If the Dodge Durango is aimed towards busy families, then the Chrysler Aspen must be aimed at their still youthful grandparents. You know the ones. Grandpa still works and takes clients to meetings, while on the weekends they load up the car and head to the cottage. Or the track. For these folks, the interior of the Aspen is perfectly suited, with an exception level of comfort and maturity.

Up front, the driver and co-driver are treated to just about every convenience known to modern vehicles. There is tons of storage space, two stage heated power seats, navigation system, bluetooth, satellite radio, power sunroof and more. The fit and finish are better than average for a traditional domestic and even the plastiwood looks pretty good.
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Way back when I was 9, my dad drove a brand new Dodge Aspen wagon for a year or so. When he tired of the wheezy slant 6, it was replaced by a new big block Dodge Monaco wagon. Both of these monstrosities wore the hideous fake wood paneling that was so popular during the time and both were the same ghastly colour of the one in the ad above.

When Chrysler chose to resurrect the Aspen nameplate, car fans old enough to remember the first Aspen shuddered. This was supposed to be an upscale machine. Would people buy a modern wagon with a moniker that was related to the Ricardo Montalban Volare days of Mopar history? Would a Chrysler Aspen be cool enough to lure Escalade drivers over to Chrysler dealers? Would the addition of a Hemi overshadow the name’s unfortunate history?

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The Dakota went home today and in it’s place, we’ve got a 2007 Chrysler Aspen. My initial thoughts are that this truck has gotten a bit of a bum rap from the media. It rides nicely, looks great and has all the toys one would expect of an SUV of this level. We’ll let you know what we think as the week rolls on.