2021 Chrysler Pacifica

Americans with children tend to obsess over seats and square footage in automobiles. They’ll take tape measures to the third rows of SUVs and bemoan the scrawny dimensions and awkward access. 

These same Americans will refuse to look twice at a minivan. Minivans like the winning Chrysler Pacifica offer stretch-out space for seven or eight passengers, easy access via powered sliding doors, and decisively more cargo space than a Cadillac Escalade or other elephantine SUV. 

For families with no hang-ups over driving the most space-efficient solution, the Pacifica beckons. A class leader, along with the Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna, the 2021 Pacifica cements its status with tastefully refreshed styling, a luxurious Pinnacle edition, and the UConnect 5 infotainment system integrated Amazon Alexa (both firsts in a North American Chrysler) and several new features. These include standard, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility; available AWD; the FamCam onboard camera for watchful parents; and a class-exclusive, plug-in hybrid powertrain that’s now available on every trim level. In addition, welcome new safety gear includes standard adaptive cruise control and pedestrian automated emergency braking. 

The Pacifica’s redesigned diamond-mesh grille, LED headlamps, front-and-rear bumpers and six new wheel designs accentuate a streamlined shape that out-styles every minivan competitor. A low bar, perhaps, but still, there’s nothing dowdy or downmarket about the Pacifica. The Pacifica starts at $37,315 in Pacifica Touring trim; AWD, a rarity in minivans (Toyota is the only other maker to offer it), adds $2,995. It’s a slick system that can send 100 percent of power to rear wheels if the fronts slip. The lineup rises through Touring L and Limited models to reach the apt Pinnacle Hybrid at $52,995. All prices include a $1495 destination fee. 

That’s a lot of money for a minivan. But the Pinnacle Hybrid is a lot of minivan, including quilted, caramel Nappa leather in all three rows; and a pair of matching, movable “lumbar support” pillows in Mercedes-Maybach style. Standard second-row captain’s chairs, a faux-suede headliner, satiny interior trim and a massive “Ultra” front console with nearly 14 liters of dual-level storage also set the Pinnacle apart. Every 2021 Pacifica gets the Alexa-enabled, UConnect 5 infotainment system, including an enlarged, 10.1-inch touchscreen and notably better map displays and graphics than before. A second-row theater entertainment system (with Chess and other new games for ‘21) is another child-friendly option, as is FamCam. That’s a nod to the Odyssey’s similar onboard, all-seeing camera, but with a unique “Zoom to Seat” feature, apparently for closeups of a toddler dribbling grape juice over the seats. Every imaginable family perk is aboard, including up to 12 USB outlets, several being the new, faster-charging USB Type-c style.

Naturally, the Pacifica continues to offer its class-exclusive Stow ‘n Go seats, with second-row chairs that tuck smoothly into the floor without having to be removed. Fold both second and third rows, and there’s a massive 141 cubic feet of total storage versus 121 cubes for the aforementioned Escalade SUV. The only downside is that Stow ‘n Go demands thinner, firmer seatbacks and cushions to perform their magic, making them less comfortable than the chairs in Hybrid versions. (The space to stow the seats is filled by the Hybrid’s lithium-ion battery). So, honestly, if you’ll rarely use a minivan to haul massive loads,  skip Stow ‘n Go, despite their ingenuity—your gangly teenagers in the second row will thank you. 

The cushier, smartly upholstered captain’s chairs in the Pinnacle Hybrid help counter the stuff that’s lost: AWD isn’t available for more traction, nor the optional onboard vacuum to suck things up. And the hybrid models—with 260 horses from a 3.6-liter V6, dual electric motors and 16 kWh lithium-ion battery—don’t accelerate quite as quickly or smoothly as non-hybrids, with 276 horses from the 3.6-liter V-6 and conventional nine-speed automatic transmission. The Hybrids, with their continuously variable transmission (CVT), will still get to 60 mph in about 7.8 seconds (versus 7.3 seconds for standard models). They’re smooth for the most part, but the Hybrids’ regenerative brake pedal is a bit squishier. And compared with the nine-speed in standard models, the Hybrids’ CVT still evinces the occasional odd whine and non-linear power surge under acceleration. Yet every Pacifica drives well, with a finely tuned chassis and poised handling, able to sail through curves at speeds that few responsible parents will attempt.

Despite some flaws, the plug-in hybrid fires back with what may be a no-brainer for many shoppers: A $7,500 federal tax credit that lets people save huge money versus competing minivans. Or choose a deluxe-trimmed Pacifica for less money than more-basic, non-hybrid versions. One example: The most affordable Pacifica Touring Hybrid starts from $41,490. Subtract that $7,500 in federal tax largesse, and the price becomes $33,390 — about $2,800 less than a base, non-hybrid Touring model. On the other hand, a Pacifica Limited Hybrid at $47,340 falls below $40,000 after the tax credit, about the same price as a lesser Pacifica L. In other words, the federal government will essentially pay you to drive a better-equipped Pacifica, with the hybrid technology thrown in for free. 

Now, consider the Pacifica Hybrid returns an EPA-rated 30 mpg in both city and highway, versus 22 mpg combined for non-hybrids and 20 mpg with AWD. A light foot let the Pacifica reach as high as 33 mpg on the highway in our real-world driving. We saw about 28 mpg overall, 2 mpg below the EPA rating, but still stellar mileage for this family-hauler supreme, with a class-best 3,600-pound towing capacity. In addition, the EPA figures a Pacifica Hybrid owner will spend just $1,000 a year for electricity and gasoline to cover 15,000 miles, versus $1,800 a year for non-hybrid models, and $1,950 with AWD. Over five years, that’s $4,000 in energy savings versus a gasoline-only, front-drive Pacifica, on top of the $7,500 buyers will save via the tax credit. 

With its enlarged battery, the Pacifica Hybrid (with a full plug-in charge) will now travel an estimated 32 miles on electricity alone before its gasoline engine kicks in. This brings up the most maddening oversight of the Hybrid: Unlike most any plug-in, there’s no “EV Hold” button to reserve those precious electric-only miles for when you want to use them. (For example, in snarled urban traffic, especially in major cities considering taxing polluting internal-combustion cars or barring them entirely). Once unplugged from a charger, the Pacifica will slurp its onboard juice until it’s depleted and only then switch to a blend of gas-electric hybrid power. Chrysler says it believes minivan customers didn’t want to bother with extra driving modes. But we fail to see any harm, and only advantage, in giving hybrid buyers—already green-minded enough to choose a plug-in model—that choice and flexibility. Oh, well: There’s always 2022.