This week I have been behind the wheel of the 2022 Chrysler Pacifica plug-in hybrid minivan, a great family hauler that gets extremely good fuel economy.
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 520 miles, which would be really nice on long trips.
Simply put, here is the way it operates: You plug your van in to get a full charge and then you have 32 miles of driving on just the batteries. 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 level 2 charger and get an 80% charge in about two hours.
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 CVT automatic transmission.
High on the center stack is the terrific 10.1” Uconnect 5 navigation screen. It operates the 20-speaker Harmon Kardon sound system, the nav, the Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and check out the Fam Cam that checks on rear occupants. 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 Pinnacle, which is the top-of-the-line, and it comes standard with a lot of nice features like remote start, power lift gate, leather seating, heated steering wheel, heated and cooled front power seats, and a panoramic moon roof.
It also has two 10” screens for rear occupants that operates Amazon Fire TV streaming. Second row passengers even get two pillows for their back.
On the safety front, you get at no charge: blind-spot monitoring, rear parking sensors, rearview surround-view camera with cross-traffic alert, electronic stability control, and emergency braking assist.
The Pacifica hybrid is incredibly quiet inside, and the ride quality is very good as well. Headroom is good throughout.
You can’t get the Stow 'N Go fold flat seats in the middle since it is a hybrid, but the third-row seat does fold into the floor and it creates a huge cargo area.
MSRP is $60,067 before the $7500 federal tax credit.
If you need a people hauler but also want great fuel economy, this might be the one for you.