Photo: SB Medien
Chrysler will seemingly resort to only one minivan in the future and that prospective car was caught testing by our spy photographers, who managed to get some shots of the well camouflaged exterior as well as the cabin. That’s right, the 2017 Chrysler Town & Country will be the only minivan from the American manufacturer.
Any Dodge alternative will be dropped and while that might make some people sad, it’s only logical considering the times we’re living. The Grand Caravan will therefore probably exit production somewhere next year, when the new Town & Country will enter the scene.
In its segment, the new van will have to tackle the likes of Honda’s Odyssey, the Kia Sedona and Nissan Quest but also the Toyota Sienna. They might seem like a small group that’s easy to conquest but the main struggle will be to keep the customers interested as sales in this segment are dwelling by the minute.
What can be made out from under the covers? Well, it appears like the next Town & Country will be sitting lower than its current version. Furthermore, the roof styling seems to be different, going down towards more of a cross-over kind of design that might suggest the engineers and artists over in the corporate rooms of Chrysler are trying to make this van a little better looking.
Inside, things look like a mix of Chrysler and Dodge pieces, more explicitly, Dodge Durango. We can notice a digital instrument cluster now as well as a new center stack along with a familiar steering wheel. Of course, the car is still in prototype guise so a lot of that might change in the future, before it reaches production.
As far as the engines go, there might be a couple of surprises included in the package. The thing is, most cars in this segment usually are offered with only one powertrain choice. The 2017 Town and Country might offer a plug-in hybrid alternative next to the usual petrol plant.
Speaking of which, the engine choice could be made depending on how heavy the end product will be. If lightweight materials will be plentiful, a 2-liter turbocharged plant might be enough, hooked up to a 9-speed gearbox but in case things go the other way around, the old 3.6-liter V6 Pentastar could be kept on.
As we said in the beginning, expect the new car to be released somewhere next year as a 2017 model for a starting price of around $26,000.
In its segment, the new van will have to tackle the likes of Honda’s Odyssey, the Kia Sedona and Nissan Quest but also the Toyota Sienna. They might seem like a small group that’s easy to conquest but the main struggle will be to keep the customers interested as sales in this segment are dwelling by the minute.
What can be made out from under the covers? Well, it appears like the next Town & Country will be sitting lower than its current version. Furthermore, the roof styling seems to be different, going down towards more of a cross-over kind of design that might suggest the engineers and artists over in the corporate rooms of Chrysler are trying to make this van a little better looking.
Inside, things look like a mix of Chrysler and Dodge pieces, more explicitly, Dodge Durango. We can notice a digital instrument cluster now as well as a new center stack along with a familiar steering wheel. Of course, the car is still in prototype guise so a lot of that might change in the future, before it reaches production.
Technical details
The current model uses a twist-beam rear axle that isn’t exactly the most comfortable choice. Since the T&C is a van and will be used by families most of the time, Chrysler apparently finally decided to switch to a multi-link setup that should improve the way bumps and cracks are handled.As far as the engines go, there might be a couple of surprises included in the package. The thing is, most cars in this segment usually are offered with only one powertrain choice. The 2017 Town and Country might offer a plug-in hybrid alternative next to the usual petrol plant.
Speaking of which, the engine choice could be made depending on how heavy the end product will be. If lightweight materials will be plentiful, a 2-liter turbocharged plant might be enough, hooked up to a 9-speed gearbox but in case things go the other way around, the old 3.6-liter V6 Pentastar could be kept on.
As we said in the beginning, expect the new car to be released somewhere next year as a 2017 model for a starting price of around $26,000.
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