2021 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid Review: Unplug And Play

The 2021 Chrysler Pacifica is best than it’s ever been. A extra aggressive face, some recent wheel choices, and revisions to the entrance and rear lighting enhance the outside, whereas upgraded leather-based and a extra trendy heart console assist refine the cabin. But it surely’s not simply new styling that makes the Pacifica extra of a strong possibility for 2021.

A brand-new Uconnect infotainment system adorns the sprint – and it is most likely our favourite improve of the lot. Plus, extra customary energetic security means Chrysler’s minivan can compete with alternate options from Toyota and Honda out of the field. All of those up to date components mix to make the already nice Pacifica even higher for 2021.

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The previous Pacifica appeared kind of fussy to our eye, however the 2021 mannequin will get a lot cleaner styling. Slim LED headlights with halo-like accents and a pointy, six-sided grille adorn the entrance fascia, with a cleaner bumper design and better-integrated fog lights slightly below that. And gone are final yr’s cut up taillights, changed by a sleeker full-width mild bar. Plus, each Pacifica trim will get new wheels for 2021 – our automobile wears 18-inch aluminum sneakers as a part of the $795 S Look bundle, which additionally features a gloss black grille encompass and corresponding black badges.

Chrysler rigorously redesigned the cabin of the 2021 Pacifica as effectively. Most notably, tweaks to the middle console now create a seamless move into the sprint, wrapping round a ten.1-inch embedded touchscreen. Nicer finishes, like lacquered wooden, can be found on larger trim ranges just like the luxurious Pinnacle mannequin. However our Restricted mannequin with the S Look pack will get gloss black finishes as an alternative, which we’re much less keen on due to how shortly they accumulate fingerprints. However the S bundle does add black Nappa leather-based seats with a black fake leather-based sprint, each with distinction white stitching that helps the cabin feel and appear very high-quality.

The Pacifica scores an ideal 10 on this class for a lot of causes, however a lot of the credit score goes to its distinctive experience high quality. Even with 18-inch wheels (versus the usual 17-inchers), the Pacifica has a really easy on-road demeanor, absorbing bumps and imperfections with out a lot as a shrug. For as snug because the Pacifica is round city, it is even higher on the freeway, combining an excellent easy experience high quality with elegant sound deadening. The cabin is so effectively insulated that it solely takes a whisper to talk with the entrance passenger.

Nappa leather-based comes customary on the Restricted mannequin and above, with the S Look bundle including black leather-based with white accent stitching that we like. The entrance seats are comfortable and comparatively supportive – bolstering may very well be higher, however then once more, this can be a minivan – and there is a lot of room, as you’d count on. The 40.1 inches of entrance headroom and 41.1 inches of entrance legroom are barely higher than each the Toyota Sienna and the Honda Odyssey.

The second-row captain’s chairs are strong, with the identical snug and high-quality Nappa leather-based because the entrance buckets. However when Toyota now gives a full recline and leg relaxation possibility on its captain’s chairs, it is laborious to say the Pacifica’s seats are pretty much as good. That stated, the Pacifica has extra headroom (39.6 inches) and legroom (39.0 inches) than the Sienna, with solely the Odyssey providing extra foot area (40.9 inches).

Third-row entry is comparatively simple due to a shoulder-mounted pull tab that folds the chairs ahead, though the Sienna’s one-push button continues to be a greater answer. As soon as again there, the Pacifica’s rearmost row affords you 38.7 inches of headroom and 36.5 inches of legroom. The Sienna and Odyssey do provide a bit extra room of their third rows, however in contrast to plenty of three-row crossovers, the Pacifica’s again seat continues to be superb for carrying adults over fast jaunts.

Together with a facelift and a few upgrades to the inside design, Chrysler additionally fitted the Pacifica with the brand new UConnect 5 infotainment system, which is an enormous improve over the earlier UConnect 4. The now-standard 10.1-inch touchscreen (in comparison with final yr’s 8.4-inch display) has a cleaner residence display format, crisper graphics, and a contact response time that’s smartphone-fast. The navigation system is much-improved, too, with a extra centered format and intuitive controls. And now wi-fi Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot can be found choices on decrease trim ranges. Nevertheless, all of them come customary on the Restricted and above.

