She's beautiful on to look at, but it's her safety features that makes her attractive to us.

She’s beautiful on to look at, but it’s her safety features that makes her attractive to us.

According to the Chrysler website, there are 42 safety features on the 2013 Chrysler Town and Country Minivan we’re driving. Most of them have just been there working quietly in the background to keep us safe. A few others have let us know they’re there by beeping, flashing, or sending us a message.  I like a car that can communicate!

Key Has Left the Vehicle Warning on the 2013 Chrysler Town & Country Minivan

Key Has Left the Vehicle Warning on the 2013 Chrysler Town & Country Minivan

Some of the  Chrysler Town and Country features we discovered by accident:

  • Key has Left the Vehicle – if the car is running and the key goes too far from the van, a warning light lets you know.
  • Seat belt warning – an audible alarm and text tell you the front passenger’s seatbelt is unfastened. The car has to be in drive and going over 5 miles per hour to get the alarm.
  • Auto Lock – All of the doors of the van auto lock within minutes of being put in drive. This is especially important to both keep kids in (child safety locks are also included) and to keep others out.
  • Door Alarm – when the sliding doors are opened, the 4-way flashers come on for a few minutes while you load and unload.
Side Door Alarms - 4-way flasher let others know loading/unloading is happening on the Chrysler Town & Country Minivan

Side Door Alarms – 4-way flasher let others know loading/unloading is happening on the Chrysler Town & Country Minivan

Uconnect ® Voice Command

This is another way Chrysler wants to keep us safe on the road. It allows the driver to control the radio, phone, DVD player, and navigation system by voice. The driver simply presses the Uconnect button on the steering column and then follows the voice prompts to control these features. It keeps the driver’s hands and attention on the road where they should be. As an extra safety feature, the navigation system cannot be manually changed while in drive and voice commands need to be used or the driver must pull off the road and put the car in park to manually input an address.

Hands Free Calling via Uconnect on the Chrysler Town & Country Minivan

Hands Free Calling via Uconnect on the Chrysler Town & Country Minivan

Active Head Restraints

These are not in all models but were included in the model we drove on both front seats. They automatically move forward and up during a crash to cradle a passengers head and neck.

Avoiding Backing Accidents

My favorite safety feature is the ParkSense ®Rear Park Assist System. It’s more than just a backup camera which I’ve gone on record as saying should be mandatory equipment on all cars (our old van has been retrofitted with one). The ParkSense ®Rear Park Assist System goes further though by detecting objects you may not be able to see. With icons and alert noises, it tells you which side of the van is getting too close to the object. It’s brilliant! The closer you get the faster the icon flashes and the alert sounds.

Park Assist Back Up Camera on the Chrysler Town & Country Minivan

Park Assist Back Up Camera on the Chrysler Town & Country Minivan

Park Assist Warning Object Detector  on the Chrysler Town & Country Minivan - the lines tell you how close and which side...they change, blink, and send an audible alarm if you get too close

Park Assist Warning Object Detector on the Chrysler Town & Country Minivan – the lines tell you how close and which side…they change, blink, and send an audible alarm if you get too close

Rear Cross Path Detection

This is a feature of the ParkSense ®Rear Park Assist System. It smartly identifies parked cars but warns if a car starts to cross your path so you can stop to avoid a crash. That’s some pretty amazing technology!

Blind Spot Monitoring

This is a brilliant feature that the hubby thought was overkill. He believes the driver should be capable of checking. I disagreed and reminded him that it’s a tool. It doesn’t replace looking for yourself, but if you’re thinking about making a lane change and you see the light on, you know to keep your attention on the road in front of you instead of checking repeatedly to see if you can move over. I won this augment and now he loves the feature.

Blind Spot Monitoring - Chrysler Town & Country Minivan #chrysler

Blind Spot Monitoring – Chrysler Town & Country Minivan

Airbags

Thankfully we haven’t seen them in action, but as we head home tomorrow I feel safer knowing they’re there. But what I didn’t know was just how “there” they are. There’s more than the airbag for the driver and passenger, in fact, there are seven total in the 2013 Town & Country Minivan. Beyond the standard steering wheel and dash mounted airbags, there’s also a knee airbag for the driver, multi-stage front airbags, and side-curtain airbags for the front and rear passengers and all of this is standard.

But why is this coverage so important? Because cars aren’t only hit head-on or from the rear; car crashes can happen anywhere and from any direction and passengers need full protection to survive.

My husband, who’s a firefighter with 32 years on the job, hasn’t seen the particular model in an accident, but he did note that since the implementation of side airbags and the newer sophisticated airbag systems, they find  fewer major injuries involved in car accidents. In fact, he believes that airbags are miracle workers in keeping occupants safer.  “You would be amazed at the number of accidents I’m called to where the front end is destroyed…pressed into the fire wall…and people walk away from the accident. That’s not the way it used to be.”

And this is the catalyst for many people like me who are driving older models to finally upgrade. Sure, the technology is fun and it makes life easier, but the airbags and other safety features can save a life.

These are just the highlights and the safety features I found interesting or that we used during our trip. The majority of them are new to us and we love that they’re available. It’s definitely a bargaining chip in replacing our old vehicles.

Two of our important passengers checking out the front seat.

Two of our important passengers checking out the front seat.

Heading Home

We’re packing up in the morning and heading home. We’re looking forward to 8 hours in the car as we head north. It’s been a great trip and we’re a little sad to be heading home. We’ve loved the Oregon Coast and feel like we’ve just gotten a little taste of it. My hubby reminded me that 32 years ago we drove through here right after he bought his truck on a trip to California. I remember Seal Rock from that trip and I remember telling him that someday we need to come back and stay here. Who knew it’d take us so long!

It's hard to say good-bye to Seal Rock. We've had such a great time.

It’s hard to say good-bye to Seal Rock. We’ve had such a great time.

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