2025 Chrysler Pacifica PHEV: Last van standing for American automaker?
The minivan is the line Chrysler model offered for 2025, and it’s not much different than it was in 2017: efficient, easy to drive, roomy, with sketchy build quality.
2025 Kia Carnival Hybrid SX Prestige vs. 2025 Chrysler Pacifica Pinnacle PHEV vs. 2025 Volkswagen ID. Buzz: A brave new minivan comparison.
This week: Chrysler Pacifica PHEV
Price: $61,885 as tested. This is just a few hundred more than the 2023 model. And it’s not all that much less than last week’s ID. Buzz, which has been subject to much whining about pricing.
Conventional wisdom: Motor Trend likes the “do-it-all capability,” and that it’s “torquey and powerful” with a “quick onboard 6.6-kW charger.” They were less impressed by the “mushy and inconsistent brakes”; that it’s “expensive,” and that the “second-row seats could be more comfortable.”
Marketer’s pitch: “Performance to suit lifestyle.”
Reality: The lone Chrysler model available. The Pacifica, PHEV, and budget-priced Voyager version of the minivan are the last of the Chrysler offerings. The website offers a couple concept vehicles, but the future of the brand that has often teetered on the edge of its demise looks bleak.
What’s new: The latest minivan from the segment creator hasn’t changed much since its origin in 2017 and certainly not since its 2021 facelift, but I knew an ID. Buzz would be in my testing lineup so I took on another Pacifica test model as a comparison.
Competition: In addition to the ID. Buzz and Carnival, there are the Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna.
Up to speed: The 3.6-liter V-6 engine mated to the plug-in hybrid system provides adequate power worthy of a minivan. The final word of the last sentence should make it clear: No socks were knocked off in the making of this review.
The 260-horsepower setup gets it to 60 mph in 7.5 seconds, according to Motor Trend. This puts the Pacifica slightly ahead of the Carnival but well behind the ID. Buzz.
Shifty: The continuously variable transmission seemed up to the task, not revving the engine or causing the power to slack off when needed. There’s no shiftability so it’s good that the work is done well for you.
On the road: The Pacifica handles like the front-wheel-drive minivan it is, mannerly, carlike, and easy to drive. I’d call it better than the Carnival and the Sienna, but not as enjoyable as the ID. Buzz or Odyssey.
Driver’s Seat: The quilted Nappa leather bucket seats provide support and some comfort, although they’re a little on the firm side.
The gauges are lighted a pretty blue. The speedometer is quite hard to follow — tiny type, partially obscured by the steering wheel, so fortunately there’s a digital readout in the center.
Friends and stuff: The middle row looks as comfortable as the front, with captain’s chairs and plenty of room to stretch out, but it’s more firm and less grippy. Headroom is awesome; legroom and foot room are good.
The rear seat is smaller than the others and a bench, but it’s not bad. Legroom and foot room are just OK as well; I expected better, but it’s still ahead of most SUVs. The ID. Buzz and Sienna are the winners here.
Pull the straps and the rear seats fold easily into the floor to create a nice load area, a trick copied by all the minivans now. The middle row folds down as well.
Cargo space is 140.5 cubic feet, on par with the rest. It stands out from the others because a few 4-by-8 sheets of plywood will fit inside if you angle them upward. Not ideal, but it’s still about the best among minivans. The non-hybrid has Stow ‘N Go middle seats which make for a flat floor but less passenger comfort.
No SUVs pack this sort of carrying capacity, so for DIYers (and college dads) trying to avoid squandering money on a full-size pickup like Mr. Driver’s Seat, large minivans have been a nerdsend.
I tried to convince Snotty Neighbor 1.0 that he’s going to long for a minivan when it’s time to pack the kids up for college but he’s too cool for school, like most Americans. Hence the five competitors in the minivan category and the 32,000 in the SUV category.
In and out: It’s a minivan — there’s a bit of a leg lift but lots of space for entrance and departure.
Play some tunes: The 20-speaker Harman Kardon system provided pretty good playback, about an A-. There’s nothing spectacular but everything is clear and where it needs to be. There seemed to be a need to adjust a bit from song to song.
At least the adjusting is easy. When you’re in the right screen for the stereo, there’s a sound control button that allows for tone adjustment. Sliders in the screen are not always easy on the fly but these worked.
Retro dials control volume and tuning, a feature to me, not a bug. The screen is big and remains as easy as Stellantis has been offering for years.
Keeping warm and cool: A toggle handles the air source, buttons control the temperature, and a dial the fan speed. Describing it makes clear how random the controls actually are, but at least you can do them by feel without looking away from the road.
Fuel economy: I averaged between 30 and 31 mpg depending on how charged I could keep the system. The electric motor offers a 32-mile range.
Where it’s built: Windsor, Ontario. With 66% of parts from the U.S. and Canada and 22% from Mexico, it’s definitely a North American vehicle, close to 90%.
How it’s built: The Pacifica retains the 1 out of 5 from Consumer Reports that it’s had for years, noting similar numbers in 2018 and 2021.
In the end: The Pacifica PHEV remains a comfortable and efficient unit. Now that Toyota has made the middle row unfoldable, only the Chrysler has real 4-by-8 cargo space. But its reliability makes buying one questionable.
I’d probably go ID. Buzz all the way, although I’d expect to be standing in the VW service department one day wishing I’d bought the Sienna AWD.