New cars (with US three kid content)

[Boozy]

So I finally caved in and bought a people carrier “mini van” as it’s called here, which is the Chrysler Pacifica Touring Plus L with a few options, I have three girls six, four and one and it’s the perfect family car. It’s nice inside, has a 3.7 V6 engine and all the gadgets you could wish for (TVs, stow and go seats, waggle your foot door open and close stuff, smart cruise control, self parking, radar cruise control, 360 cameras, massive boot or ‘trunk” when you have all seats up and is generally the perfect car for a family) as well as not looking that bad.

I also bought today an E63 AMG with the performance pack and a host of other options to be the ying to the yang of family life (2012). Offered to pick up the eldest tomorrow in the new car and she said no as it doesn’t have TV screens.

Pics to follow - if you have kids the mini van is the way to go (if you can cope with the acceptance that life as you know it was is over).

[Boozy]

[Boozy]

[Boozy]

[aaron_2000]

You have it good there, a minivan with some punch to it. You have a great 2 car setup, you could easily keep the Chrysler until all your kids have left the house, what more could you ever want from a car? Leaves you some extra for your cars too Look forward to seeing the AMG pics

[Sheepshanks]

Boozy][url said:

I do love the way you get an appropriate sidewall on an American vehicle. If that was sold here it would probably be on something stupid like 40% aspect ratio tyres.

Was filled with trepidation when I had to hire a Chrysler Town & Country a couple of years ago but it was surprisingly OK.

[Olivergt]

aaron_2000 said:

Look forward to seeing the AMG pics

Go up the thread and turn your head sideways

[bobski1]

I really like the look of these tbh

How has it been so far?

[astirling]

Had one of these as a hire car a few weeks ago...MASSIVE.

[aaron_2000]

We get the Ford Expedition EL (or similar) everytime we go over, you could fit 2 motorbikes in the back with the 2nd row still up I imagine. Such an amazing amount of space.

[matt21]

Currently in NC and 1500 miles into driving a top spec Dodge Grand Caravan which I guess is a cheaper version of yours. It's huge but the drivetrain is awful and doesn't even have Bluetooth yet has all sorts of other useless stuff. Built in Nav is a cheap Garmin unit.

The worst part is the autobox. Colleague had one two as we had lots of people and looked like we are The Apprentice chauffeurs.

[Boozy]

The Dodge is a surprisingly nice car to drive, it has a nine gear auto box which never seems to hunt or shunt when changing. The best thing is that with all the seats up there’s still room in the boot for stuff. We had a Ford Explorer before that which felt huge but with three rows up had no space for the buggy, bikes etc. It’s a very comfy nice space to be and for a people carrier quick as well as smooth. I’m genuinely shocked at how nice it is to drive, when I bought it the guy offered me a test drive and I said no as I wasn’t buying it to drive, it was a convenience over anything car. It has so many sensible but practical things built into it for a young family.

[matt21]

Assume you mean Chrysler. Guess than is the Merc box?

Mine is an archaic 6 speed. It ruins the 3.6 286bhp petrol engine resulting in constant kickdown at the slightest of inclines on the motorway and 25mpg (in our money)

Edited by matt21 on Thursday 2nd November 03:24

[Boozy]

Yes you’re right picked it up from a dodge dealership and I’m easily confused!!

[Prinny]

I had one of the old shape ones as a rental once in SC/GA. Hateful thing, it had only two redeeming features;

1- it was 1000000000 times better than the Sebring convertible I had the trip before.
2 -there was a button on the dash that changed the speedo from mph to kmh. This just meant the needle went waaay around the dial, rather than the scale changing, etc. It provided a few minutes of fun on the interstate

Anyway... I do actually like the look of that! No need for one, but it’s the white-goods US stuff that we never see in Europe that’s interesting to me. More please.

(I have a secret hankering for a Hemi’d Durango, the current shape for preference, but in the UK, an original would do for the WTF factor....)

[Boozy]

It's the perfect car for the family, the sliding doors are a revelation, it's not actually bad to drive, comfortable and has all the bells and whistles! options were as follows....

Hands-Free Sliding Doors and Liftgate
20-Speaker Harman Kardon® Sound Group
20 Harman Kardon® Speakers
760-Watt Amplifier
Touring Suspension
Advanced SafetyTec Group
ParkSense® Front and Rear Park Assist with Stop
360-Degree Surround View Camera System
Parallel and Perpendicular Park Assist with Stop
Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop & Go Full Speed Forward-Collision Warning Plus Lane Departure Warning Plus
Rain Sensitive Windshield Wipers Automatic High Beam Headlamp Control Advanced Brake Assist
8-Passenger Seating Uconnect® 8.4 NAV
GPS Navigation
HD Radio
SiriusXM Traffic / 5-Yr Traffic Subscription SiriusXM Travel Link 5-Yr Travel Link Subscription
Inflatable Spare Tire Kit with Sealant

It's a cool car! Amusingly the MPG is similar to the Merc.

Practicality offset by the AMG which is an absolute hoot.

[Boozy]

A couple of the AMG, it's such a hoot to drive, the carbon fiber looked really good once cleaned up, I took it to a car show here in NJ today and randomly there was a Rover 827 parked up!

If someone can help me to fix the rotation thing that'd be great as it's driving me mad.

[Prinny]

I can’t help with the rotation (sorry - today was my first ever pictures, and that took me hours), but what’s the purple/burgundy thing hiding behind the 800?

mk1 esprit?

[Boozy]

Good spot yes it was! They had four of them there, I'll take more pics next time, they had an original mini, an Elise, MGs, two stunning E types, I said to my Dad we spent more time looking at the UK stuff than anything else.

[Boozy]

Winter arrived last week and the E63 was shocking in the snow, went to watch Star Wars with a friend and it was lethal, too nearly five hours to drive what normally takes 45 minutes. Winter wheels and tires purchased and put on! Typical luck it's warmed up now with no snow anywhere. The drive to pick them up was great, five hour round trip and it didn't miss a beat, it really is an awesome piece of kit. Only $50 bucks to fill with V-Power as well! I still can't get over how it accelerates.