2017 Chrysler Pacifica Limited First Test Review

There’s a big push in America to make things great again. America itself, for example, is a top priority for many citizens. The return of the Running Man is surely a pleasant surprise for those ’80s kids. Then there’s a minivan such as the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. That’s not to say the outgoing and aging Chrysler Town & Country wasn’t great, but its level of greatness had dipped below competitors from Kia and Honda. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles looks to change that with the new 2017 Pacifica.

FCA’s attempt to make the greatest minivan in the segment wasn’t cheap. The automaker reportedly spent more than $2 billion developing the all-new Pacifica, and based on our extensive look at the minivan, it definitely shows. Tech-addicted kids, the main reason the minivan exists in the first place, will be relieved to find no fewer than 11 power sources, including eight USB ports. There’s also an optional rear entertainment system complete with a DVD player, games, and the perfectly named “Are We There Yet” app, essentially a riff on flight tracker maps found in commercial passenger jets.

2017 Chrysler Pacifica front three quarters

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Another big chunk of that development money went into the powertrain. FCA’s 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 has been tweaked for efficiency and more power, producing 287 hp and 262 lb-ft of torque (4 hp and 2 lb-ft more than before). More significant is the new nine-speed automatic, a gearbox that has experienced teething issues since making its debut in other FCA products such as the Jeep Renegade. Thankfully for Pacifica buyers, the automaker has done its homework. The transmission is pretty solid here. Shifts are smooth, and the gearbox is much more eager to downshift, which wasn’t the case before.

Straight-line performance is pretty much what you’d expect from a minivan. The Pacifica won’t snap necks, but it won’t fall behind its competitors, either. We recorded a 0-60-mph jaunt of 7.5 seconds, which is the quickest among recent minivans we’ve tested, including a 2015 Toyota Sienna SE (7.6 seconds), 2015 Honda Odyssey Elite (7.9 seconds), and 2016 Kia Sedona SX (7.8 seconds).

2017 Chrysler Pacifica steering wheel 02

On the road, the Pacifica is quiet, though there’s little to no communication from the steering wheel. Take a turn aggressively, and there’s little feedback and no trace of tire squeal even though it’s evident the tires are losing traction. Testing director Kim Reynolds found it Pacifica’s road manners “sloppy … a disappointment compared to its visual promises.”

However, Reynolds was slightly surprised at the figure-eight course, which the Pacifica knocked out in 27.3 seconds (best in class). “It’s surprisingly amenable to being tossed around,” Reynolds said. “Lots of roll and pitch, of course, but the tail slides way more than you’d expect and is somewhat controllable.” The transmission lacks a manual mode or steering wheel shift paddles, but Reynolds found its gear picking sensible and “reasonably quick.”

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Reynolds also didn’t find the seats very comfortable. Perhaps it’s his taller frame, but I, your averaged-height author, thought the seats were adequate. The rest of the cabin is a significant improvement in build quality over the outgoing Town & Country. Our test car’s two-tone interior featured white as its primary color, a brave choice for hauling around kids armed with orange soda or grape juice. (At least the carpet is black.) The improved Stow ’n Go seats work as advertised, and our test car had the optional power-folding third-row seats, which were easy to operate.

Although we didn’t get the opportunity to run Real MPG numbers this time around, the EPA has rated the 2017 Pacifica at 18/28 mpg city/highway, a 1- and 3-mpg improvement, respectively, over the 2016 Chrysler Town & Country. Credit the boost in fuel efficiency to the new gearbox and lightweight materials such as the aluminum sliding doors. Chrysler says the Pacifica is about 200 pounds lighter than before, though our test car tipped the scales at 4,611 pounds, a tad heavier than the aforementioned Odyssey and Sienna (4,592 and 4,544 pounds, respectively). That said, our top-of-line test car was packed to the max with a panoramic sunroof (with three panes of glass), large 20-inch wheels, and the Stow ’n Vac system. Total MSRP for this loaded Pacifica Limited came to $46,655, a relatively competitive price compared to a similarly equipped Honda and Toyota. Is the Pacifica greater than those two? We’ll find out in a forthcoming minivan Big Test.

