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Car review/rant

R

rsbennett00

Senior member
One tiny part of my job is chauffeuring clients around, mostly to and from the airport. We use a local car rental agency that provides mostly german cars and a few toyota/lexus. They range from common jettas to amg mercs.

Last week we had a last minute client and they were out of cars so I had to go to enterprise. I asked for the nicest, most comfortable ride they had and they gave me a chrysler town and country. It looked nice, about 1000 miles on it, and had leather so I headed for the airport.

I will give the stow and go seating some props, it was easy to use. That’s about the only thing this car has going for it.

The seats were all very uncomfortable (or at least the driver side and rear 3). The body roll was out of control. The AC was inconsistent creating hot and cold spots. The stereo didn’t have speed volume adjustment. The v6 engine was not enough to provide a smooth ride over highway hills, having to downshift itself frequently and jarringly. There were a lot of other things that annoyed me while I had it but have forgotten now.

I wouldn’t own this thing if it were free and if this is the best chrysler has to offer, no wonder they are tanking.

The client was pretty perturbed by the time we arrived and it took some extra relaxing for her to get ready. Returning her to the airport I just used my boss’s accord and she said that was a much better trip.
 
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Welcome to a rental car. I can tell you your review disagrees with pretty much every other major reviewer and 90% of people's experiences with 2012+ T&C's. Are they Honda or Toyota vans? No. But they also don't cost 52K.
 
heymrdj said:
Welcome to a rental car. I can tell you your review disagrees with pretty much every other major reviewer and 90% of people's experiences with 2012+ T&C's. Are they Honda or Toyota vans? No. But they also don't cost 52K.
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Good to know they can be abused beyond recovery before 1000 miles is up.
 
rsbennett00 said:
The client was pretty perturbed by the time we arrived and it took some extra relaxing for her to get ready. Returning her to the airport I just used my boss’s accord and she said that was a much better trip.
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wut?


..............................
 
Its a Chrysler rental car, you and your passenger were lucky to get to you destination.

I've never rented a Chrysler that wasn't a piece of shit to drive. They don't hold up well to the abuse.

And to all those confused by the passenger's reaction, you have no idea what chauffeuring is then. These types of people are high strung and kept well.
 
xBiffx said:
Its a Chrysler rental car, you and your passenger were lucky to get to you destination.

I've never rented a Chrysler that wasn't a piece of shit to drive. They don't hold up well to the abuse.

And to all those confused by the passenger's reaction, you have no idea what chauffeuring is then. These types of people are high strung and kept well.
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That's more than high strung, dude. That's ridiculous.
 
xBiffx said:
Its a Chrysler rental car, you and your passenger were lucky to get to you destination.

I've never rented a Chrysler that wasn't a piece of shit to drive. They don't hold up well to the abuse.

And to all those confused by the passenger's reaction, you have no idea what chauffeuring is then. These types of people are high strung and kept well.
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I did choose poorly. My gut reaction was the T&C at 1000 miles would ride better than an accord at 150k.

jlee said:
That's more than high strung, dude. That's ridiculous.
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Have you ridden in a T&C? It was very rough compared to a normal car. She was unable to touch up her makeup while moving, turning corners even at 10-20 mph caused her to rock and slide, and the constant jarring of the shifting was headache inducing. She wasn't high strung, she was accustomed to a better ride. Try going from a cushy limo to a roller coaster sometime.
 
funny, my friend who has a 2013 accord thinks my grand caravan rides quite well.

it also has best in class HP, you really expect it to not ever downshift while hillclimbing? though I will agree that the transmission doesn't always do a smooth gear shift, and will hang at the top of a gear on occasion, and body roll isn't great, but its a minivan and doubtfully had the sport suspension(I regret not having it on mine)

I spent 5 hours in a grand caravan last week without discomfort issues(in the drivers seat)


The T&C is clearly not 'the reason Chrysler is tanking'

http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/search/label/US Minivan Sales?max-results=3
 
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Zargon said:
funny, my friend who has a 2013 accord thinks my grand caravan rides quite well.

it also has best in class HP, you really expect it to not ever downshift while hillclimbing? though I will agree that the transmission doesn't always do a smooth gear shift, and will hang at the top of a gear on occasion, and body roll isn't great, but its a minivan and doubtfully had the sport suspension(I regret not having it on mine)

I spent 5 hours in a grand caravan last week without discomfort issues(in the drivers seat)


The T&C is clearly not 'the reason Chrysler is tanking'

http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/search/label/US Minivan Sales?max-results=3
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Yes, I expect it to not require downshifting on an interstate hill, like a car half it's price doesn't. I'm guessing the main problem here is minivan versus suv and I'll stick with the suv's.
 
rsbennett00 said:
Yes, I expect it to not require downshifting on an interstate hill, like a car half it's price doesn't. I'm guessing the main problem here is minivan versus suv and I'll stick with the suv's.
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an accord v6 has almost as much power and probably a 1000 less pounds of weight(probably closer to 1500, ie 3200 vs about 4700), and is certainly NOT half the price of a T&C

actually an accord v6 and T&C base at the same price

the 4 cycl accords start at 22 vs 31k


what would the 'suv' that would likely be a crossover aka car style unibody fix? it will probably still be heavier and require more help on inclines......
 
