Around the Block: Planted Just Before the Frost November 25, 2006
The 2007 Chrysler Aspen is a perfectly nice vehicle with perfectly awful timing. It is big and thirsty, meant for a time when gas flowed like water.
TESTED: Chrysler Aspen
WHAT IS IT? Full-size S.U.V.
HOW MUCH? Base model $30,745. As tested $41,870 including a $5,415 quick-order package (with Hemi engine and popular features); $1,595 navigation system; $1,200 rear seat entertainment system; $875 leather trimmed seats; $745 shipping charge.
WHAT DRIVES IT? Base engine is 4.7-liter V-8 (235 horsepower); upgraded engine is 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 (335 horsepower).
IS IT SAFE? Chrysler says the Aspen has the “highest level of standard safety equipment” among full-size S.U.V.’s. Standard side-curtain air bags protect all three rows of seats (though there are no seat-mounted side bags). Also standard are antilock brakes, traction and stability controls and rollover-prevention sensors.
HOW THIRSTY? E.P.A. rating is 14 miles a gallon in town, 19 on the highway, with base engine and rear-wheel drive; 15/20 with Hemi. Optional four-wheel drive knocks 1 m.p.g. off each rating.
ALTERNATIVES: Toyota Sequoia SR5 $36,645; Ford Expedition XLT $32,075; GMC Yukon SLE $38,165.
THE 2007 Chrysler Aspen is a perfectly nice vehicle with perfectly awful timing.
Yes, it’s got a Hemi in it - at least, it can have one if you so choose - but notwithstanding the pre-election dip in gasoline prices, powerful and thirsty S.U.V.’s have become about as popular as lobbyists. You don’t see commercials promoting the Hemi anymore, do you?
The ads that you do see are for liquidation sales on gas-swilling behemoths like these. Unsold Chrysler S.U.V.s are piling up in storage lots faster than unsold Beanie Babies. In a different place in time, Chrysler’s first full-size S.U.V. might have been a potential game-changer.
That’s because it has all the features that lovers of big S.U.V.’s like, and at a reasonable price.
With the Aspen, Chrysler has brought to market the luxury that Lincoln promised but often failed to deliver: class-above interiors, refined performance and luxurious utility. The Aspen that I tested - a top-line Limited with about $10,000 of options piled on its $30,745 base price - had brushed satin-nickel interior trim, pleasingly light-colored leather and rich accents that looked like wood even though they were hewn from a polypropylene forest.
From what I can tell, the people who have bought this vehicle - there haven’t been many so far - seem happy. They rave about the ride, the handling and the luxuriant feel.
Though built on the same platform as the Dodge Durango, the Aspen looks more upscale. It is being marketed as a luxury S.U.V., as opposed to the Durango’s utilitarian image.
But the Aspen can haul a lot of stuff; it has a generous payload and the greatest towing capacity among full-size S.U.V.’s. What it won’t handle particularly well is bulky stuff; its cargo area is one of the class’s smallest. The second- and available third-row seats fold flat enough to accommodate the proverbial 4-by-8 sheet of plywood. But the folded seats take up lot of room; other Chrysler products handle this chore with more panache.
The base engine is a 235-horsepower 4.7-liter V-8, which would make a dandy boat anchor. Like a bad brother-in-law, it consumes more and produces less. The Hemi makes 100 more horsepower, outperforms the 4.7 by every measure and is more economical - it shuts down half the cylinders at cruising speeds. Since the Hemi costs less than $1,000 extra, ordering one is a no-brainer. If you get only one option, let it be this.
The Aspen has other shortcomings, too; its standard antilock brakes could stop with more authority. The window in the rear liftgate cannot be opened. The Durango has a much better stereo. The air-conditioning system lacks the dual-zone controls common in many vehicles priced thousands less.
The Aspen’s worst fault, though, is its lateness. Even the president of the Chrysler Group, Tom LaSorda, concedes that the S.U.V. should have come to market at least a year ago.
And therein lies the problem. As the newest entry in a once-hot class, the Aspen has arrived so late to the party that the food is all gone and the floors are being swept.
- Posted in : Uncategorized, DaimlerChrysler
- Author : arnold
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