By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(May 7, 2017) I should have taken pictures. I should have, but didn’t. I was hoping to return a piece of equipment to one of my brothers, and make room in the garage. And I wanted to do it while I had the Pacifica. I knew it could swallow the cargo, carry the weight, and do so easily. But I forgot to grab a camera — even the one on my iPod — to record the loading and unloading.

Had I done so, you would have seen pictures of a 1.5-ton (capacity, not weight) engine hoist disassembled into its main parts, and loaded in the cargo hold of Chrysler’s new minivan with room left to spare.

You would have seen me discover the switches on the B-pillars that electrically move the front seats forward to allow the outer middle row thrones to be folded and placed in the “Stow’n Go” compartments below the floor. Not to mention how to easily fold away the rear bench seat. Also, you'd have seen the second row middle seat  easily lifted out and placed in the garage while my brother and I prepared the Pacifica for its hauling duties.

Transitioning from passenger van to cargo hauler was easier than stepping into a telephone booth as Clark Kent and coming out as Superman. And the orange arms and base of the engine hoist didn’t clash with the Cognac and Toffee (with hints of alloy) interior colors, making the Pacifica feel a bit more DIY than HGTV.

As an originator of the minivan, (the Matra-developed and built first-generation Renault Espace debuted at the same time as the Dodge and Plymouth minivans, 1984) this vehicle is part of Chrysler’s DNA in the same way that the Mustang and Corvette are a part of Ford’s and Chevrolet’s, respectively.

Chrysler knows what constitutes a good design without having to think about it, and this inner knowledge has kept it in the fight against powerful adversaries like the Honda Odyssey, Toyota Sienna, and the ascendent Kia Sedona; a vehicle which impressed us the last time we had one in the fleet. The latest version — which drops the boxier styling and Town & Country name of its predecessor, and does not have a badge-engineered counterpart at the local Dodge dealer — is more stylish, more refined, and (from the rear, at least) looks surprisingly like the latest generation Renault Espace.

What it doesn’t look like is a minivan. Or at least not as much like one. And that’s a good thing.

Minivans aren’t aspirational vehicles; they are family haulers. And this image has siphoned many image-conscious buyers out of the segment and into SUVs. Despite the fact that a minivans is much more practical and suited to their real needs. Which may explain why, when Chrysler pulled the wraps off the Pacifica at the Detroit auto show last year, there was fleeting talk about how the Pacifica’s styling had an SUV flavor to it that would separate it from other minivans in the buyer’s mind. Personally, I don’t see it, though I do think this is a handsome design.

The Pacifica is also very comfortable and practical. The two-tone interior is spacious and constructed from high quality materials, and has a multitude of storage spaces and cubbies throughout. The front and outboard middle row seats are heated, as is the steering wheel, and our test model included front seat back video screens, three-channel wireless headphones, HDMI and USB ports, a Blu-Ray DVD player, 13 speakers and a 506-Watt amplifier. Which means the kids can be as blissfully cut off from reality as they are at home.



That’s unfortunate as the windows are large and give a great view of the world passing by, the ride motions won’t induce motion sickness, and the cabin is commendably quiet. The folks who may appreciate these positives the most, however, occupy the front seats.

With a commanding view forward, good sight lines, respectable performance from the 3.6-liter V6/nine-speed automatic combination, and a logical instrument panel layout with good ergonomics, you don’t mind having to pilot or co-pilot the Pacifica. Years ago parents were forced to drive large body-on-frame station wagons with large engines, large thirst and the ride and handling prowess of the Conestoga wagons that once crossed from the east coast to the west.

Now they have the option of a vehicle like the Pacifica, which corners with confidence and has a ride that is a nice blend of luxurious and sporty. Call it “civilized”. Plus, the Pacifica doesn’t make you feel like they are dragging a storage container behind them as the vehicle seems to shrink around you the more you drive it. That’s a big plus.

Standard equipment includes items like a rear backup camera, blind spot monitor with cross-path detection, and rear park assistance. Adding the Advanced SafetyTec Group ($1,995) supplemented these components with front parking assistance, a very helpful 360-degree camera system, parallel and perpendicular parking assistance, adaptive cruise control with stop and go, full-speed forward collision warning, lane departure warning, advanced brake assist, automatic high-beam control and rain-sensing wipers. If you ding this thing, it probably will be a case of malicious indifference or inattentiveness.

It will be interesting to see how the Pacifica fares against the new Honda Odyssey and, in the not too distant future, Toyota Sienna and Kia Sedona. To a differing extent each has moved upmarket in an effort to seduce buyers back into the fold, and away from the nearly ubiquitous SUV. So has Chrysler. However, its effort to encompass the minivans’ legacy as a great all-rounder has resulted in a vehicle that is quietly confident and capable, but with the added benefit of seats you don’t have to remove from the vehicle in order to make use of the cargo capacity.

And for many buyers, especially as they get older, that’s just another reason to switch.

The Virtual Driver