2013 Chrysler Town and Country Road TripWe’ve been home now from our 2013 Chrysler Town & Country Minivan Road Trip for a day. It’s always hard being thrown back into the reality of life after a vacation; it already feels like it was ages ago that we were enjoying the Oregon Coast.

My husband took the minivan to work and vacuumed it during his free time. It’s amazing how much sand and mud you can get into the car even when you’re trying to be really careful. You see it rained our entire drive home from Oregon and it was much colder than the trip down. We stopped once for gas and put another 10 gallons of gas into the tank so our total cash outlay for gas was under $70 which covered our approximately 636 miles there and back, plus touring around the Seal Rock area, and to/from work the next day.

The trip is supposed to take 5-1/2 hours, but because of all of our stops (we blame the dogs :), plus the slow traffic due to rain and construction, it took us 8 hours each way. But I’m not complaining, because we actually enjoyed every minute on the road.

One of our many stops on the way home in our 2013 Chrysler Town and Country Minivan

One of our many stops on the way home in our 2013 Chrysler Town and Country Minivan

2013 Chrysler Town & Country Minivan Comfort & Safety

We were both amazed at the comfort of the seats – we never felt uncomfortable or the need to get out and stretch like we do in our own car. The seats were comfortable for both of us – I’m plus size and my husband is average. In my own small car the seat belt digs into my hip and it’s uncomfortable enough that I don’t drive that car unless I have to. I always thought it was because I was overweight, but when I mentioned it to my husband, he said it does the same to him. We’ve owned the car for over 10 years and I thought it was because of my weight it was uncomfortable, it turns out it’s a bad design.

We took a different route home and we used the Map and “Where Am I” feature on the navigation system quite a bit. It was great knowing that we were headed in the right direction. We also made use of the automatic windshield wipers the entire trip and they worked to perfection. I know, first world problems, but when you live in a rainy area, you appreciate little things like this that make your life easier.

We loved the 2013 Chrysler Town and Country Map and "Where Am I" Feature

We loved the 2013 Chrysler Town and Country Map and “Where Am I” Feature

In fact, for those of you who live in cold areas, the remote start feature would probably be used quite often. For us it’d rarely be necessary, but the hubby did use it this morning when he awoke at the station to a weird cold snap. When he got to the minivan he found that not only was the windshield defrosted, the mirror warmers had been turned on as had the steering wheel and seat warmers, so his drive home was a toasty one! He was pretty impressed with the process and remarked that while it was certainly a convenience, it is actually a fabulous safety feature! People often don’t wait for their windows and mirrors to be defrosted before taking off which can mean limited visibility. Yes, they’re legally supposed to wait until their have proper visibility, but we see the 6×6” scraped-free area with the driver peering through on frost days here and that’s not safe!

The 2013 Chrysler Town & Country Minivan Change My Mind

All-in-all we really enjoyed the 2013 Chrysler Town & Country Minivan and it’s completely changed my idea about what our next car will look like. I’m now open to a minivan and the second slider is now something I would enjoy and use instead of making fun of. Silly me, I made the assumption that it was not necessary. Now I know it can also be a safety and convenience feature.

The second sliding door on the 2013 Chrysler Town and Country Minivan is perfect for kids, pets,and cargo

The second sliding door on the 2013 Chrysler Town and Country Minivan is perfect for loading and unloading  kids, pets,and cargo

I’ve also decided that I need a sunroof. When you live in an area that is perpetually gray, you need all the light you can get, and having that extra daylight even through a smoked glass window is priceless. I also will shop for a hands-free, voice activated entertainment system and an integrated backup camera and blind spot indicator, again because of the added safety they offer.

The features my husband will likely need is the remote start and advanced airbag system.

Our Final Thoughts on the 2013 Chrysler Town & Country Minivan

My husband’s only complaint about the 2013 Chrysler Town & Country Minivan is that once or twice when starting off on wet pavement, the car lost traction for a second. Nothing he felt was unsafe, but we’re used to a 4-wheel drive van and a front-wheel drive feels differently. He was also annoyed by  a blue LED light under the front passenger seat. It’s only noticeable when driving at night (or very early AM as he did), but it really bothered him (an easy fix would be to cover the bulb).

In my perfect world it’d be a hybrid and get even better gas mileage, but for a minivan it’s pretty darn near perfect. And the baby blue paint? I’d have never picked it out but I loved it after living with it. The same goes for the leather seats. As a vegetarian I’d never pick them, but they were certainly easy to clean after our trip to the beach and I could be talked into putting them into a future car by my meat-eating hubby.

We fell in love with this blue 2013 Chrysler Town and Country Minivan

We fell in love with this blue 2013 Chrysler Town and Country Minivan

Otherwise, we’re pretty impressed with the ride, features, and safety of the 2013 Chrysler Town & Country Minivan and are sad to see it go. We’ll certainly consider it as a possibility when it comes to finally buying a new car. We’re trying to balance our need for a new car with the desire for my husband to retire and the last payment of our son’s college tuition.

Want to see more of our pictures from the Oregon Coast? I have many, many more :) You can find them on our  Instagram and Facebook pages. Special thanks to everyone who followed along and left comments!


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

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