![]() No matter the power source, the Pacifica was the quietest of our quartet with pedal pinned to the floor, with an engine note so subdued, you don’t even need the intercom option to speak with passengers in the third row. For family road trips, the Pacifica hybrid can be fueled up and treated like a nonelectrified machine. For the typical around-town errands a minivan spends most of its life doing, the Pacifica’s EPA-rated 32 miles of electric range mean all the school pickups and grocery runs could be gas-free, as long as you’re gentle on the accelerator. There’s a lot to love about the idea of a plug-in hybrid. The Pacifica’s 3.6-liter V-6 shares motive duties with two AC motors for a combined output of 260 horsepower. VERDICT: For $60K, get a Charger Scat Pack and squeeze everyone in.Ĭhrysler doesn’t put “PHEV” anywhere on the Pacifica, which is odd because it’s the only plug-in minivan, and you’d think Chrysler would want to brag about that. LOWS: Seats too hard, brakes too soft, missing Stow ’n Go. HIGHS: Tech-forward drivetrain and cabin, quiet runner, spacious third row. Judged without Uncle Sam’s potential $7500 kickback for making an environmentally focused purchase, the Pacifica’s $60,075 as-tested sticker hung over the Chrysler throughout this comparison. It’s like an S-class for seven! The problem was our test van wasn’t the Pinnacle trim, so we didn’t get the fancy cushions, and it was the plug-in hybrid, so we did get a ritzy price tag. It’s made numerous appearances on our 10Best list, and its quilted nappa leather interior in the Pinnacle trim, with the color-matched lumbar pillows, was the inspiration for this attempted luxury-van excursion. The Pacifica has done well in previous minivan match-ups. Marc Urbano | Car and Driver 4th Place: Chrysler Pacifica It was not the trip we envisioned, but perhaps it was a better test of how these family cars satisfy when the family vacation doesn’t. With their comfy seats, big screens, and connectivity, the minivans made it easy to rework our plans on the fly. We drove on a beach of fish bones and stopped for lunch in a dive bar boasting the lowest burger in the Western Hemisphere (223 feet below sea level). We were diverted from our original route, but we pulled together a passable substitute around the strange shantytowns of the Salton Sea and through the sweeping roads and rock formations of Borrego Springs. All were the top trims or close to it and loaded with options to best represent the plush, pampering offerings of Minivandia. We ended up with a plug-in-hybrid Chrysler Pacifica Limited, a Kia Carnival SX Prestige trying to pass for an SUV, a hybrid Toyota Sienna Limited with all-wheel drive, and an old-school underdog, the Honda Odyssey Elite. These days, the minivan is a vanishing art form, and those that remain have branched out with electrified drivetrains, all-wheel drive, and wildly variable price points from the $35,000 range all the way up to nearly twice that amount. ![]() There was a time when a minivan comparison could have featured half a dozen slant-nose, sliding-door, three-row crates, all with V-6 engines, front-wheel drive, and similar prices.
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