2020 Chrysler Pacifica review: Still a great option

The 2020 Chrysler Pacifica is in all probability the best minivan you can get nowadays. We have experienced two Pacificas in our lengthy-time period fleet, both of those a common gas-driven product as well as a plug-in hybrid. Just after extensive testing, we cherished each and every just one. If you are in the industry for a three-row loved ones-hauler, there is seriously only just one reason not to get just one of these minivans proper now, and which is due to the fact the vastly up to date 2021 product is set to launch afterwards this 12 months. 

If you just are unable to hold out, the present-day Pacifica is nonetheless an exceptional solution. Not only does it have the most functional inside in the minivan section, many thanks to its Stow ‘n Go next-row seats, it is really also graced with an upscale inside, has a superb multimedia process, and provides options aplenty. Outside of all that, it is really a critically attractive equipment, dressed in exquisite, practically windswept styling. You may not be a enthusiast of the minivan variety issue, but it is really difficult to argue with what this solution delivers. 

Feels like top quality

Usually, Chrysler has not experienced an enviable track record for top quality. In spite of this, the Pacifica feels rock reliable. Absolutely nothing about it is frail or flimsy. Tug on an exterior doorway tackle and it is really durable. The rotary shifter is reassuringly strong as you click on by way of the gears. This minivan’s buttons and switches all appear to be built for the lengthy haul.

Not only does the Pacifica Limited I am testing listed here exude top quality, it seems the element, as well. Its dashboard style and design is flowing and easy, dressed up with attractive resources and French seams. The leather-based is smooth and offset by distinction-coloration piping. Even the treatment designers set into crafting this minivan’s instrument cluster is obvious. The analog tachometer and speedometer are embellished with icy-blue accent lighting, which seems prosperous.

The Pacifica may not be as historically dependable as a Honda Odyssey or Toyota Sienna, but in many methods this Chrysler feels extra thoughtfully made and artfully crafted than either of those competitors.  

Embellishing my tester’s presently handsome styling is Chrysler’s S Appearance Bundle, a modestly priced $795 excess. It involves points like Nappa leather-based, black trim both of those within and out, unique badging and a roof rack. Outside of that, this minivan is equipped with optional 21-inch wheels, which assist give it an practically sinister seem. These rollers charge $1,095 and arrive wrapped in Falken all-time tires.

A folks-pleasing cargo provider

When it comes to passenger comfort, the Pacifica deserves loads of praise. Its front buckets are supportive enough that even cross-nation drives shouldn’t depart you feeling like you fell down a flight of stairs.

This van’s aft-most bench seat is also extra than hospitable, with enough room for heads and legs. Even lanky older people ought to have no difficulty fitting or remaining at ease for several hours. Building it a breeze to get back again there, the next-row buckets suggestion forward in just one easy movement, offering a broad pathway for easy accessibility. In my tester, travellers relegated to guidance nonetheless obtain a 1st-class experience, taken care of to features like sliding sunshades, energy-reclining backrests and examining lights. There is certainly even a USB port for preserving present-day all-essential cell devices juiced up.

Rising this van’s flexibility, at the press of a button, that break up 3rd-row seat folds into the flooring quickly. The mechanism and motors make all sorts of crunching and whirring noises, but in just a couple seconds you can completely transform the Pacifica from a folks-hauler into a cargo-transporter. 

But amongst this minivan’s 1st and 3rd rows is where the magic seriously occurs. Stow ‘n Go is an ingenious little bit of engineering that permits the Pacifica’s next-row buckets, which also recline and can be heated, to rapidly and very easily fold away, leaving a flat flooring in their area. It really is practically like Chrysler built a minivan with a basement. You can shop things beneath passengers’ toes, but as expected, those next-row buckets tuck away, folding up like a piece of origami. The only real downside to Stow ‘n Go is that the front seats have to be moved all the way forward just before you can drop those next-row chairs, but this is a minimal annoyance when compared to what competing minivans make you go by way of.

The Pacifica’s next-row seats are somewhat much less at ease than what you get in an Odyssey having said that, Chrysler’s resolution is nonetheless much superior. If you want utmost cargo room in the Honda, you have received to entirely get rid of its next-row seats, and they are real backbreakers, clocking in at around 70 kilos apiece. Then, just after herniating a disc or three in your back again, you have received to very clear a place in the garage to shop the damn points. Yeah, no many thanks.

