2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid Limited |
3.6-liter V6 and Dual Electric motor hybrid (260 hp combined) Electrically-variable transmission, front-wheel drive 32 combined (EPA Rating, MPG) 84 combined (EPA Rating, MPGe) 29.7 (observed mileage, MPG) Base Price: $46,090 (USD) As Tested: $48,580 Prices include $1,095 freight charge. |
For those of you voyeurs who enjoy peering at perfectly curated photos of strangers’ lives, do me a favor and click over to Instagram and search the “Vanlife” hashtag. It’s a seemingly endless parade of young folk who have eschewed traditional housing for a thoroughly modified full-size van — typically a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter or Ram ProMaster, kitted with beds, kitchens, and storage for implements of extreme living such as mountain bikes or kayaks.
The thing you’ll notice about nearly all of these vanlifers: no kids. It’s hard to get the little ones to hockey practice when you’re living life to the extreme.
I live a very different kind of vanlife here in suburbia. While certainly there are times when I’m hauling an empty box behind me, more often than not I have two kids and their assorted crap to haul. Other times, my van doubles as a truck, with a few sheets of OSB or 10 bags of mulch. I’ve even hauled a spare Miata engine to a race track for a friend who’d popped one in an early race session.
For those of us who need to get back and forth to the office, rather than to or from a trailhead, a traditional minivan is nearly perfect. The only downside? Fuel economy isn’t great, as you’re pushing a big, heavy box through the air. Chrysler recognized this with the 2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, offering a good bit more efficiency in a familiar package. Does it make #DadVanLife more palatable?
One thing I notice with Chrysler’s Pacifica Hybrid marketing — it doesn’t emphasize the plug-in feature. Indeed, when looking at the build and price tool on the Hybrid website, the lead images show only the right front quarter of the vehicle, neatly hiding the plug receptacle on the driver’s front fender. I’m baffled — the ability to charge the big hybrid battery from household power makes this van an incredible commuter vehicle.
Chrysler quotes a 33-mile electric driving range, which I can attest to. I had a couple of days where all I did was drive back and forth to my office, a 16-mile round trip where I don’t often exceed 55 mph, and I didn’t use a drop of gas. Heck, the van can run on entirely electric propulsion up to 75 mph, so if you have a brief highway stint on your commute, the Pacifica Hybrid can manage without petroleum. Only when my trips exceeded the thirty-ish mile range, or I forgot to plug in overnight, did the gasoline engine fire.
[Get new and used Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid pricing here!]
I’m one who always forgets to drain fuel out of my lawnmower at the end of the season, which means every spring I’m attacking the carb with a heady mix of ether and carb cleaner in a desperate effort to get the waist-high grass hacked down before the kids get lost in the jungle. Chrysler notes that the Pacifica Hybrid monitors the age of the fuel in the tank, and will run the engine periodically as necessary so old fuel cycles through the system.
The biggest trade-off in useability between the regular Pacifica and the hybrid model is the lack of second-row Stow n’ Go seating. That center section of the chassis, which would normally allow the seats to fold into the floor, now houses the hybrid battery. The upshot — the Hybrid’s second-row seats, now relieved of their need to fold flat into the floor, are remarkably more comfortable than in the standard Pacifica. The third row of seats still can fold flat into the floor.
As the Pacifica becomes more commonplace on the roads, the polarizing styling isn’t nearly as jarring as it once was. The big Cyclops eye in the lower grille houses the sensors for adaptive cruise control, but it looks a little funky at certain angles. Otherwise, the look is handsome.
The interior is similarly clean-looking, with cream-colored piping trimming the black seating surfaces, and matching cream on the lower dash and on the inside of the steering wheel. The dash is well laid out, with the notable exception of the transmission selector knob in the exact place one would expect the audio volume control to be.
The kids enjoyed the big, seat-mounted touchscreen entertainment systems, though the included games were a bit juvenile for my tweens. The included HDMI inputs, however, mean I could feasibly bring an Xbox on a long road trip. For the kids, of course.
