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2017 Chrysler Pacifica Seeks to Reinvent the Minivan
Minivans don’t have a great image among young consumers, who may have grown up in their parents’ Dodge Caravans and Plymouth Voyagers. A clean-sheet redesign aims to counter that perception with the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica.
Chrysler hopes that abandoning the Town & Country name helps shed the minivan’s stale image, aided by a shapely, modern body. (However, the Pacifica name comes from a rather lackluster crossover.)
The 2017 Chrysler Pacifica has a traditional seven- or eight-seat capacity, dual-sliding side doors, and the popular Stow-N-Go folding seats (now with what seem like actual, comfortable seats in the second row). However, the third-row seats are surprisingly hard to use, being heavy and moving with a crash. You really need some oomph to operate them, especially with the reach to access them.
Chrysler claims it will have the largest interior volume in the segment and be capable of hauling 4x8-foot sheets of plywood.
Making up ground in the green technology field where the company has been notably lagging, there’ll be a Pacifica Hybrid version three to six months later. It’s a plug-in with up to 50 miles of electric range, Chrysler claims, but when it’s not in hybrid mode (claimed 80 MPGe), it will run the same 287-hp V-6 and nine-speed automatic as standard Pacificas and will perform similarly.
Chrysler also claims lower levels of noise, vibration, and harshness, a further departure from the rattle-can minivans of yore. Throw in all the modern safety and connectivity technologies Chrysler can muster and plush interior features (yes, there’s even a vacuum like the one Honda Odyssey pioneered), and it’s clear that the vehicular form that was invented as an affordable hauler for growing families has been reconfigured as a luxurious cruiser.
Bolstering its position as a secure place to transport your family, the new 2017 Chrysler Pacifica offers a 360-degree camera, adaptive cruise control with autonomous braking, and lane-departure and forward-collision warning.
A convenience feature we’ve come to love—especially when approaching the car with an arm’s full of groceries or carrying a small child—are hands-free sliding doors and liftgate, now available on the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica.
Keeping kids happy on road trips is a constant challenge for parents, so the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica is available with a rear-seat entertainment system, that includes high-definition 10-inch headrest-mounted touch screens so passengers can watch movies, play built-in games, and connect devices with a built-in Internet connection.
The minivan segment has been shrinking, while crossovers flourish, but there are still about a half-million sold annually. While Chrysler held on to nearly 40 percent of those sales last year against strong competition from Honda and Toyota, the best bet for long-term profit looks to be selling fewer minivans at higher prices. There won’t even be a lower-priced Dodge version. If this minivan’s future is based on appealing to more well-heeled households that might change its image, too.
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