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rsbennett00 said:
I did choose poorly. My gut reaction was the T&C at 1000 miles would ride better than an accord at 150k.



Have you ridden in a T&C? It was very rough compared to a normal car. She was unable to touch up her makeup while moving, turning corners even at 10-20 mph caused her to rock and slide, and the constant jarring of the shifting was headache inducing. She wasn't high strung, she was accustomed to a better ride. Try going from a cushy limo to a roller coaster sometime.
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Depending on the day, I drive a 400+rwhp MR2 on sport suspension or a rocksquasher that can unblinkingly drive over stuff that'd put a normal car in the wrecking yard. I also get liberal longitudinal body roll on application of throttle.

Plus I like rollercoasters. So, I'm not the best person to understand this "problem." :awe:

I understand it's not gonna be the most luxury ride ever, but damn. If that causes someone to need to take time to "recover/relax"...that's sad.
 
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Zargon said:
an accord v6 has almost as much power and probably a 1000 less pounds of weight(probably closer to 1500, ie 3200 vs about 4700), and is certainly NOT half the price of a T&C

actually an accord v6 and T&C base at the same price

the 4 cycl accords start at 22 vs 31k


what would the 'suv' that would likely be a crossover aka car style unibody fix? it will probably still be heavier and require more help on inclines......
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Oh, sorry, I realize I mixed things up and didn't clarify. We don't normally use the 10 year old accord, it was just preferable in this situation. We commonly rent Jettas from the normal rental company which would be a $16k car with a 4 banger and they don't downshift on the same interstate. The most common suv they give us is a bmw x3 and doesn't have issues with body roll, poor seats, lack of power and everything else I originally complained about.
 
rsbennett00 said:
Oh, sorry, I realize I mixed things up and didn't clarify. We don't normally use the 10 year old accord, it was just preferable in this situation. We commonly rent Jettas from the normal rental company which would be a $16k car with a 4 banger and they don't downshift on the same interstate. The most common suv they give us is a bmw x3 and doesn't have issues with body roll, poor seats, lack of power and everything else I originally complained about.
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yeah so that bases 10K above the van by the way, Im sure its much nicer. (it should be, its not a very fair comparison) I also have no idea if chrylser has rental specials, I would have to check with a friend(ie cheaper EVERYTHING they put in rental/fleet vehicles). I know they do for the dodges, my van is much nicer than my work grand caravans

it really sounds like you were driving the van aggressively, I experience a lot of the problems when I flog my wifes van, but don't notice them much when I simply drive it around. though I drive a truck based SUV on a daily basis.

there is No lack of power though, period, you are making that up. especially in comparison to the x3 and jetta, which is significantly outguns, and these vans will rip tires up when you put your foot down

and I don't find the seats to be uncomfortable, though I haven't spent more than half an hour in a back seat at a time
 
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NoTine42 said:
I wonder if the OP was in "Eco mode"
In Eco mode the transmission generally skips from gears 1-3 and 4-6 and results in rougher shifts and reduced throttle response.

http://forum.chryslerminivan.net/showthread.php/22800-This-website-helps-me-also.
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Bingo, that would be it. Never having driven one before, I didn't know what eco did so I didn't touch it but it was green.


feralkid said:
I suspect driver error as well.
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That's what I've been saying, the cruise control was driving and downshifting terribly.
 
I reluctantly chose a Town & Country last month from Enterprise. It had 20K+ miles. Was pleasantly surprised as it was much better than expected. I wouldn't buy one, but I don't hate it either. My biggest complaint is the ugly infotainment display. It was pretty fast when I floored it 😛

-"The body roll was out of control."
Worse than other minivans?
 
Mermaidman said:
-"The body roll was out of control."
Worse than other minivans?
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I've not driven any other minivans so that could be the problem entirely. My only other experience with non-sedans is suv's which I thought would be close enough since no one actually offroads an suv these days.
 
i had a dodge caravan rental a few months back. it wasn't the best, but it was way better than a buick enclave with less than 1000 miles I got on my return trip. that thing just screamed cheap gm parts bin stuff and drove worse than the caravan. give me a ford explorer or the lincoln mk-whatever any day of the week. at least the caravan is an honest vehicle. but I still feel like they barely improved the caravan since the '92 that my parents had.
 
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If you're used to luxury cars then going from that to a Chrysler minivan is definitely going to be a shock.

I wouldn't buy one either.
 
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