Chrysler, as we’ve seen on countless other vehicles, isn’t shy about acknowledging its heritage. I love this little Easter egg on the rubber mat in the center console, displaying silhouettes (not an Oldsmobile Silhouette, mind you) of previous generations of the iconic Mopar minivan.
Matt wrote a story last week on the S trim package, soon to be offered on the Pacifica Hybrid as well as the standard Pacifica. I texted the lead photo to my wife, who responded by asking me to determine what the payoff is on our current van loan. While my tester is handsome with its bright wheel finish, the blacked-out trim on the S package is stunning.
Perhaps that special trim package will get others looking at minivans again. I can assure you that minivan living is indeed a good thing, and if the alluring styling and stellar fuel economy of the Pacifica Hybrid can get more folks living their best #VanLife, then maybe we can rid the world of yet another blah crossover.
[Images: © 2018 Chris Tonn/TTAC]
I dont think that’s the van that the vanlife folks think about when they use the hashtag. If I were to do that life I’d use a 90’s b-class dodge with a 318 or 360.
Dajiban is big in Japan. They mod and race ‘90s full size Dodge vans. Those guys are nuts! The videos are pretty cool.
My #vanlife is led in an ’86 B-Van high top camper. 318/2bbl. 2″ lift on duratracs. Took it on the Gambler 500, it survived, and now I use it for #extremevanlife camping in the woods. I do in fact own a home and bring the kids so I don’t fit the insagram stereotype, it’s just an RV like any other.
All this talk about how Chrysler hides the plug in feature on their website and you don’t even include a shot of the driver’s side fender yourself. Tsk tsk, very disappointed.
In all seriousness as a single guy with no kids and no interest in the #VanLife I have no interest in a minivan, but the Pacifica is the most appealing one on paper to me.
Indeed. Have to say Chrysler’s website is pretty pathetic. Ten years ago I could go to Mini’s website, spec out a car, and see what it would look like. That’s too hard for Chrysler I guess.
I find their search inventory (haven’t checked it in two years) was the best. I could be as specific on options as I wanted and it told be every matching car withing 200 miles on dealer lots. With other OEMs I’d ask for FWD search and AWD cars would come up as top match. With FCA I could search for a V6 Chargers with heated seats and track pack (an odd combo) and it would give me just those cars.
I agree on both paragraphs, I am also single with no kids. However, I have owned minivans before, but they were hauling tools, wheels/tires, etc and not children. They were also well used when I got them, and very cheap.
Like you, though, the Pacifica is an easy choice if I suddenly found myself in need of a kid hauler. I find it to be the best looking minivan by a pretty wide margin.
That makes three of us. The Japanese vans are ugly and expensive. And based on the experience of those I know who own them, the Hondas aren’t really any better than the Chryslers in the real world. They just cost a lot more.
Oddly, we didn’t own a van when my kids were at home. My wife refused to be seen in one. After my last car was totaled by a deer, I got myself a minivan. It’s been the best vehicle I’ve owned in a long time.
I’m becoming more fascinated with EREVs and BEVs and this minivan hits a sweet spot for me. It could quite possibly carry me into my dotage.
However, I seriously doubt I could get my wife in it…
God, this would have been ridiculously nice when my kids were little.
#PovertySucks
Vans were livable in the ‘70s, Chevy vans in particular were a hot commodity. Ford Econoline vans were favored by creepy “Can you help me find my puppy?” transients.
Econolines are now favored as overland rigs out west. Those suckers have berserk ground clearance. Diesel is best so you can wake up the entire area as you rat-a-tat-tat-tat your way at 6AM to the bouldering site.
Now now, 30-mile, only a pedo would drive a Ford van. That’s obvious to anyone (who hates Fords).
So true. If you had an Econoline, you were either a contractor, or you had shackles in the back. Maybe both.
