Featured 2017 Chrysler Pacifica

2017 Chrysler Pacifica: Minivan Meets Plug-In Hybrid

 

Wow pic from your article that's a potential game changer they are keeping all that cargo space...unheard of in a plug-in vehicle absolutely outstanding. Way I use it further below my pic, hope those front seats fold back, looks like theirs is bigger than mine but I think they just got a pro photo guy who knows how to make the back look long...using the ladder as optical illusion.

I got that 10-ft kayak because a guy here was putting it like this in his Prius, but he had to open the rear liftgate and hold it down with a bungee cord. Almost fits in a Prius though.

 

I'm guessing FCA will be dropping the Town and Country nameplate for being too wordy. There will also be a non hybrid Pacifica. Which I'm positive is what the cargo photo is of, unless the second row seats are easy to remove in the PHEV.

 

I have 2 middle bucket seats that fairly easily remove and roll out. In the kayak pic above one middle seat is out.

 

Well the reliability ratings have been very iffy. Brakes are one problem in this period. Not just Routan, somewhat generic, auto makers have undersized brakes so they over-heat. What that means is the rotors can warp in a single braking event, giving a vibration when you apply brakes at higher speeds. I only have 50000 miles on mine after 6.5 years, so keeping miles/year down is one approach to spacing out maintenance. The only reason I did not get a Sienna (which have apparently had their share of complaints too) is that I needed a 20 MPG rating in the Cash for Clunkers program. My Routan never lived up to 20 MPG (although I can get 20+ on the highaway). 2011 they may have done a better job living up to 20 MPG average.

Looks like tons of new slotted rotor designs on Amazon.com so I think I am finaly going to learn how to my own brakes and I got my eye on a Rotor that's getting good reviews.

Cost sounds high to me but it could have nice stuff and video system. I paid like $24k after clunker rebate and it depreciated really fast (good for our Va. annual car tax). Ironically in Va. buying a car that depreciates fast gives you tax discount you can use for repairs...so I am doing OK. I got the 4.0 llter SEL (had to for 20 MPG) one but it was stripped down base version without any optional video systems and such.

 

I found out the hard way about stock rotors on a few of the cars I have owned over the years and how they were of cheaper quality than the ones I purchased to replace..............that kind of quality shouldn't even leave the assembly line.

 

IIRC - it was tideland who pointed out that the Prius v's chassis is not structurally fit to be made into a plugin ... or at least that's the story that he's sticking to. I'd still love to see it done though.
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Seems like Fiat Chrysler is realizing what they did to invent Stow n Go seating, alternately serves as a huge space under the floor for hybrid or plug-in conversion. "Minivan" is of course a misnomer these days, probably adding all that space below the floor contributes to larger size of the vehicle compared to your grandfather's Caravan. Unfort I am the grandfather in question.

 

People have been asking for hybrid minivans for at least a decade. Manufacturers have said that they won't be able to sell them. Soon we will find out.

prius v is about cargo not passengers. I'm sure tideland is responding to the gen I prius v and gen I prius phv based on the gen III prius. I'm sure with the prius v (awful naming conventions, I like prius wagon or prius avant much better) and next prius phv will be based on the gen IV prius TNGV platform, and if toyota did an decent engineering at all should be able to hold the weight of a plug-in prius wagon. If the next gen doesn't come in a phev then its for marketing not technical reasons.

 

It would be neat if they could fit the 1500 Ram diesel in one too.

Bob Wilson

 

I'm not sure if you are being facetious or not, but the jeep grand cherokee comes with a optional 3 L turbo diesel V6. The engine won one of wards 10 best. Diesel seems like a much better fit with an SUV where low end torque may be needed to pull that boat up the mountain, and the rougher sounding engine may help the driver feel like they are driving something that has the guts to do things their car can't, why using less fuel than the thirsty more powerful gas engine option.

minivan drivers don't seem to really car much about acceleration or grunt. Here hybrid or phev would be about lowering gas use and tco. A phev where a soccer mom can have the thing cooled or heated before she leaves the house, and that needs fewer trips to the gas station seems natural. The question is will people be willing to pay for it, and I think with low gas prices they aren't likely to have many takers unless the premium is low.

 

Hmmmm
Interesting.

A soccer-mom mobile that doubles as a compliance vehicle.
I'm not sure that there's much of a market for this with gas at $1.39, and the fact that 2-1/2 kids as passengers counts as HOV but then again gas wasn't $1.39 when they put pen to paper on this project...and there are a lot of vans out there even in 2016.
There's also fleet vans which can use this platform, and a lot of "me-too!" companies using them.

I think that Dodge is also trying to counter-balance all of the HEMIs with a gas sipper.
The "A" in CAFE after all does stand for "average."

We'll see what the sticker says in 2017....and what (if any) state and governmint kickbacks apply.

 

Understand I'm curious. Until September, VW offered three engine powered Jetta:

• gasser
• diesel
• hybrid

But we can't believe any of the cheat-diesel numbers until the fix comes out.

