2017 Chrysler Pacifica - The Chrysler Pacifica was one of the original large crossover wagons.
In order to combine the driving attributes of a car with the utility
offered by minivans and sport-utility vehicles, the Pacifica crossover
had four front-hinged doors, an elevated seating position, five- or
six-passenger seating and a choice of front-wheel drive or all-wheel
drive.
Compared to other crossover wagons, the Chrysler
Pacifica was relatively upscale and offered a wide array of creature
comforts wrapped in elegantly chiseled sheet metal. Unfortunately, the
Pacifica didn't possess particularly great interior packaging. While the
first two rows were spacious for occupants, the third row was
acceptable only for children and left very little space for cargo behind
it when deployed. The rearmost seat does, however, fold flat into the
floor in convenient 50/50 sections.
The Pacifica's Mercedes
Benz-derived suspension garnered wide praise for its carlike ride and
handling. But early Pacificas suffered from reliability woes and
mediocre engines in a price bracket where potent and refined powertrains
were the norm. Not helping matters were the large wagon's hefty weight
and relatively unsophisticated four-speed automatic transmission, both
of which took their toll on fuel economy. A significant update for 2007,
however, brought about a new V6 engine, a new six-speed automatic for
most models and updated styling.
Most Recent Chrysler Pacifica
The
Chrysler Pacifica debuted for the 2004 model year, at which point it
was offered only in base and Limited trim levels. The original base
model was relatively well-equipped, but it was offered with fewer
features and a lower price when the Touring trim level slotted in above
it in 2005. At first, Pacificas were powered by a 3.8-liter V6 with 210
horsepower and 240 pound-feet of torque. Reviewers faulted the gruff
engine, which was barely up to the task of battling the Pacifica's
formidable mass, especially on fully loaded all-wheel-drive models.
Given that early 2004 Pacificas also had some well-known repair issues,
we'd play it safe and restrict our search to 2005 and newer models.
A
3.5-liter V6 with 250 hp and 250 lb-ft became standard on all but the
base front-wheel-drive model in 2005, and the 3.8-liter V6 was
eliminated for 2006, leaving the 3.5-liter unit as the sole available
engine. For 2007, the 3.8-liter mill returned in the base
front-wheel-drive model, this time rated at 200 hp, and a 4.0-liter V6
replaced the 3.5-liter V6 in all other models. The 4.0-liter engine
cranked out a respectable 255 hp and 265 lb-ft, and it was teamed with a
new six-speed automatic transmission (the base engine continued with
the old four-speed unit). All Pacificas were rated to tow up to 3,500
pounds.
Base 2004 Pacificas featured two-row,
five-passenger seating and were fairly comfortable, thanks to niceties
such as dual-zone climate control, a power driver seat and a
load-leveling suspension. Starting in 2005, Touring models received
additional standard features, a much longer options list and
six-passenger seating via the addition of a two-passenger third-row seat
and the replacement of the regular second-row bench with two bucket
seats and a center console. The 2005 base model, meanwhile, lost some
standard accoutrements and was priced lower going forward. The
best-dressed and most luxurious Chrysler Pacifica was the Limited, which
featured cleaner styling, bigger wheels and a long list of luxury
features, including an upmarket audio system and a power liftgate.
In
Chrysler Pacifica reviews, our editors found the crossover wagon's
strengths to be its exceptional comfort for four, sedanlike driving
characteristics, top-notch safety scores and upscale interior. The
3.8-liter engine is to be avoided, but the 3.5-liter and 4.0-liter V6s
are decent performers. Downsides include a lack of legroom in the third
row and a lack of overall utility when compared to the top available
minivans.
PacificaMinivanMSRP: From $28,595MPG: 18 city / 28 highwayEngine: 3.6 L V6Horsepower: 287 hpTowing capacity: 3,600 lbsConfigurations
Chrysler Pacifica Review
Here it is: the all-new 2017 Chrysler Town & Country! Except it
isn’t called the Town & Country—it’s now the Pacifica. Chrysler says
it wants this vehicle to dramatically shift how people think about
minivans, and the company no doubt felt that Town & Country was synonymous with mom jeans and regurgitated Cheerios.
So the Pacifica badge was exhumed after a long dirt nap. You might recall that the name was attached to a three-row crossover
a decade or so ago, one that could reasonably be considered as being
ahead of its time—no snickering, now—as it was softer and more carlike
when America was still obsessed with more-truckish SUVs. But that
Pacifica suffered from disappointing sales, and we’d question the wisdom
of using its name if anyone outside of Chrysler even cared it existed.
