Take a moment to view the Town & Country in profile and you may more fully appreciate its aerodynamic design. Its raked windshield, rising roofline and beltline, and fast D-pillars framing canted rear windows help it slip through the air. Pronounced wheel arches complement sharp character lines that flank the integrated grille. The rear end is designed to make Town & Country look wider and not as tall as it really is. Huge taillamps feature clear red lenses and jewel-like reflectors. It's a nice look, marred only by a black piece of trim below the rear bumper for the Park Assist system that looks tacked on.

There's nothing mini about today's minivans, and the Town & Country is no exception.

The power sliding doors on both sides are particularly useful when you find yourself herding children while carrying two armloads of gear. Press the appropriate button on the remote transmitter twice and the door slides open; press it twice again and it slides closed and seals. Pulling on the outside lever opens the power door manually, with just slightly more effort than opening a regular manual door. Once inside, the power sliding door can be opened and closed by pressing a button conveniently located for second-row passengers. That may seem far too fussy for those in a hurry to get out (and almost all passengers are almost always in a hurry to get out), so the door can be opened manually just like any sliding minivan door. In short, everything works intuitively so training sessions for your passengers should not be needed. A safety lock switch hidden on the trailing edge of the door can be engaged to prevent a child from opening the sliding door from inside.

The base and LX come with manually operated sliding doors, which are still easy to operate, smoothly gliding open and closed with the pull of a nicely designed lever. The outside door handles are comfortable, easy to operate and well designed; they impart a feeling of quality in appearance and operation. All door handles should be this good on all vehicles, but they are not.

The available power rear liftgate makes loading groceries and other cargo easier. Press a button on the remote control and the liftgate opens or closes automatically. You'll quickly appreciate this feature for those all-too-frequent times when you approach the van with an armload and you'll truly appreciate after experiencing this situation when it's pouring down raining.