I'm thinking the Pacifica would be an excellent approach with:

• gasser
• diesel
• hybrid

Bob Wilson

 

It could easily be a commercial van it would be huge (space wise) I have a hard time seeing 16 Kwhr giving 30 miles, I must say,

 

Why not if they are blended miles. They never said it was an ever like the volt or i3. All they have to do is burn enough gas on the epa test to get 30 miles out of roughly a 13kwh usable, and that won't take much gas at all. Its not as aerodynamic as the model X, but that can go 35.5 miles on 13kwh.

A commercial van is much larger. I doubt anyone is going to buy this for commercial purposes say versus a ford transit. Commercial vans don't really need in seat entertainent etc. Most small people hauling has moved to minivans which this may be good, or busses.

We know there will be $7500 in federal they made the battery pack the size to max this out. California adds anouther $1500, and other states also add. Carb gives fiat chrysler some credits towards meeting their mandate. I am curious to see california after incentive pricing.

Chrysler Pacifica Reviews - Chrysler Pacifica Price, Photos, and Specs - Car and Driver

I don't know who wanting a diesel would pick the pacifica over the jeep cherokee. I think that would just be confusing. Remember fiat/chrysler is a much smaller company than VW or Toyota. They don't have the money to shove a diesel or a hybrid in a car just to make a point. This is long delayed that chrysler had a phev. I don't know anyone in their right mind that would try to confuse dealers with a diesel option as well.

 

I don't understand why they're calling it the Pacifica when I thought the original one was a flop overall. Why can't Chrysler group come up with original fresh names for their models?
Our 2006 Dodge Caravan actually has 235k miles on it. We got lucky with this one, but the one we had previously was non-stop problems. I'll always regret not getting a gen2 Prius instead of the minivan, but it served it's purpose.

 

I agree with the manufacturers. Just look at how the Highlander hybrid did in order to see how an American specced minivan hybrid would have done back then. The hybrid systems have gotten more efficient and lower cost, but the MPG numbers on the window sticker still likely will be enough to wow a buyer into paying price difference that is still there.

I'd like to see it there too. It should fall in place between the base engine and PHEV and price, so those looking for better efficiency, but not wanting to buy the battery, can have an option. Of course, we haven't seen the numbers of the gasser with the 8 or 9 speed transmission, which also returns good numbers in the Ram 1500, or hybrid CS ones, yet.

One of the reasons the 3L diesel placed in Wards best engine for 3 years is because of it's smooth and quiet NVH, and an American minivan always has its own mass to drag around.

I remember the first Sedona being criticized for not having enough grunt. If it is a sensibly sized engine, a diesel can also lower fuel use and TCO. The higher than regular gasoline price makes a diesel a tougher sell, but hybrids and PHEVs have a similar problem.

Ford also has the Transit Connect, with GM, Nissan, and Ram also offering a smaller commercial van. Heck, our family's minivan was an Astrovan conversion. But I don't see a PHEV version of any being popular enough for any company to offer one. Pay back is a bigger component of business vehicle selection than personal.

I'm more curious in seeing what will replace their "losing money on" Fiat 500e for California.

Being a smaller company didn't keep FCA from offering a small diesel in a 1500 class truck and SUV. Some truck buyers have been asking for that longer than people asking for a hybrid minivan.

The diesel Grand Cherokee has a city rating equal to the gasoline one's combined. Fuel costs work out the same, but the diesel will use less fuel traveling the same distance. The Town & Country is about a hundred pounds heavier than the GC, and it does have a tow rating of 3600 pounds. If Pacifica retains similar specs, it can see the same benefits from having a the diesel.

But without any talk about FCA offering diesels in other models, and the damage from VW's criminal activity, I don't have high hopes of there being a diesel option.

 

The Highlander Hybrid is TOO expensive for the majority who want to save fuel costs. I get that the base hybrid model has a lot more options on it, but the price difference is absurd.
2016 Highlander LE model (MPG 20/25): $30,950
2016 Highlander Limited Hybrid model (MPG 27/28): $48,770

The RAV4 always seemed like a more obvious choice for the hybrid option, and at least the price difference is more reasonable (although I still think they should offer a hybrid option on the LE model).
2016 RAV4 LE model (MPG 24/31): $25,235
2016 RAV4 XLE Hybrid model (MPG 34/31): $29,255

 

Voyager or Caravan (or Town and Country) worked for me. it took me 2 weeks to realize they were talking about a plug-in version of my own minivan. Only thing I can think they are hoping for West Coast sales. but give me an Atlantica in that case...see I got a new name fast.

Cash-4-Clunkers I looked for any car that could accept a 4x8 plywood, and that's narrows down to only a minivan can you even get it in the rear opening. Last week I got a 4x8 foam board, but I had to cut a foot off to make it 4x7. Gotta see what I did wrong...could of sworn a 4x8 fit in there.