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An Oakville Beaver Automotive Feature · To advertise in this section call 905-845-3824 or Fax 905-337-5568 \VK1 > N K S I),\Y . A l ( i l S I <S. 2 ( K l.t · I H I BEST WHEELS Town and Country Limited AW D offers utility of a minivan with the luxury of a full-size sedan By L om e D rury S P E C IA L T O T H E B E A V E R W hen Chrysler introduced the m ini van to North Am erica tw o decades ago, few w ould have envisioned the impact they w ould have on our culture. W here once it was the station w agon that dom inated the suburban landscape, now it's the minivan. And my. how they've changed over the years. The original 1984 P lym outh Voyager was a fairly `plain Jane' people mover. However, it w as ideal for the growing family for com m utes to the cottage, and hockey and soccer practice and soon gained a foothold in the m ar ket. Since then, C hrysler has sold more than 10 m illion units worldwide and now accounts for more than a third o f all minivans sold in North Am erica every year. In fact, the C hrysler G roup outsells each o f its nearest rivals General M otors and Ford by nearly a two-to-one margin and H onda by threeto-one. For the 2001 calendar year, the entire North Am erican m inivan market segm ent reached 1.4 m illion sales, slightly lower than the all-tim e sales record o f 1.6 m illion units in calendar year 2000. At the outset. C hrysler had the m ini van market all to itself. Today, it's one o f the most com petitive segm ents on the autom otive playing field, but D aim lerChrysler has continued to be the leader by continually adding fea tures that the consum er both needs and wants. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the C anadian-built C hrysler Town and C ountry-- the vehicle that Chrysler refers to as the `ultim ate m inivan'. A fter spending a week with a 2003 Town and Country on our annual sum mer cam ping excursion, it's difficult to argue with C hrysler's description. Making its debut in 1990 as the first luxury minivan. the Town and Country continues at the top o f the class with even more luxury am enities for 2003. New features this year arc a pow er sunroof, factory-installed DVD enter tainm ent system and pow er adjustable pedals. W hile it still fills the basic function as a people m over, the Town and C ountry certainly does it in style. For 2003, C hrysler offers three ver sions o f this seven-passenger, extendedw heelbase model: the LXi. Limited and Limited AWD. My tester w as a top-of-the-line Town and Country Limited AWD. With a trailer towing package, it cam e with a price tag o f $51,180. Luxury really is the nam e o f the gam e w ith the Town and C ountry Limited. In addition to the new features for 2003 that are m entioned above, it has a pow er up and down tailgate, rem ovable, pow ered center console, pow er dual sliding doors (powered by inside-the-door m otors) with manual override and an obstacle detection sys tem, three-zone autom atic tem perature control system and radio frequency controlled wireless headphones. The Town and Country offers only one engine choice, a 3.8-litre OHV V6 with 215 hp and 245 lb-ft. o f torque at 4.000 rpm. It is mated with a four-speed automatic transmission. Keeping in mind that this is a m ini van w e're talking about with a weight o f 2,069 kg (4.562 lbs) and not a luxury sedan, it offers pow er aplenty. Despite being loaded dow n from floor to ceiling with cam ping and vaca tion gear, my w ife and I both rem arked at how quiet, smooth and nim ble the mini van was in heavy Hwy. 401 traffic en route to the Brighton area. There was plenty o f pep when it was needed to pass and in normal driving, engine noise in the cabin was virtually non-existent. The all-w heel drive fea ture would surely be appreciated in snowy w inter weather, but you w ould n 't know it was there in summer. Handling was excellent for a vehicle o f this size and during a couple o f panic stops when traffic cam e to a dead halt with little or no warning, braking was certainly up to par. Transport Canada lists gas consum p T h e ex ten d ed -w h eelh ase Tow n an d C o u n try L im