jrmckinley

I know there have been some posts of Steve's (SW17LS) ownership experience of his Pacifica but figured I'd chime in after spending 5 days in one touring San Francisco and Sonoma/Napa. We had a total of 6 adults traveling. I'm at the highest status level with the rental car company so I could have picked a QX80, Sequoia, or Suburban/Denali/Escalade at the same rate, but the group consensus was to stick with the Pacifica - I had never driven one so was glad to give it a whirl.

Likes:
- Visibility
- Nav/Smart screen is well thought out with a very nice interface
- Great sound system
- Very nice touches (USB charging ports in the back of the driver and passenger seats to allow 2nd row passengers to charge phones/tablets)
- Pano roof
- Nice amount of storage. We had 6 adults ride very comfortably - access to 3rd row was easy. Plus we stored a bunch of suitcases (large and small) in the back even with the 3rd row seat being used by passengers.
- Pretty smooth ride at highway speeds. Not great, but pretty good and likely on-par with most SUV's and cross-overs I rent.

Dislikes:
- I really didn't like the engine - felt like I was struggling to figure out how the van wanted to be driven to deliver a smooth ride. I'm a relatively gentle driver, but this seemed to struggle with very light pedal acceleration and conversely seemed too aggressive with moderate pedal acceleration. Shifting felt harsh at times and I found it really seemed to struggle finding the proper gears to handle some of the hills you encounter going up into the elevated vineyards.

Overall:
I'm not a fan of minivans but really appreciated some of the touches and thought Chrysler put into this - I can see why it would be an appealing option to those who like minivans. If I fell in that category, the engine would turn me off and have me looking at other options. This rental only had 8k miles on it so I don't anticipate it was an issue of it being completely beat down as a rental car yet. Once you were at a cruising speed on flat road, the Pacifica rode very nicely. Getting to that cruising speed was a bit of an odd experience for me.

Toys4RJill

I think a Sienna or a Odyssey are still far superior. Check that, you can't go wrong with any van but I would not pay the price of a Sienna for a Pacifica. Better be a substantial discount.

Johnhav430

My last choice was a '18 Wrangler or '19 Silverado (not airport but by my residence). I made a mistake and didn't take the Silverado which was brand spanking new, because it had a "3" weight class sticker on the glass, but after the fact I thought that made no sense because they don't rent 2500's or 3500's....I put the Jeep to the test because I had to drive to Richmond, which means passing through the Capital Beltway both directions during rush hour. This was also last Thursday night when there were monsoon like conditions, maybe then I appreciated a Jeep.

In OP's case I think an Escalade would be the obvious choice for me, if not a Navigator L Reserve....

Laugh if you will but I reserved a Grand Caravan for the family, not business, trip to Vancouver BC. I just hope it's a GT.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

great write-up, thanks.

about the engine, i wonder how the hybrid drives... it's being used a bunch in (waymo's?) self-driving work.

mmarshall

Thanks for the write-up.

What did you think of the rotary-shifter? That's one device on the Pacifica (and some other Chrysler products) that has been controversial.

jrmckinley

Good point, forgot to mention that. Not sure what category ("like" vs. "dislike") I'd put that in because to be honest there were times where it could've gone into either category. I did like how seamless it feels to move the car between gears with absolutely no feeling whatsoever to go from park to reverse or drive. The dial seemed to be located in a strange place though (to the right of the "start" button and where the volume dial for the radio is located in some cars). There were a couple of times in San Fran where I was in a tight spot and had to do a couple iterations of going from reverse to drive, etc. where I found it irritating to hold my hand out at shoulder level. From a typical driving position I always had to lean forward in order to access the dial. Didn't seem like the ideal location for that but in fairness, not sure where else they could put it.

SW17LS

Not sure how I missed this last month...

I agree with this. Its not the engine, its the transmission. That 9 speed unit has a lot of weird shift characteristics that make it hard to operate smoothly. The engine itself is a great engine, its Chrysler's Pentastar V6.

If you drive a lower end Odyssey, it actually uses the same transmission, and the shift foibles are the same. My sister in law just got a 2018 Odyssey EX-L and I drove it at length and it shifts the same way. Touring and Elite Odysseys have their new 10 speed and the difference in drivability is dramatic.

I would rate our satisfaction with the Pacifica as a 6/10. I wouldn't buy another one.

Its really depends. The Sienna and Odyssey have some serious drawbacks.

The Sienna is a really old design, and it shows in features, infotainment, interior packaging, driving position, etc. The only reason to get a Sienna IMHO is reliability, and there are great deals on them. The Sienna does have a very smooth powertrain and a nice ride. The Pacifica has many more thoughtful features, much better technology, more space, better interior layout, more modern design, etc.

The Odyssey has some decontenting problems. No surround view camera which is a huge omission in this class (even the old Sienna has one), and was an automatic disqualification for my wife. They also took all the air vents out of the ceiling in the latest Odyssey, which makes it very hard to cool the second and third rows, especially with rear facing carseats. They are also much more expensive than a Pacifica or Sienna because of the deals you can get on them. They also have had reliability problems and CR dropped their recommended rating.

I will say that without the issues we've had with the Pacifica, most specifically the freezing infotainment and rear entertainment system they can't seem to solve, we'd be really happy with it. My other frustration is the transmission, but it doesn't bother my wife. Reliability is a huge asterisk though.

So all in all, if I were to buy a minivan right now I would feel there aren't any real obvious choices. Each choice has baggage, and is a vehicle that in some way isn't anywhere near what it could be which is frustrating. Hopefully an all new Sienna will be out when the time comes to replace the Pacifica.

So...if I had to choose right now today knowing what I know...I would probably get an Odyssey but there would be issues there we'd be really unhappy with.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

SW17LS

I don't really know, my guess is they all stem from the infotainment system and issues with shift behavior with the 9 speed.

Sulu

New Hondas (including the Odyssey) seem to have problems with electrical / electronics components and body hardware. I am not sure what "body hardware" is but I am guessing that it is stuff that moves, like door pull handles.

Source: Top 10 Least Reliable Cars: 2018 Consumer Reports

SW17LS

To call it one of their top 10 least reliable cars IMHO is silly...especially when the Pacifica is not on that list. You should read the posts on the Pacifica forum. One guy doesn't understand why its unreasonable that he has to plug his up to a battery tender if it sits more than 3 days (fanboy).

mmarshall

Does he use the built-in vacuum cleaner while the engine is not running (or don't you know)? That might drain some battery juice and need a boost.

theory816

I absolutely adore the new minivans that are coming out. The only one I don't like, look wise, is the one by KIA.

Allen K

iTrader: (4)

The stock infotainment isn't too bad although I've only used the stock nav once. The body hardware issue probably stem from poor door seals, misaligned panels, and other fit & finish issues. There have been a number of complaints about gaps between panels particularly in the back I believe. Mine has been pretty good aside from a power folding mirror that was already broken at delivery, but I occasionally have issues where the driver's side sliding door doesn't want to fully close even when on a flat surface.

SW17LS

No, its just a parasitic battery drain.

I've heard about those issues too.

I heard about freezing issues with the infotainment.