et’s address the elephant in the room right off the top — this is a $62,340 minivan.
That’s right, a minivan priced north of $60,000.
But the initial impression can be quickly tempered when you look at the degree of sophistication and level of equipment.
The test vehicle could also be considered a luxury motor coach, a tech-laden entertainment centre and the most commodious and comfortable six-passenger vehicle available — at any price.
Chrysler invented the minivan in 1983 and has sold more than 14.3 million to date, almost two million of them in Canada.
Suffice it to say it has a pretty good handle on what people are looking for in a minivan. When it came time to develop a sixth generation, the company invested more than US$2 billion on a completely new platform and related production facilities in Windsor, Ontario, moving the bar to new heights.
Anyone with young children who has used a minivan knows there is no better method of transporting more than four people, especially if sports equipment is involved.
Those with young children with video games and entertainment in their life know that long trips are made much more pleasant if those in the rear seat(s) can be entertained.
The Pacifica was developed with children in mind. The tester had the optional Uconnect theatre system with a pair of 25-cm independent touch screens on the back of the front seats, preloaded with a variety of aps and built-in games, including checkers, bingo, tic-tac-toe, solitaire, hangman and others. One of them, titled ‘are we there yet?’ keeps track of the time and distance remaining to a destination programmed into the nav system. The system also provides DVD-based viewing and has separate USB, HDMI, and AUX ports for additional media and entertainment systems.
Yes, you can buy and use less expensive tablets and games - but none with this clarity of sight and sound and slate of features.
While that may be the most impressive feature for those with children, the completeness with which this new vehicle was engineered is also praise-worthy. It is literally littered with evidence of all that experience with families:
Sliding side doors are a treat in tight spaces. These can be operated by the remote key fob, on the overhead panel or by little ‘chicklets,’ as the designers call them — in the door handles.
A vacuum, powered by Rigid, resides in a panel alongside the second row. It comes with an 11-ft hose and a 11-foot extension. Unfortunately it was not available on the test vehicle, which had been equipped with the optional inflatable spare tire. The Pacifica comes with run-flat tires so does not require a spare. But if that is a real concern, you can opt for one, but the vacuum goes.
The Pacifica can be equipped with radar-based cruise control that will monitor the distance to the vehicle in front, and maintain a safe gap right down to and including a full stop — and then pull away again when the other vehicle does so.
Today’s family has a raft of portable devices that require a recharge. The Pacifica has eight USB charging ports, three 12-volt outlets and a three-prong 120-volt outlet.
Design team members obviously have children. There is provision for items of all sizes and shapes — big, deep bins beneath the second row seats and in the cargo area when the seats are upright. There is a wide variety of bins and trays as well as a wide and deep centre console and 13 cup holders. When it comes time to carry something really big the Pacifica can carry up to 64 full 4 x 8 sheets of plywood. Try that inside any other leather-lined luxury cruiser.
Older children were also included in the development. The key fob can be programmed to limit radio volume and mute it until the belts are buckled and set to prevent deactivation of key safety features such as forward collision warning and park assist.
All of this practicality is easy to access. The second row seats fold forward for access to the third row, even when with a child seat in place. Both second and third rows can fold completely into the floors leaving a perfectly flat surface.
The Pacifica can serve as an excellent limousine for several reasons — among them, the level of material, fit and finish throughout. The second row Captain’s chairs seats are supremely comfortable with gobs of head and legroom. They can be reclined and adjusted fore and aft.
The Nappa leather is supple and at the upper trim levels they are heated. If they can tear their eyes away from the entertainment screens, second row occupants benefit from the best visibility available in any vehicle that comes to mind, thanks to massive unobstructed side windows.
Should they desire privacy or better visibility of those screens there are pull-up shades for both side windows.
While the Pacifica has obviously been developed for passengers, the driver has not been forgotten. Visibility is excellent in all direction thanks to all that deep and wide glass. When it comes time to manoeuvre into tight spots, back-up camera and 360-degree cameras along with front and rear park assist and both perpendicular and parallel park systems take the worry out of being close.
Other safety systems include radar-based adaptive cruise control with full stop-and-go capability, forward collision warning with active braking, lane departure warning with lane keep assist and park-sensing rear park assist with active braking.
The latest generation Pentastar V6 is more powerful and fuel-efficient and combined with a new nine-speed automatic transmission, propels this big vehicle with ease. It is 12 per cent more fuel efficient than the Town & Country it replaces, but lugging this amount of weight around is not easy. I experienced an average of 10.4 litres/100 in a couple tanks of mostly highway driving.
On the road, the Pacifica is very quiet with an almost complete absence of wind or road noise thanks to a noise cancellation system, vastly improved aerodynamics, triple door seals, acoustic headliner and ‘quiet steel’ in the Stow ‘n Go tub.
Obviously this is no sports car, nor is it likely to be driven in that manner. It is supremely comfortable on long highway runs thanks to a very long wheelbase, but it remains remarkably composed in the turns.