ited AW D o ffers all th e lu x u ries on e w ould expect in a vehicle th a t C h ry sle r calls th e `u ltim ate m in iv a n '. tion at 14.7L/100 km (19 mpg) city and 9.5L/KX) km (30 mpg) city anil the beauty o f it all is that it takes requires only regular unleaded gasoline. My tester cam e with one o f the new co lo u rs for 2003 -- B utane Blue Pearlcoat -- a beautiful choice in my opinion. Inside, the leather and suede seats (pow er operated, o f course) are extrem ely com fortable and sumptuous. The first two rows are captain's chairs with a 50/50 split bench in rear that we rem oved for extra cargo space. Despite being a van neophyte, these 'Easy O ut' roller seats lived up to their name and were out in seconds. Behind the third row o f seats is 566 litres (20 cu. ft.) o f cargo space. With the seats out. you have 1.535 litres (54.2 cu. ft.). We d id n 't get a chance to test the rear seat entertainm ent system, which plays music or movies with a single disc DVD player with fold-down seveninch screen, but I'm sure it would be well used by families with kids heading out on a long trip o r for com m utes to the cottage and back. It com es with a w ire less remote control and wireless head phones. A uxiliary input jack s allow connections with video gam es, MP3 players, video cam eras and the like. With 130-degree view ing capability, this screen offers com fortable viewing for all rear seat passengers. H ow ever, the th ree-zo n e (driver, passenger and rear area) clim ate control system did prove to be a hit with my wife who prefers a little less chill in the air than I do. Also im pressive was the one-touch power sunroof, w hich Chrysler boasts as being one o f the largest in the seg ment. It was a w elcom e addition on a couple o f days when I cruised in to town to pick up groceries and supplies for the cam psite. The rem ote keyless entry, which also controls the sliding doors and rear iiftgate, also worked like a charm when I finally got the hang o f which button actually opened which door. T he sou n d system features an Infinity A M /FM stereo radio with cas sette player, a six-disc in-dash CD play e r and rear audio controls. All in all, the C hrysler Town and C ountry o ffers virtually all o f the am enities and more that one would expect in today's minivan. Your Dodge Caravan is ready when you are 2 0 0 3 D O D G E G R A N D C A R A V A N S P O R T D VD E D IT IO N Financing fo r 2 0 0 3 DODGE CARAVAN SXT * /month $2500 down 48 month least 5 y e a rs NO CHARGE SXT PKG. Multistage driver and front passenger airbags leather wrapped steering wheel Body colour door handles ' Unique 15" "Crossfire" wheel covers Rejr stat 7" DVD system with remote control and wireless headphones 3.31V6 engine 4 Speed automatic transmission Front & rear air conditioning · Quad seating 3 Zone temperature control · Keyless entry Cruise control · Sunscreen glass Power windows, locks and mirrors · ABS brakes AM FMCASSCD with changer control Multistage driver and front passenger airbags 3.31 V6 engine/4 Speed automatic trans. Air conditioning · Cruise control 7 Passenger seating Sunscreen glass · Roof rack Colour keyed fascias Power windows, locks & mirrors 2 00 3 DODGE D U R A N G O The Perfect Combination of Sport and Luxury Purchase Financing for 6 years on all D u ra n g o /3 0 0 m M odels O .A .C . CH R YSLER P A C IFIC A 99 * /month · Infinity Intermezzo Surround Sound · Power Sunroof $2500 down · High Intensity Discharge Headlamps 4 8 month lease S to rk # ,P r e m j u m U a t h e rL o w B a c k B u c k e t$ e a t s · 3.5 L v6 24V MPI Engine · Power Liftgate ana v.nryster ju u m moaets. and Chrysler 300M models. ractpca Pacifica i does not qualify for 0% financing. · Rear Seat Video System · 17" Aluminum Chrome Wheels 4T013 · Heated Seat Croup · 4 Speed Automatic Transmission ^ 1 u AO 'Plus taxes, freight, based on 48 month lease. 20.400kmlyear O.A.C. 0% for 5 years applies to Dodge Grand Caravan Sport and Dodge Ciravan SXT. 0% for 6 years applies to Dodge Durango ,, . NLEVEN C H M S L E R - TM C H R Y S L E R · D O D G E · J E E P 2388 ROYAL WINDSOR DR., OAKVILLE 905-845-7575 www.glenleven.com C ER TIFIED