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Around The Web
“the new rocket ship among minivans”
“The 3.8-liter V6 engine that we tested is also satisfying”
“The 4.0-liter V-6 is potent.”
“Three engines, all improvements over previous offerings, and two engines, likewise”
“Fairly precise tracking, no wandering or floating”
PERFORMANCE | 8 out of 10
Expert Quotes:
“the new rocket ship among minivans”
InsideLine.com
“The 3.8-liter V6 engine that we tested is also satisfying”
KBB.com
“The 4.0-liter V-6 is potent.”
Cars.com
“Three engines, all improvements over previous offerings, and two engines, likewise”
USAToday
“Fairly precise tracking, no wandering or floating”
AutoWeek
During their minivan shoot-out between a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan and a 2007 Honda Odyssey, Edmunds tested the Caravan equipped with the same 4.0-liter V-6 that’s the top engine in the 2008 Chrysler Town & Country, and it trounced the Honda. The Dodge “scoots to 60 mph in just 8.2 seconds. That's a full second quicker than the Odyssey and it makes the Grand Caravan SXT the quickest minivan we've ever tested. Combine that with a swift 16.3 seconds at an 85-mph performance in the quarter-mile (safely ahead of the Honda's 16.8 seconds at 83 mph run) and the big-engine Grand Caravan is the new rocket ship among minivans.”
USAToday provides a good overview of this van’s engines: “The base 3.3-liter V-6 is pepped up and quieted. The optional 3.8-liter V-6 no longer is so coarse you're embarrassed to take it out in public. The high-end, 4-liter, overhead-camshaft V-6 provides extra scoot previously missing from your minivan experience.” Cars.com makes the point more directly: “Chrysler's 4.0-liter V-6 is potent — the marketers ought to brand it Hemi Lite.”
Many reviewers agree with KBB.com, which says, “You might appreciate the Chrysler minivans' balance between highway comfort and around-town responsiveness. We also appreciated the new model's much-improved steering and braking response…Overall, we've found Chrysler's newest minivans much more satisfying from behind the wheel.” AutoWeek says, “it handles nicely, with docile, carlike manners—fairly precise tracking, no wandering or floating,” but adds that “it feels not much different mechanically from the previous generation.”
TheCarConnection.com’s experts spent a week and nearly 1,000 miles behind the wheel of a 2008 Chrysler Town & Country Touring with the 3.8-liter V-6. Fitted with the six-speed automatic transmission, the combination provided more than adequate performance for this class of vehicle. The engine is nearly silent at speed, and the refined suspension tuning lets the 2008 Chrysler Town & Country take a confident set when pushed hard into corners. The feeling was more like a buttoned-down, sporting sedan than a seven-passenger family conveyance. Not that one would encourage such behavior, but the 2008 Chrysler Town & Country knows how to hustle.
Conclusion
No 911 and not a ‘Vette, the 2008 Chrysler Town & Country accelerates capably and handles predictably and securely.