The 2017 Chrysler Pacifica is not only the most technologically advanced minivan ever it is lighter, more powerful, more fuel efficient and infinitely more sophisticated than any before it. It is more fun to drive and own and sure to help generate a raft of fond memories for families.
Chrysler continues to build the Dodge Grand Caravan at the same plant in southern Ontario but there is a new king of the family vehicle category.
THE SPECS
Model: 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Limited
Price: $52,995 base, $62,340 as tested including freight
Engine: 3.6-litre V6, 287-horsepower, 262 lb.-ft. of torque, regular fuel
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
NRC rating, litres/100 city/highway: 12.2 / 8.4
Length: 5,172 mm
Width: 2,297 mm
Wheelbase: 3,089 mm
Weight: 1,964 kg
Competition: Honda Odyssey, Toyota Sienna, Kia Sedona
Standard equipment: hands-free power side doors and tailgate, power windows, locks and mirrors, UConnect with satellite radio, navigation and 21-cm touchscreen, Bluetooth connectivity, USB charging ports on all three rows, keyless entry with push-button start, 13-speaker Alpine audio system, 17-cm customizable in-cluster display, remote keyless entry and start, cruise control, integrated vacuum cleaner, rear view camera, tri-pane sunroof, universal garage door opener, park-sense parking system, blind spot monitoring and rear cross traffic alert, Nappa leather seats, heated front and second row seats, cooled front seats, power-folding third row seats, heated steering wheel, three-zone automatic climate control, eight-way power front seats
Optional equipment: metallic paint, $195; UConnect theatre and sound group – upgraded alternator, 760-watt amplifier, remote control, wireless headphones, 20-speaker Harmon Kardon audio system, dual 2-cm screen on front seat backs, USB video input port, BlueRay/DVD player & USB port, HDMI input, 115-volt outlet, $3,495; 20-inch alloy wheels, $795; trailer tow group — sway control, upgraded radiator, Class II hitch, wiring harness, $700; Advanced Safety Tech — brake assist, lane departure warning and keep assist, forward collision warning and brake assist, adaptive cruise with stop-and-go ability, 360-degree camera, front and rear park sense and assist, parallels and perpendicular park assist, automatic high beams, $1,995; vacuum replaced by 17-in inflatable spare tire, $295; programmable key fob, $175
http://thechronicleherald.ca/wheels...2017-pacifica-—-chrysler’s-‘complete’-minivan
That’s right, a minivan priced north of $60,000.
But the initial impression can be quickly tempered when you look at the degree of sophistication and level of equipment.
The test vehicle could also be considered a luxury motor coach, a tech-laden entertainment centre and the most commodious and comfortable six-passenger vehicle available — at any price.
Chrysler invented the minivan in 1983 and has sold more than 14.3 million to date, almost two million of them in Canada.
Suffice it to say it has a pretty good handle on what people are looking for in a minivan. When it came time to develop a sixth generation, the company invested more than US$2 billion on a completely new platform and related production facilities in Windsor, Ontario, moving the bar to new heights.
Anyone with young children who has used a minivan knows there is no better method of transporting more than four people, especially if sports equipment is involved.
Those with young children with video games and entertainment in their life know that long trips are made much more pleasant if those in the rear seat(s) can be entertained.
The Pacifica was developed with children in mind. The tester had the optional Uconnect theatre system with a pair of 25-cm independent touch screens on the back of the front seats, preloaded with a variety of aps and built-in games, including checkers, bingo, tic-tac-toe, solitaire, hangman and others. One of them, titled ‘are we there yet?’ keeps track of the time and distance remaining to a destination programmed into the nav system. The system also provides DVD-based viewing and has separate USB, HDMI, and AUX ports for additional media and entertainment systems.
Yes, you can buy and use less expensive tablets and games - but none with this clarity of sight and sound and slate of features.
While that may be the most impressive feature for those with children, the completeness with which this new vehicle was engineered is also praise-worthy. It is literally littered with evidence of all that experience with families:
Sliding side doors are a treat in tight spaces. These can be operated by the remote key fob, on the overhead panel or by little ‘chicklets,’ as the designers call them — in the door handles.
A vacuum, powered by Rigid, resides in a panel alongside the second row. It comes with an 11-ft hose and a 11-foot extension. Unfortunately it was not available on the test vehicle, which had been equipped with the optional inflatable spare tire. The Pacifica comes with run-flat tires so does not require a spare. But if that is a real concern, you can opt for one, but the vacuum goes.
The Pacifica can be equipped with radar-based cruise control that will monitor the distance to the vehicle in front, and maintain a safe gap right down to and including a full stop — and then pull away again when the other vehicle does so.
Today’s family has a raft of portable devices that require a recharge. The Pacifica has eight USB charging ports, three 12-volt outlets and a three-prong 120-volt outlet.