Talkin’ tech

But there is a lot extra to the Pacifica than just comfort and storage room. This minivan provides loads of engineering as well. 

The Limited product I am testing listed here comes with a assortment of features like energy sliding doors and an automatic elevate gate. Keyless entry with press-button start off is involved as well, ditto for distant start off, which is ideal for preconditioning the Pacifica’s cabin in adverse weather conditions while raising your carbon footprint at the very same time.

A Uconnect infotainment process with an 8.four-inch touchscreen, built-in navigation and support for both of those Apple CarPlay and Android Car is common fare on Limited types. For every normal, it is really responsive and easy to use, moreover it involves 4G LTE connectivity and has an built-in Wi-Fi hotspot for on-the-go connectivity.

A 20-speaker Harman Kardon seem process makes sure everybody receives a concert-top quality listening experience. This excess is fully worthy of the $695 Chrysler prices for it.

Trying to keep messes to a minimal, a Stow ‘n Vac in-auto vacuum is involved listed here. It really is mounted alongside the driver’s aspect of the auto next to the next-row seat. It ought to be super-useful for cleansing up all the messes that are inclined to arrive with minivan possession, points like soiled footprints, dropped fruit snacks, animal cracker crumbs and the like. 

Amusing next-row travellers is the Uconnect Theater enjoyment process. With a pair of screens, a smattering of ports, a 115-volt energy outlet and even a Blu-ray player, it ought to hold people of all ages from heading stir-mad on lengthy drives. This possibilities group provides $1,995 to the sticker cost. 

Finally, no modern-day auto is complete with out a raft of driver-help technologies. Below, the $995 Advanced Safety Tech Group throws options like rain-sensing windshield wipers, front and rear parking sensors, blind-place monitoring with rear cross-website traffic warn, lane-departure warning and extra into the blend. It also involves automatic significant beams, which are some of the most responsive in the company, and adaptive cruise management with cease-and-go capacity. This past merchandise operates really well, remaining both of those swift witted and easy, even in dense website traffic on the freeway.

Six cylinders, nine speeds

Easy is also an adjective that describes the Pacifica’s drivetrain. This minivan is driven by a strong and refined three.six-liter V6 motor. With variable valve timing and elevate, it delivers 287 horsepower and 262 pound-toes of torque, all of which receives routed to the front tires by way of a nine-speed automatic transmission.

That ZF-made gearbox is generally easy, shuffling by way of its ratios with out drawing a lot notice to by itself. The only trouble is the transmission can be a minimal hesitant to downshift. Receiving it to drop a couple gears demands a big ol’ prod of the accelerator and some endurance as it types out your request. 

The Pacifica’s acceleration is powerful, going with enthusiasm when you give it the spurs. Even as the tachometer needle reaches the higher conclude of its assortment, the motor continues to be relatively silent, with negligible vibration making its way into the cabin. 

The common cease-start off process is also super-easy, halting combustion when waiting around at a red gentle or while stationary in a travel-by way of lane. Carry your foot off the brake pedal and the Pacifica’s motor is up and working again in an immediate. In a natural way, this attribute enhances around-city fuel economy. Count on 19 miles for every gallon in the metropolis and 28 mpg on freeway outings. Combined, this van is rated at 22 mpg. 

The Pacifica’s steering wheel is chunky and properly thorough, with huge buttons, perforated leather-based and a deal-coloration accent piece working around the rim’s circumference. As for dealing with, the tiller is properly weighted and astonishingly precise for a auto that weighs extra than four,300 kilos. All round, it is really extra at ease and much much better to travel than the Land Rover Discovery Activity I lately tested, though it is really also practically as high-priced.

Purchase now or maintain out?

The thoroughly loaded Pacifica Limited observed listed here checks out for a considerable $fifty one,515, which include the higher than-mentioned possibilities and $1,495 in destination prices. To be sure, which is a large amount of scratch, but at minimum it purchases you a large amount of auto.

The present-day-technology Pacifica has been on sale for about 4 many years now. This implies it is really proper on schedule for a refresh, which the automaker is slated to provide. If you want the hottest and best Chrysler minivan, maintain out until eventually the fourth quarter. You can expect to be equipped to get a Pacifica with an even extra remarkable infotainment process and all-wheel travel. But, if you are content possessing a little something a minimal older, a solution which is nonetheless an great alternative, grab the 2020 product. Both way, you seriously are unable to go completely wrong.