I bought a Pacifica for my wife as we were looking for a third row of seating and the versatility of a minivan, without the minivan stigma (my wife refuses to drive a minivan), and we never go offroad. So I guess you could say we were the target markket for this crossover vehicle.
Like other reviewers, I am a car nut, and for years I have not even looked at American cars because of the general crapiness of their interiors. The Pacifica is the first American car to blow away its segment in terms of interior quality (although I am not including the Touareg or Cayenne because they do not offer a third row of seating, or the Volvo XC90, as it is incredibly expensive).
What the people at Chrysler set out to do they did exceptionally well, which is develop a car that provides a ton of space but handles and looks like a car. While the handling is nothing like that of a sedan's, it is leagues better than most SUVs and minivans. My wife and I love the way it looks - we get lots of compliments and questions. I have soccer moms crowding around me at times.
First, the negatives, both of which I was aware of prior to purchasing the vehicle (thanks in part to epinions): The gas mileage is truly awful. I am OK with the city mileage (which is still crappy) but highway mileage of 19 MPG (which is what we have gotten) is remarkably bad. The other disadvantage is that it is hard to put two child seats in this car, as putting both of them in the second row (two captain's chairs) make it impossible to access the third row except by climbing back between the second row seats over the center console. I hear that Chrysler is introducing a model with a bench seat in the back, although I am not clear on whether or not there will still be a third row of seats.
The positives are led by the car's appearance, the quality of the interior (by the way, leather makes a huge difference), which is absolutely the best American interior I have ever seen, versatility, and the thoughtful convenences throughout the car.
Appearance: I think that Chrysler hit a home run, even if sales statistics don't show it. The car is sleek and hides its size well. We get tons of compliments.
Interior: The leather is of a very high quality, the seats are terrific, and the dash is cool.
Versatility: the car loses some space due to its syling, which brings the roof down a bit; however the thing is cavernous, especially with all rows folded flat. The third row splits, which is huge as the third row tends to eat up any cargo space (other SUVs we looked at either did not offer (Pilot) or charged extra (Durango)).
Conveniences: The seating/radio/mirrors memory feature adjusts to your setting when you press the "unlock" botton on your key fob. This is very cool and eliminates the need for me to bring the seat back, etc every time I get in the car. The navigation system is excellent; having it in the gauge cluster is a plus. The DVD sytem is awesone - I found it one of the only ones that is controlled up front, which is key when it comes down to enforcing rules on the little ones in the back ("knock it off or I'll turn the movie off!!"). Having wireless headphones allows the kids to watch a movie while my wife and I listen to the radio or a CD. The power liftgate is neat - it's a cool show when it comes up and down (my 5'5" wife loves this feature while I think it's unnecessary, although it comes with the DVD). Finally, perhaps the most convenient feature is the adjustable pedals, which my wife loves beause of her height. I like it too because I don't like her driving too close to the steering wheel (airbag).
Chrysler has done a terrific job with this car. The problem is that they have marketed it poorly. Celine Dion in the ads???? Ridiculous. This is a groundbreaking car and should hae been on the cover of all the car magazines, but their PR team must have been out to lunch. I can't even get printed information...I got a letter from Chrysler saying they are "out of stock." I feel they should have introduced a bare-bones model with the V6 and bench seating for $27K or less to compete with minivans and then a V8 with all the goodies to compete with the SUVs.
However, if you are looking to buy this car you are in great shape, as Chrysler is offering $3500 incentives right now. My mistake was driving the top-of-the-line model, which we fell in love with but could not afford. I ended up buying a used one on ebay, and have been very pleased thus far.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 25,000
Condition: Used Model Year: 2004 Model and Options: FWD, 26R Package, DVD, Navigation
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.