2017 Chrysler Pacifica Limited
BASE PRICE $43,490
PRICE AS TESTED $46,665
VEHICLE LAYOUT Front-engine, FWD, 7-pass, 4-door van
ENGINE 3.6L/287-hp/262-lb-ft DOHC 24-valve V-6
TRANSMISSION 9-speed automatic
CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST) 4,611 lb (56/44%)
WHEELBASE 121.6 in
LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT 203.6 x 79.6 x 69.9 in
0-60 MPH 7.5 sec
QUARTER MILE 15.9 sec @ 90.1 mph
BRAKING, 0-60 MPH 122 ft
LATERAL ACCELERATION 0.81 g (avg)
MT FIGURE EIGHT 27.3 sec @ 0.63 g (avg)
EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON 18/28/22 mpg
ENERGY CONS, CITY/HWY 187/120 kW-hrs/100 miles
CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB 0.90 lb/mile
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Pacifica front three quarter in motion low 02 2017 Chrysler Pacifica front three quarters in motion 2017 Chrysler Pacifica front wheels 2017 Chrysler Pacifica grille badge 2017 Chrysler Pacifica grille 2017 Chrysler Pacifica rear cargo area 2017 Chrysler Pacifica rear badge 2017 Chrysler Pacifica rear badge 04 2017 Chrysler Pacifica rear badge 03 2017 Chrysler Pacifica rear badge 02 2017 Chrysler Pacifica interior vac 2017 Chrysler Pacifica rear end 03 2017 Chrysler Pacifica rear end in motion 05 2017 Chrysler Pacifica rear interior seats folded down 2017 Chrysler Pacifica rear interior view 2017 Chrysler Pacifica rear monitors 03 2017 Chrysler Pacifica rear monitors 2017 Chrysler Pacifica rear seats 2017 Chrysler Pacifica rear side in motion 02 2017 Chrysler Pacifica rear side in motion 03 2017 Chrysler Pacifica rear side in motion 04 2017 Chrysler Pacifica rear three quarter in motion 03 2017 Chrysler Pacifica rear three quarter in motion 02 2017 Chrysler Pacifica rear taillights 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details 03 2017 Chrysler Pacifica wheel details 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid and Pacifica Limited front rear three quarter 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid and Pacifica Limited front three quarter 02 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid and Pacifica Limited front three quarter 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid and Pacifica Limited rear front three quarters 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid front end 02 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid front end 03 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid front end 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid front grille 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid front three quarter 02 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid front three quarter 03 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid front three quarter 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid rear taillight 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid front three quarters 02 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid rear taillights 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid gas cap 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid rear three quarter 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid grille 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid rear three quarters 02 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid headlamp 02 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid rear three quarters 03 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid headlamp 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid rear three quarters 04 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid rear badge 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid rear three quarters 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid rear end 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid side 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid rear taillight 02 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid top view 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Limited cargo 03 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Limited cargo 02 2017 Chrysler Pacifica leather interior details 2017 Chrysler Pacifica interior seat details 2017 Chrysler Pacifica center stack screen 2017 Chrysler Pacifica center stack screen 03 2017 Chrysler Pacifica center stack screen 02 2017 Chrysler Pacifica center stack navigation screen 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid wheels 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Limited cargo 04 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Limited cargo 05 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Limited cargo 06 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Limited cargo 07 2017 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Pacifica Limited rear three quarter 02 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Limited rear three quarter cargo 02 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Limited rear three quarter cargo 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Limited side profile 02 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Limited side profile 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Limited sunroof 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Limited taillight 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Limited top side view 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Limited top view 02 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Limited top view 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Limited wheel 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Limited wheels 2017 Chrysler Pacifica rear center console 02 2017 Chrysler Pacifica rear center console 2017 Chrysler Pacifica rear interior seats 2017 Chrysler Pacifica rear vacuum 2017 Chrysler Pacifica steering wheel 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Limited front end in motion 02 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Limited front end in motion 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Limited front three quarter 04 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Limited front three quarter 05 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Limited front three quarter in 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Limited rear three quarter in motion 04 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Limited rear three quarter in motion 03 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Limited rear three quarter in motion 02 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Touring L Plus front three quarters 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Touring L Plus rear end in motion 02 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Touring L Plus rear end in motion 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Touring L Plus rear three quarter 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Touring L Plus rear three quarters

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