This week I have been behind the wheel of the 2020 Chrysler Pacifica hybrid minivan. Pacifica made its minivan debut in 2017 as a replacement for the Town & Country minivan. While I admit to not being a minivan person, I will say up front that the Pacifica drives well and I can see how families could utilize the space and overall layout.
Pacifica comes standard with the Chrysler V6 Pentastar engine, but I have the hybrid version which takes the same engine, but it is modified to be a hybrid, and I must say it puts up some pretty impressive numbers. For instance, it is rated in town at the equivalent of 82 miles per gallon. It will also give you a total range of almost 500 miles, which would be really nice on long trips.
Simply put, here is the way it operates: You plug your van in overnight and then you have 32 miles of driving on just the batteries. Depending on how you drive it, that 32 miles can drop pretty quickly. Once the battery power is exhausted, Pacifica seamlessly switches over to run on gasoline, like every other vehicle. In the center of the colorful gauge cluster, it will tell you your battery range, your gasoline range, and your total range to empty. Pacifica comes with a 6.6-kilowatt charger, but you can purchase a larger one for quicker charges.
Inside the van, you’ll find very welcoming seating for seven people. Being a minivan, the ride height is low and makes it very easy to enter through the key fob-controlled power sliding doors on both sides. Since the vehicle has captain chairs in the center row, getting to the 3rd row seat is easy as well.
From the driver’s seat, everything is laid out logically and is easy to reach and see. A round knob to the right of the steering wheel serves as the shift mechanism for the 9-speed automatic transmission. High on the center stack is the 8.4" UConnect navigation screen. I often say Uconnect is the best and easiest to use system in the auto industry. It operates the 20-speaker Harman Kardon sound system, the nav, the Bluetooth, and there are a host of apps that provide real-time information. Below the screen are controls for the parking systems and the air conditioning systems.
My test vehicle is the Limited, which is the top-of-the-line, and it comes standard with a lot of nice features like remote start, power liftgate, leather seating, heated steering wheel, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and second and third-row window shades.
On the safety front, you get at no charge: blind-spot monitoring, rear parking sensors, rearview camera with cross-traffic alert, electronic stability control, and emergency braking assist.
There are only two options on this one. It has the $995 Advanced Safety Tech package which is a 360-degree camera, full-speed forward emergency braking, parallel and perpendicular parking, automatic high beam control, Blu-Ray DVD player with two screens, rear auxiliary power and USB ports, and wireless headphones. $1895 gets you a tri-pane Panoramic sunroof.
The Pacifica hybrid is incredibly quiet inside, and the ride quality is very good as well.
Headroom is good throughout, but the interior door height is limited, I hit my head getting in several times. The only other complaint is where the tailgate close button is, which is just inside the rear by the driver’s side taillight. I can see an issue if you don’t move pretty quickly to get out of the way. I suggest using the key fob.
The hybrid system performs very well, but if there is a downside to it, the hybrid battery pack prevents the middle row seating from folding flat in the floor. Stow-N-Go seating is one of the best features of the regular Pacifica. The third-row seat does fold into the floor and it creates a huge cargo area.
MSRP is just over $50,000 making the Pacifica one of the best buys out there, especially considering large factory incentives. At least until the new Sienna from Toyota comes out, Pacifica is the only hybrid minivan available and certainly is the most fuel-efficient.
Credit: FCA/Chrysler