Design team members obviously have children. There is provision for items of all sizes and shapes — big, deep bins beneath the second row seats and in the cargo area when the seats are upright. There is a wide variety of bins and trays as well as a wide and deep centre console and 13 cup holders. When it comes time to carry something really big the Pacifica can carry up to 64 full 4 x 8 sheets of plywood. Try that inside any other leather-lined luxury cruiser.
Older children were also included in the development. The key fob can be programmed to limit radio volume and mute it until the belts are buckled and set to prevent deactivation of key safety features such as forward collision warning and park assist.
All of this practicality is easy to access. The second row seats fold forward for access to the third row, even when with a child seat in place. Both second and third rows can fold completely into the floors leaving a perfectly flat surface.
The Pacifica can serve as an excellent limousine for several reasons — among them, the level of material, fit and finish throughout. The second row Captain’s chairs seats are supremely comfortable with gobs of head and legroom. They can be reclined and adjusted fore and aft.
The Nappa leather is supple and at the upper trim levels they are heated. If they can tear their eyes away from the entertainment screens, second row occupants benefit from the best visibility available in any vehicle that comes to mind, thanks to massive unobstructed side windows.
Should they desire privacy or better visibility of those screens there are pull-up shades for both side windows.
While the Pacifica has obviously been developed for passengers, the driver has not been forgotten. Visibility is excellent in all direction thanks to all that deep and wide glass. When it comes time to manoeuvre into tight spots, back-up camera and 360-degree cameras along with front and rear park assist and both perpendicular and parallel park systems take the worry out of being close.
Other safety systems include radar-based adaptive cruise control with full stop-and-go capability, forward collision warning with active braking, lane departure warning with lane keep assist and park-sensing rear park assist with active braking.
The latest generation Pentastar V6 is more powerful and fuel-efficient and combined with a new nine-speed automatic transmission, propels this big vehicle with ease. It is 12 per cent more fuel efficient than the Town & Country it replaces, but lugging this amount of weight around is not easy. I experienced an average of 10.4 litres/100 in a couple tanks of mostly highway driving.
On the road, the Pacifica is very quiet with an almost complete absence of wind or road noise thanks to a noise cancellation system, vastly improved aerodynamics, triple door seals, acoustic headliner and ‘quiet steel’ in the Stow ‘n Go tub.
Obviously this is no sports car, nor is it likely to be driven in that manner. It is supremely comfortable on long highway runs thanks to a very long wheelbase, but it remains remarkably composed in the turns.
The 2017 Chrysler Pacifica is not only the most technologically advanced minivan ever it is lighter, more powerful, more fuel efficient and infinitely more sophisticated than any before it. It is more fun to drive and own and sure to help generate a raft of fond memories for families.
Chrysler continues to build the Dodge Grand Caravan at the same plant in southern Ontario but there is a new king of the family vehicle category.
THE SPECS
Model: 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Limited
Price: $52,995 base, $62,340 as tested including freight
Engine: 3.6-litre V6, 287-horsepower, 262 lb.-ft. of torque, regular fuel
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
NRC rating, litres/100 city/highway: 12.2 / 8.4
Length: 5,172 mm
Width: 2,297 mm
Wheelbase: 3,089 mm
Weight: 1,964 kg
Competition: Honda Odyssey, Toyota Sienna, Kia Sedona
Standard equipment: hands-free power side doors and tailgate, power windows, locks and mirrors, UConnect with satellite radio, navigation and 21-cm touchscreen, Bluetooth connectivity, USB charging ports on all three rows, keyless entry with push-button start, 13-speaker Alpine audio system, 17-cm customizable in-cluster display, remote keyless entry and start, cruise control, integrated vacuum cleaner, rear view camera, tri-pane sunroof, universal garage door opener, park-sense parking system, blind spot monitoring and rear cross traffic alert, Nappa leather seats, heated front and second row seats, cooled front seats, power-folding third row seats, heated steering wheel, three-zone automatic climate control, eight-way power front seats
Optional equipment: metallic paint, $195; UConnect theatre and sound group – upgraded alternator, 760-watt amplifier, remote control, wireless headphones, 20-speaker Harmon Kardon audio system, dual 2-cm screen on front seat backs, USB video input port, BlueRay/DVD player & USB port, HDMI input, 115-volt outlet, $3,495; 20-inch alloy wheels, $795; trailer tow group — sway control, upgraded radiator, Class II hitch, wiring harness, $700; Advanced Safety Tech — brake assist, lane departure warning and keep assist, forward collision warning and brake assist, adaptive cruise with stop-and-go ability, 360-degree camera, front and rear park sense and assist, parallels and perpendicular park assist, automatic high beams, $1,995; vacuum replaced by 17-in inflatable spare tire, $295; programmable key fob, $175
http://thechronicleherald.ca/wheels...2017-pacifica-—-chrysler’s-‘complete’-minivan
I like how you mentioned the price was ok as the van proves eco-friendliness. We all pay a little extra for things that are healthy for us or the planet so why should this be any different. It has great features and safety features so right now I'm looking forward to the hybrid arrival