No one likes to be knocked off of the top. But that's exactly what happened to Chrysler in the minivan market. As the creator of the modern minivan with the first Dodge Caravan all the way back in 1984, Chrysler ruled the family-hauling roost for many, many years. But the march of time proved cruel, as knockoffs from Honda and Toyota surpassed the original.
Designed during one of the company's roughest economic patches, the outgoing Chrysler minivans were outclassed by the Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna, and relegated to bargain-buyers and rental fleets. Adding insult to injury, in recent years families have deserted minivans in droves, sacrificing practicality for more fashionable SUVs. Chrysler's challenge became twofold: Convince buyers to opt for a minivan again, and persuade the dwindling audience to consider a Chrysler.
This mission drove Chrysler to drop the Town & Country moniker while resurrecting the Pacifica nameplate from a not-so-well-remembered crossover from the last decade. Styling also aims to reset expectations. It's sleek and streamlined for a van, with a well-hidden track for the sliding side door and optional big 20-inch wheels.
But there's far more to this redesign than a new name and sleeker styling. Thanks to corporate sharing over the years, first with Mercedes-Benz and now Fiat, Chrysler hasn't completely designed an all-new car on their own (that wasn't a Jeep or Ram truck) in decades—until now.
Turns out that they didn't pick an easy project. Building a good minivan is a serious engineering challenge. Making a huge box on wheels—with giant door holes on three sides—feel solid and quiet is tough. To address this challenge, Chrysler reinforced the all-new structure, using more high-strength steel and beefing up the floor. Careful application of lighter materials helped save 250 pounds compared to the previous van.
Safety is essential, particularly for a family hauler, and it was one place where the outgoing Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan really fell behind. The stronger body should allow the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica to earn top marks in the IIHS small overlap crash test; the outgoing van scored Poor. Advanced safety gear, including forward-collision warning with automatic emergency braking, makes its way to the Chrysler van for the first time, but only on the top two trim levels. We wish Chrysler didn't force you to spend nearly $40,000 to get this vital safety equipment.
For all this talk about styling and structure, it's what's inside a minivan that really counts. People and cargo hauling is where a minivan earns its keep, and the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica packs in many clever ideas. Available in seven- or eight-seat configurations, it retains Chrysler-exclusive Stow 'n Go second-row seating. Configuring the van for cargo hauling requires just folding those seats into the floor, rather than wrestling them out as is necessary with the competition. Not only has this process been made considerably easier, but the seats themselves are now higher and better-padded; previous iterations overtly sacrificed comfort for the trick folding capability.
Tug one seat-top lever and the second-row seat pitches forward, letting you climb into the third row. Relatives banished to the third row won't mind, with plenty of room from the wide bench. Generous toe space beneath the cleverly-carved-out second-row seats helps.
Storage space abounds, with room available in the underfloor bins when the seats are raised. Drawers and cubbies dot the center dashboard and console. A deep well behind the third-row seat fits plenty of luggage, even if the seats are full. While the Odyssey originated the built-in vacuum, the Pacifica makes one available for less money. And if you need even more space, the Pacifica's factory-installed trailer towing package is good for 3,600 pounds.
While minivan interiors tend toward being industrial inside, higher-trim Pacificas feel something like a business jet. Stitched padded materials and fashionable brown leather look swanky. Fancy exclusive options further this image. The optional sunroof puts glass over all three rows, making the interior feel more open. Even though many kids have their own tablets to play with, the optional Uconnect Theater's two touch screens allow travelers to compete against each other with built-in classic games like counting license plates. Big kids sitting upfront get to play with the optional Uconnect 8.4 touch screen infotainment system, which remains an industry benchmark for being easy to use.
Also familiar among Chrysler products is the standard 3.6-liter V6, here in its latest iteration making 287 horsepower, attached to a nine-speed automatic transmission. We've complained extensively about this transmission in earlier products, but continued development has improved shift response and smoothness. The powertrain provides ample punch.
Fuel economy should be considerably better than the current van's worst-in-class 17 mpg; we saw 23 mpg in mixed driving, according to the trip computer. (We'll measure fuel economy more accurately when we buy and test our own 2017 Chrysler Pacifica.) Efficiency-minded buyers can opt for the plug-in hybrid, a minivan first, with a claimed 30 miles of electric-only range. While this platform was designed to support all-wheel drive, it's not offered on the Pacifica; the Toyota Sienna retains its crown as being the only all-wheel-drive minivan available.
Driving the Pacifica reveals that Chrysler can still design impressive cars. Indeed, the Pacifica feels particularly solid and substantial. The well-tuned suspension keeps the body from bobbing down the highway, while supplying good insulation from road bumps, even with the optional wheels. Keeping a cavernous minivan quiet inside, even before the kids start screaming in the back, is tricky, but the Pacifica's interior proves hushed, aided by active noise cancellation on all trims. Tackling corners, the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica responds more like a good midsized sedan than a living room on wheels.
Overall, Chrysler has designed an inviting minivan that has a strong chance of topping our minivan ratings. Our main concerns rest with reliability. Chrysler's recent reliability history has been poor, especially with the nine-speed automatic. And there are no signs of the competition letting up; the Sienna has long been reliable, and like most other Toyotas, will have advanced safety equipment standard by the end of 2017. Honda will also reveal a redesigned Odyssey soon. All of this goes to show that even though the minivan battlefield is shrinking, the war of the family-hauling boxes rages on.
See our complete minivan buying guide and ratings.