As for the T&C badge, we don’t believe this means it’s dead for
good; prior to being applied to a minivan in the 1990s, it appeared on
all manner of vehicle types over a 75-year run. So we wouldn’t bet
against Town & Country reappearing down the line as a trim level,
special package, or perhaps a large crossover similar in philosophy to,
uh, the original Pacifica.
The key items to know about the new Pacifica are that it will be
available in both conventional and plug-in-hybrid versions, that it
offers a ton of technology (including a rear entertainment system with
twin 10-inch touchscreens), and that Chrysler can’t use “class-leading”
enough when describing the aerodynamics, NVH levels, ride and handling,
interior volume, and a whole pile of other stuff. And with its dramatic
styling, there’s no way it will ever be mistaken for the milquetoast
original Pacifica. We particularly like the repeated use of what
Chrysler refers to as a Mobius-strip detail; it’s most obvious in the
way the chrome trim in the lower fascia wraps from one fog lamp to the
other, and the overall look counts as positively outlandish as far as
minivans go. As a whole, we like it.
Motivating Factors
The standard Pacifica will use an updated version of Chrysler’s
3.6-liter Pentastar V-6, which now boasts two-stage variable valve lift,
cooled exhaust-gas recirculation (EGR), a revised variable-valve-timing
system, and a multitude of weight-saving measures. It’s mated to a
standard nine-speed automatic transmission; this counts as a preemptive
strike against the next-generation Honda Odyssey, which we expect will also offer a nine-speed automatic when it debuts this year.
The upshot is 287 horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque (slight gains from
before), as well as increased efficiency, although Chrysler hasn’t yet
released any fuel-economy figures whatsoever for this version. The
Pacifica uses an all-new platform, and weight is down by 250 pounds
model to model thanks to an increased use of high-strength steel,
magnesium, and aluminum. The sliding doors are made from aluminum, for
example, and the liftgate is a mix of magnesium and aluminum.
The Pacifica hybrid—the first gas-electric minivan in our market, by the
way—uses a 3.6-liter V-6, a 16-kWh battery pack, and a
twin-electric-motor setup to produce 260 total system horsepower, as
well as to deliver 80 MPGe in the city (no highway number was released).
The battery pack is located under the second-row floor (which means no
Stow ’n Go seating there), and Chrysler says a 240-volt electrical
hookup can replenish it completely in as little as two hours.
Electric-only range is stated to be 30 miles. The hybrid system also
uses a Chrysler-designed dual-motor transmission that, in the latest
plug-in-hybrid whizbangery, incorporates two electric motors that can
both be called upon to drive the front wheels via clutches, rather than
devoting one solely to recapturing energy, as in older systems.
As mentioned, the hybrid powertrain is one fresh idea Chrysler’s
new-generation minivan brings to the segment, and the company touts a
further 36 more. Some are quite minor (first with optional 20-inch
wheels, first with a rotary shift knob and all-LED interior lighting,
first with an iPad-compatible storage drawer), while others are more
notable (first with hands-free operation of the sliding doors and
liftgate via a foot wave, first with an available full-digital gauge
cluster). One innovation that Chrysler can’t claim is the Pacifica’s
available vacuum cleaner; Honda was first to market with onboard suction
in 2013. (You may insert your own onboard-suction joke here.) Developed
with toolmaker Ridgid, the Pacifica’s vacuum is said to suck harder
than the one in the Odyssey, and it’s located in the C-pillar rather
than the D-pillar as is the Honda’s.
The second-row Stow ’n Go seating fitted to all nonhybrid models has
been updated to accommodate tilting with a child seat installed to
facilitate access to the rearmost seats, and it also now has the ability
to fold into the floor at the press of a button. Maximum occupancy is
seven as standard, or eight with the optional removable second-row
middle seat.
That’s Some Tech in a Box
The Pacifica’s piles of technology can be split into two categories:
safety and convenience. To keep occupants safe and sheetmetal unbent,
the Pacifica now offers a 360-degree camera view, automatic parallel and
perpendicular parking, forward-collision warning and mitigation,
lane-departure warning and mitigation, rear backup sensing with
automatic braking, adaptive cruise control that will bring the van to a
complete stop and hold it there, and several other active and passive
systems.