Interesting timing, I just read a #vanlife article someone sent me. To say it makes my skin crawl is a bit of an understatement; it’s amazing what trendiness and the stink of social media will do to a concept.
Anyway, this Chrysler is the best looking minivan by a huge margin. A hybrid configuration that allows 33 miles of electric only range seems brilliant.
But at $48K I can afford to nicely deck out that Ram Promaster with a bed and mini kitchen and live out my #in-a-van…DOWN-BY-THE-RIVER dreams by showering infrequently, sleeping in sheets that rarely get laundered, and crapping everyday in a bucket or hand-dug latrine adjacent to the other hand-dug latrines created by the dozens of other #vanlifers that occupied this pullout before me. Some nice morning light and the right filter will hide this reality from my peers when I make my Instagram post of my Warrior Pose III in front of the van.
So the real question, Chris, which I’ve noticed you failed entirely to answer, is how does this van handle Burning Man?
It is eligible for the full $7500 Federal tax credit and getting another $5000 off msrp seems doable—so mid 30s for a plug-in that seats 7 and a lot of luggage. Not bad.
$5750 federal tax credit in this case. And invoice is only $500 below MSRP so chanza gorda of getting $5k off from your dealer. However there are apparently two dealers in the US, one of them in Gilroy CA, who seem to specialize in four-grand discounts on this van. Not sure how or why (cannibalize everyone else’s sales of it in order to meet a lucrative sales volume target maybe?).
But yeah, with the rebate and a little discounting it’s about the price of a similarly equipped non-hybrid, which really makes it a no-brainer, especially when you consider the fuel savings. No amazing lease deals though, which is surprising for a PHEV.
And of course you run the risk of an FCA product and electrified one at that, meaning that Sergio didn’t want to spend adequate development money on it, meaning that you might be the one in twenty buyers to get a lemon. Personally I’d risk it though: it’s the most impressive new vehicle I’ve ever driven. In top trim it’s an earthbound executive jet.
That dealer in Gilroy is quite a find. They are advertising $6,500 off MSRP before conquest rebate. Dealers in MA don’t seem to be willing to take more that $2K off MSRP. Where is the other dealer that seems to be aggressively discounting these?
Thanks!
I haven’t yet attempted the Burning Man thing. Too far from Ohio, first of all.
Second, I rather like showering.
Is that HP number correct? 260 HP for a big 6 seems low, and for the V6 and e-motor combined, really low. I looked on Chrysler’s site and couldn’t find a figure, as I mentioned above their site is less than awesome.
It does seem low; maybe the Pentastar is running Atkinson cycle for efficiency? In any case, you don’t go hybrid for the HP, you do it for the torque.
The Hybrid 3.6 is running on the Atkinson cycle with 12.5:1 compression vs 11.3:1 for the standard 287 HP Pentastar. Redline is decreased, the alternator is removed, and variable lift is not used.
SC5, do you have a newsletter I can subscribe to?
I have been wondering how long it is until one of the OEM’s corporatizes #vanlife. At a minimum, it might well point to what the next big thing will be when CUVs are eventually seen as hopelessly uncool. I mean, the current crop of minivans isn’t anywhere near bohemian enough, but build in a poptop and use that battery to power a bunch of accessories, and you might be able to snag a bunch of millennial dollars once they have money and start having kids (if either of those things come to fruition any time soon).
0. How do plug-in hybrids get counted for CAFE purposes?
1. How difficult would it be to use this setup with the current V8 family for future use in Jeeps or Challengers?
Well the Hemi is getting eTorque in the new RAM…
I wouldn’t think it would be that difficult to do a Hemi+eTorque 300/Charger/Challenger.
Talking 8×10 sheets of building material, so I assume that the second row seats are removable without major tool use?
Yeah, I like the stow and go a lot, but I’d rather have the plug in hybrid if I can just store the second row seats in the barn.
