring-L and Limited. In Edmunds brake testing, the Town & Country came to a stop from 60 mph in 120 feet, an impressive braking distance for a minivan.

In government crash tests, the Town & Country received four out of five stars for overall protection, with four stars awarded for overall frontal-impact protection and five stars for overall side-impact protection. In Insurance Institute for Highway Safety crash testing, the Town & Country earned the highest score of "Good" in the moderate-overlap, frontal-offset, side-impact and roof-strength tests.

Edmunds.com editors of different heights have observed that the 2014 Chrysler Town & Country's pedals are mounted unusually close to the driver seat, and this, along with limited seat-track travel, restricts legroom and can make this minivan uncomfortable on longer trips. If you can find a good position behind the wheel, you'll find that the big Chrysler drives pretty well, with adequate handling for a minivan and good passing punch from the V6. There's a lot of engine noise under hard acceleration, however, and shifts from the six-speed automatic transmission can be abrupt and even rough at times.

We're not overly impressed with the ride quality, either. Compared with the competition, the Chrysler's ride isn't as composed or refined on rough roads. On the other hand, the Town & Country's steering is impressively precise and informative by minivan standards.

The Town & Country's leather-lined cabin is nicely equipped no matter which model you choose. Although materials quality remains somewhat hit or miss, the vibe is undeniably a luxurious one -- a step up from the workaday ambience in other minivans.

Seat comfort is generally adequate in the Town & Country, although deeply reclined seatback cushions in the second and especially third rows can make for an odd seating posture. Headroom is sparse in the third row, too, though only adults are likely to notice.

One of the Town & Country's strongest selling points is the Stow 'n Go functionality of the second-row seats, allowing them to fold flat into the floor at the simple tug of a lever. The 60/40-split third-row seat also folds flat (power-folding capability is optional), and it can also be flipped backward to create handy chairs for tailgate parties. With all seats folded flat, the cargo area measures 143.8 cubic feet, a competitive figure for a minivan. With the seats in place, there are still a healthy 33 cubes behind the third row.