The hubby checking out the 2013 Chrysler Town & Country Minivan we're taking on the road this weekend

The hubby checking out the 2013 Chrysler Town & Country Minivan we’re taking on the road this weekend

Do you believe in love at first sight? My husband and I both do, and we’re still married after 29 years to prove it! But just this week we both fell in love again; this time with a car! We’re trying out a 2013 Chrysler Town & Country Minivan for two weeks to see how it fits into our lifestyle. But first, I have to tell you a little something about our car buying habits.

You see we’re not fickle people. When we find a car we love and we keep it. Forever. Literally. My husband still drives the 1982 pickup he bought with his first paycheck after he got hired by the fire department and he swears he’s not retiring it until he retires from the department. I’m not much different. I still drive my 1995 7-passenger van we bought to haul the kids and their friends to school in. So you can see, we’re not the kind of people to make changes just because a new car model is out. There has to be something really special about it and it has to please both of us, which is no easy task.

Chrysler Town & Country - key-less entry, auto start, and more.

High tech key-less entry, auto start, and more.

2013 Chrysler Town & Country Minivan: High Tech vs Low Tech

You see my husband HATES technology. He’s not a fan of digital anything (he says the Internet is a fad!) and he wants things to be just like his good old truck – manual, easy to use and understand, and dependable. Sure, he knows he’s giving up a lot of safety by driving a vehicle that’s so outdated; so much so that he won’t even allow me to ride in it, but that’s a small price to pay for a vehicle he understands.

Me? I LOVE technology. I love every little bell and whistle that makes my life behind the wheel better so bring on the navigation, synch my phone, and pamper me with zone heating. I want it all!

Because of our very disparaging needs and wants for a car, we haven’t been able to agree on one and since our cars are cared for well by my husband, they live on. Still, I’ve told him that as soon as we’re finished paying our son’s college loans, I’m getting a new car. At my age it’s very likely my last car purchase so I want it to be right.

Chrysler Town & Country Comfort - Easy to reach and use controls from the driver's seat

Easy to reach and use controls from the driver’s seat

2013 Chrysler Town & Country Minivan: Fits Our Needs

The 2013 Chrysler Town & Country Minivan has just moved to the top of the list because it’s one BOTH of us can love. It’s got plenty of low-tech features or features that can be turned off when my husband is driving and a plethora of goodies for me.

The dashboard is the first place you see this hi/low dichotomy. There is a digital speedometer next to a traditional dial model. There’s also a RPM dial which I NEVER look at and one he uses constantly. There are radio controls on the steering wheel as well as on the dashboard, and all the controls are reached comfortably from the driver’s seat.

Chrysler Town & Country Minivan - Entertainment for everyone

Entertainment for everyone – it looks like a fancy airplane!

2013 Chrysler Town & Country Minivan: Comfort and Entertainment For Everyone

The seats themselves are very comfortable with electronic adjustments so moving the seat for the driver’s comfort takes just a push/pull of the button on the side of the seat. The mirrors are placed for optimal viewing, and there’s a child backseat mirror (though in our case a dog watching mirror).

The center console slides backwards to become available to the middle seats or slides forward for the front seat occupants. Cup holders are hidden in every nook and cranny and the entertainment system includes a DVD player with two fold down screens. Backseat passengers can watch DVD’s or play games and they can do it at the same time. I’ll have to tell you more about the system later. We likely won’t use the DVD ourselves, but it’s nice to know it’s there if we decide to.

Chrysler Town and Country Stow 'N Go Captain's Seats

The Sto ‘N Go seating is phenomenal. This is our first time driving a car with his amazing feature. The seats disappear into the floor which is pretty fantastic on its own, but the back seats do it electronically at the touch of a button. The amount of seating configurations attainable is staggering, and that’s one of the reasons this “family van” is perfect for us empty nesters. We never thought we’d consider a van again, but seeing how this becomes perfect for hauling items, it’s made us rethink our needs.

Chrysler Town and Country Electronic Stow N Go Seating

Chrysler Town and Country Electronic Stow N Go Seating

2013 Chrysler Town & Country Minivan: Hitting the Road

We love the understated look of the 2013 Chrysler Town & Country Minivan and the way it just quietly goes about the business of transporting people in luxury. There are so many features I’ve just lightly touched on because we’re just getting to know this new car. We’re taking it on a trip this weekend and I’m sure we’ll have a lot more time to try out all the features. We’ll be on the road about 10 hours on Saturday as we drive down to the Oregon Coast on Highway 101. I’ve gotten carsick every time we’ve taken this trip before because of the winding roads….it’s a good test for both the car and me to see how we handle the curves!

Follow our journey this weekend. We’ll be tweeting and Instagraming the sights along the way and we plan to stop in Portland and check out their world-famous food trucks.

Got a tip for us on our trip? We’ll be leaving from Seattle and would love to know of some fun places to check out along the way.

Saturday bright and early we hit the road in the Chrysler Town & Country

Saturday bright and early we hit the road in the Chrysler Town & Country

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Chrysler. All opinions are 100% mine.