Syke – I think he meant 4×8 sheets not 8×10. I hauled plenty of 4x8s in our ’08 Grand Caravan – stow-n-go is amazing. Haven’t hauled as many sheets in our ’15 Town and Country, but we did haul around 1500 lbs of rocks last week.
If the hybrid could somehow still have stow-n-go, I would totally consider it. But, losing that wouldn’t be worth saving a bit of fuel – we only drive ~7500 miles/year. Our ’15 T&C cost around $17k after being a rental, has almost all the features we want (heated seats are the one big thing missing for my wife), has the same (non-hybrid) Pentastar in the current models, transmission is decent, power is actually very good for a vehicle this size, etc. Why spend $48K to save $50-100/month on fuel?
@turbo_awd: My van is the best pickup I’ve ever owned.
I have always thought that about the only thing a pickup does better than a van as a working vehicle 95% of the time is make the owner look cooler (to other pickup drivers). There just aren’t that many jobs where having your stuff exposed to weather and theft is a bonus.
Yet another area where the Europeans are WAAAAY smarter than we are when it comes to vehicles. Even most of their “pickups” are cut down vans with much cleverer folding side beds.
Even in the non-hybrid Pacifica, the 2nd row Stow N Go is only the two outboard seats- the middle seat in the 2nd row doesn’t fold into the floor, but it is removable in about 5 seconds, so I assume the same applies to the two outer seats on the hybrid.
When Chrysler introduced the last Pacifica nearly 15 years ago, they had a potential hit on their hands. It was a 3 row crossover years before the market figured out that was a thing. It showed up at car shows and won praise from industry insiders. This included those at rival manufactures who quickly ran back to their design studios to pen the 3 row crossovers that have since arrived from just about every manufacturer. But Chrysler screwed it up. They invested heavily in an ad campaign feature Celine Dion (already past her prime and even a punch line in many circles). Chrysler was selling the car that millions were going to want and nobody knew it. Now, I’m afraid they’re about to do the same thing. The regular Pacifica is good. It’s competitive with the Odyssey and Sienna which are both also good. But the Pacifica Hybrid is special. It may be the best minivan you can buy. It may also be one of the best hybrids. I’d say it does most things better than the Tesla Model X. But nobody knows about it. Chrysler has a fantastic family hauler than can run primarily on electrons for many customers and nobody knows. The point about the website not highlighting the plug in feature is a good one and a sign that Chrysler just doesn’t know how to sell its cars.
Fun fact: I just recently switched from selling Subaru for 10 years to selling FCA brands (don’t ask) and in my Pacifica Hybrid training, FCA specifically states to NOT talk about the non-hybrid Pacifica to customers who come in looking at the Pacifica Hybrid.
That tells me they know they have a special product in a plug-in hybrid minivan, but if you take that out of the equation, it’s not as competitive as a Sienna or Odyssey. It makes me laugh, though.
As a content Sienna owner I do like the design of this van but it is a bit too wide , which decreases some of the maneuverability compared to our Sienna. That and lack of AWD . Why not put an electric motor in the rear like the Hybrid Rav4?
cimarron typeR,
A 2018 Sienna is 78.1″ wide. A Pacifica is 79.6″
Is that kind of measurement difference even noticeable?
Pound sign bloated road monster.
FORTY-EIGHT grand?? Utter insanity. Makes no financial sense whatsoever and you STILL need to put fuel in the thing.
Top tip: buy a 25 grand lightly used van and you’ll have 23 grand left over for fuel. Enough to pay for 180,000 miles of driving.
No one has ever paid anywhere near MSRP for a Chrysler van since they were introduced in 1984.
Heck, I’ve never paid anywhere near MSRP for a Honda van (I just bought my second Odyssey–an Elite–for $7K off MSRP).
I researched the Pacifica before buying the Odyssey. It seemed competitive or better than the Odyssey in many respects.