This explicit Pacifica can also be effectively outfitted, sporting the optionally available Uconnect Theater Household group. The $2,495 possibility affords seatback video screens to passengers within the second row, with baked-in video games and a DVD participant with wi-fi headphones. Plus, there isn’t any scarcity of plugs positioned all through the cabin; the Pacifica has 12 USB-C and USB-A ports and a wi-fi telephone charger up entrance. There’s additionally a FamCam characteristic for the driving force, which shows a fowl’s-eye view of the rear seats.

The Pacifica’s hybrid powertrain is that this minivan’s strongest promoting level. The gas-powered 3.6-liter V6, with a 16-kilowatt-hour battery pack, and two electrical motors give the plug-in Pacifica a complete output of 260 horsepower. That additionally affords it a strong 32 miles of electrical vary when absolutely charged. Should you cost at residence on a traditional 110-volt outlet, it takes about 14 hours to replenish, whereas a stronger 220-volt outlet takes simply two hours.

When absolutely juiced, the 2 electrical motors present instantaneous oomph. The Pacifica isn’t fast, however the speedy burst of energy helps transfer the 4,987-minivan with goal. Even at freeway speeds, inserting your foot firmly on the accelerator leads to a jolt of torque, making for straightforward passes. Our solely criticism right here is that the transition between pure electrical and fuel is usually a bit harsh, particularly round city. And at larger speeds, the Pacifica’s fuel engine is a bit loud. The Hybrid model additionally lacks the obtainable all-wheel drive of pure fuel variants; the batteries take up the area {that a} driveshaft would in any other case occupy.

When it comes to dealing with, the Pacifica has good, light-weight steering and first rate agility for a minivan. Don’t be afraid to fling it right into a nook, as a result of the Pacifica turns in easily and accelerates out with little drama. We do nonetheless want the way in which the Sienna drives by a slim margin, although – the steering is extra exact and physique actions are much less noticeable. However that’s simply choosing nits.

Security is one other robust level for the Pacifica. For 2021, Chrysler’s minivan now comes customary with gear like computerized emergency braking (for automobiles and pedestrians), blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise management with stop-and-go, lane-keep help, forward-collision mitigation, and even rain-sensing wipers. And all of these techniques work effectively in our check. The adaptive cruise management system brakes easily and maintains an ideal distance to the automobile in entrance of it, whereas blind-spot monitoring and lane-keep help provide a clearer perspective of different automobiles on the highway.

There may be one extra security possibility that our tester lacks: the $1,595 Premium And Security Sphere bundle. That possibility provides extra superior options like a 360-degree overhead digicam, parallel and perpendicular park help, in addition to entrance and rear park help with computerized braking.

The Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid achieves 30 miles per gallon mixed. When it comes to pure gas financial system, that determine is down in comparison with the much less highly effective Toyota, which will get 36 mpg mixed in front-drive kind. However in contrast to the Sienna’s conventional hybrid setup, the Pacifica is a plug-in hybrid, which supplies it 85 mpge and as much as 32 miles of pure electrical vary. The Sienna, by comparability, solely has a low-speed electrical mode with restricted battery vary.

The plug-in additionally will get higher gas financial system than its purely gas-powered sibling. The front-wheel-drive Chrysler Pacifica sans electrification will get 22 mpg mixed.

The bottom non-hybrid Pacifica prices a cool $35,095, whereas the plug-in pumps that beginning value as much as $39,995. Our Pacifica Hybrid is a Restricted mannequin, which prices $45,845 to start out – solely the range-topping and new-for-2021 Pinnacle is pricier ($50,845). And after choices and vacation spot charges ($1,495), this Pacifica prices $50,630.

Fifty grand does sound like plenty of scratch for a minivan, however do not forget that the brand new Sienna is equally expensive. A comparable Sienna Restricted mannequin prices $46,700 out of the field and crests $50,000 with choices. The range-topping Sienna Platinum, in the meantime, prices $49,900, whereas the luxurious Pacifica Hybrid Pinnacls is $50,845.

On our Pacifica tester, specifically, there are solely two choices: the $2,495 Uconnect Theater Household bundle and the $795 S Look bundle. The Theater Household bundle is one which we advocate, because it provides helpful seatback-mounted screens and wi-fi headphones (if in case you have children) and the FamCam operate. However we may do with out the S look bundle, except you really can’t stay with out black wheels and an ‘S’ stitched within the headrests.