I found this Chrysler Pacifica review to be very interesting. I think Chrysler Pacifica Forum members will find it an interesting read.
Here’s something I don’t get to write very often: There’s a new minivan on the market. It’s the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica, the replacement for the venerable Town & Country, a Chrysler mainstay since 1990.
Chrysler (actually Fiat Chrysler Automobiles , LLC or “FCA”) claims to have created the minivan with the introduction of the Dodge Caravan in 1984. Volkswagen could contest that claim by pointing at their VW Bus, but that’s not really the point. Caravan kicked off a craze for front-wheel drive minivans that lasted for over a decade. At the crest of the minivan wave, a mix of 17 different minivans were available as part of a one million vehicle tide. Thanks to changing tastes and the rise of the SUV, that tide receded by 2015 to one half million vehicles and just 6 (seven, if you count the Mazda5, which I do) choices: Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan, Honda Odyssey (the market leader), Toyota Sienna and Kia Sedona. Gone are the Plymouth Voyager, Ford Windstar, Pontiac Trans Sport, Oldsmobile Silhouette (“The Cadillac of Minivans,” according to Chili Palmer in “Get Shorty”), Hyundai Entourage, Mazda MPV and many others.
Despite these declines, Chrysler still sees value in the minivan, as do many families. The Town & Country has been in its fifth generation since 2008, an eternity in automotive development terms, so they decided to start with a clean sheet to come up with a new vehicle. For inspiration, they even decided to appropriate the name “Pacifica,” which last festooned a three-row crossover from 2004 – 2008. The new Pacifica is built on an all-new platform, with completely new exterior and interior design. The Town & Country will continue to be sold for now, presumably as long as the Dodge Grand Caravan, it’s mechanical and cosmetic near twin, remains in production.
Listening to the Chrysler product planners, designers and engineers, you’d expect a revolutionary vehicle to appear at the unveiling of the Pacifica. On paper, there are tons of innovations and minivan firsts. Then the shroud is lifted, and lo and behold, there’s a minivan. It’s an attractive minivan, as these things go. It’s much sleeker and not as boxy as the Platonic Ideal of Minivan, borrowing some of the windswept look of a crossover vehicle. But it still has the minivan’s signature sliding doors on each side, big tailgate in the back, and tall greenhouse. A closer look reveals muscular wheel arches over big wheels (17” standard, up to 20” available). Signature LED taillights are standard on all but the base LX and Touring models. Every effort has been made to make the Pacifica look long, wide and low, with some success. In the right dark color, the Pacifica has some presence and elegance.
Inside, the innovation is more evident. As usual, attention has been lavished on the second and third rows. The signature Stow ‘n Go feature has been perfected in the new vehicle. Both rear rows (twin buckets in the second row; three-position 60/40 split bench in the third row) fold into the floor to leave a flat load floor all the way to the back. There’s a one-button power assist feature on both of the front seats that moves them out of the way to accommodate stowage of the second row, so you don’t have to jockey from the front door to the back to complete the operation. The killer setup is to leave the second row folded into the floor and use the third row for passengers for a limo-like feel. This flexible compartment is ideal for cargo. 32.3 cubic feet of luggage will fit behind the third row; 87.5 cubic feet behind the second row; and 140.5 cubic feet of junk can be stuffed into the cargo area with both the second and third rows folded flat. There’s even more storage available under the load floor, if you choose to leave the seats in place. You can use the Stow ‘n Go spaces to hold cargo, and you even fill them ice and keep beverages and food cold. The space between the wheel wells is 48.8” wide, which means that you can even carry standard sheets of 4’ x 8’ plywood flat in the Pacifica. That’s utility that is hard to find even in a mid-size SUV. Additional utility is added by an available onboard vacuum, mounted in the door pillar behind the driver. (Honda was the first to introduce a vacuum cleaner in the Odyssey, but theirs is in the back, which makes cleaning the first and second rows a little tougher.)
Here’s something I don’t get to write very often: There’s a new minivan on the market. It’s the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica, the replacement for the venerable Town & Country, a Chrysler mainstay since 1990.
Chrysler (actually Fiat Chrysler Automobiles , LLC or “FCA”) claims to have created the minivan with the introduction of the Dodge Caravan in 1984. Volkswagen could contest that claim by pointing at their VW Bus, but that’s not really the point. Caravan kicked off a craze for front-wheel drive minivans that lasted for over a decade. At the crest of the minivan wave, a mix of 17 different minivans were available as part of a one million vehicle tide. Thanks to changing tastes and the rise of the SUV, that tide receded by 2015 to one half million vehicles and just 6 (seven, if you count the Mazda5, which I do) choices: Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan, Honda Odyssey (the market leader), Toyota Sienna and Kia Sedona. Gone are the Plymouth Voyager, Ford Windstar, Pontiac Trans Sport, Oldsmobile Silhouette (“The Cadillac of Minivans,” according to Chili Palmer in “Get Shorty”), Hyundai Entourage, Mazda MPV and many others.
Despite these declines, Chrysler still sees value in the minivan, as do many families. The Town & Country has been in its fifth generation since 2008, an eternity in automotive development terms, so they decided to start with a clean sheet to come up with a new vehicle. For inspiration, they even decided to appropriate the name “Pacifica,” which last festooned a three-row crossover from 2004 – 2008. The new Pacifica is built on an all-new platform, with completely new exterior and interior design. The Town & Country will continue to be sold for now, presumably as long as the Dodge Grand Caravan, it’s mechanical and cosmetic near twin, remains in production.
Listening to the Chrysler product planners, designers and engineers, you’d expect a revolutionary vehicle to appear at the unveiling of the Pacifica. On paper, there are tons of innovations and minivan firsts. Then the shroud is lifted, and lo and behold, there’s a minivan. It’s an attractive minivan, as these things go. It’s much sleeker and not as boxy as the Platonic Ideal of Minivan, borrowing some of the windswept look of a crossover vehicle. But it still has the minivan’s signature sliding doors on each side, big tailgate in the back, and tall greenhouse. A closer look reveals muscular wheel arches over big wheels (17” standard, up to 20” available). Signature LED taillights are standard on all but the base LX and Touring models. Every effort has been made to make the Pacifica look long, wide and low, with some success. In the right dark color, the Pacifica has some presence and elegance.
Inside, the innovation is more evident. As usual, attention has been lavished on the second and third rows. The signature Stow ‘n Go feature has been perfected in the new vehicle. Both rear rows (twin buckets in the second row; three-position 60/40 split bench in the third row) fold into the floor to leave a flat load floor all the way to the back. There’s a one-button power assist feature on both of the front seats that moves them out of the way to accommodate stowage of the second row, so you don’t have to jockey from the front door to the back to complete the operation. The killer setup is to leave the second row folded into the floor and use the third row for passengers for a limo-like feel. This flexible compartment is ideal for cargo. 32.3 cubic feet of luggage will fit behind the third row; 87.5 cubic feet behind the second row; and 140.5 cubic feet of junk can be stuffed into the cargo area with both the second and third rows folded flat. There’s even more storage available under the load floor, if you choose to leave the seats in place. You can use the Stow ‘n Go spaces to hold cargo, and you even fill them ice and keep beverages and food cold. The space between the wheel wells is 48.8” wide, which means that you can even carry standard sheets of 4’ x 8’ plywood flat in the Pacifica. That’s utility that is hard to find even in a mid-size SUV. Additional utility is added by an available onboard vacuum, mounted in the door pillar behind the driver. (Honda was the first to introduce a vacuum cleaner in the Odyssey, but theirs is in the back, which makes cleaning the first and second rows a little tougher.)