But I can’t get over my inherent distrust of Chrysler products. Nobody I know personally has anything good to say about their ownership of Chrysler vehicles.
So I didn’t even test-drive the Pacifica. It was just a bridge too far for me. But I’d be sincerely happy if the reliability data on the Pacifica proves me wrong over the next several years.
Hmmm…many of these have discounts high as $10k, at least from a quick glance through cars.com. I’m seeing them around $31k for the Touring Plus trim. Factor in the $7,500 federal tax credit plus California $1,500 cash rebate makes the van a whole lot more appealing.
#twatterisdumb
fr fr
I’ll make it better/worse:
#phuckInstaFaceTwit
What makes the 2nd row seats better? Does the removal of the Stow-and-Go mechanism(s) allow the seats to sit higher off the floor? Are they better padded than S&G? Or more adjustable fore/aft/reclineable?
Better padded.
Ah……thanks!
I love the concept and the fuel economy… but I have no need for 3 rows. FCA should maybe put its next Demon plans on hold and think about a 2 row Chrysler crossover. With this powertrain I imagine it would do very well.
I test drove a Pacifica hybrid at the auto show last year and I liked it a lot. The van has no shortage of power and it’s very quick – the electric motor makes peak torque at 0 rpm, so it really moves. The thing I liked most was the heated steering wheel, and the thing I disliked the most was the cushioning in the front seat – I thought it was too firm. I would love to see Chrysler make a more luxury oriented version with softer seats, two tone paint, 20-spoke wheels, a chrome grilll, and it should be called the Town & Country.
I wanted to get one of these last year but they kept delaying the launch due to some mechanical recalls, or so I was told. I think a plug-in like this would suit my needs well. I only drive about 10 miles per day (normally) but then have to make longer trips for my kids’ sporting events. I would literally go weeks without using gas.
I just went to the Chrysler site and noted that they just introduced a base hybrid model (no leather and power rear tailgate, I think). So one of these can now be had for a bit lower starting price. Last year the hybrid only came loaded. Personally, I like cloth seats, so that was nice to see.
I imagine this must be incredibly quiet when running in full electric mode, but there was little mention of how it drives. How is the acceleration with the gas motor not running? The batteries are heavy and very low in the floor, so it may actually help the handling, no?
I recently van-shopped with a family. We drove the Pacifica Hybrid, the Sienna, and the Odyssey. The Dad and I liked the Pacifica Hybrid MILES more than the rest. The second-row seats (and honestly even third row seats) are super comfy even for adults, something that can’t be said for the others. The electric torque and silent operation are lovely, and the idea of contributing no tailpipe pollution in your daily rounds is appealing. The interior is fine in mid level trim but very impressive indeed in top level trim.
The Odyssey had the highest price, the most road noise, and the best headlights.
The Sienna was Mom’s choice: Toyota reliability, and quite nice inside in top trim.
All had ample power and surprisingly good handling.
So what did they buy? The one we all liked the least: the Odyssey. Mom liked her CR-V, didn’t trust FCA reliability, and it was hard to find a Sienna with the safety features she wanted.
Dammit, I was gone on vacation when you posted this review, and missed the discussion.
My wife and I seriously considered but rejected a new Pacifica Hybrid when I bought my used LX570. Three things worked against the Pacifica: 1) high expected depreciation; 2) middling interior refinement compared with our other options (LX570 and MDX), and 3) sad to say, we were prone to van stigma.
But then we took a family trip, which included a ton of driving (everything’s far away from everything else in East Texas), and our rental was a Grand Caravan. The GC was old and unrefined and bare-bones, but the minivan configuration was *so* useful, and so much more convenient than even the LX. Now we are thinking seriously about going from two cars to one when the lease on our C-Max expires next April, turning the C-Max back in and trading the LX in on a PacHy. One car would be an adjustment for us on a few days, but I might buy a new e-bike with the savings, which could get me to a surprising number of places in the city on days when my wife needs the car.