My wife and I have been renting a 2004 Pacfiica for a month. It handles well, generally. The steering feels firm and responsive, the brakes work. The turning circle is a little large, so parking it between other cars is a little more awkward than other similar-sized minivans that we have rented in the past few years. The interior is very comfortable for the front and middle rows. The driver seat adjustments are very good: lumbar control is helpful; and adjustable pedals make this the first car to effectively accommodate my wife's slightly-shorter legs without requiring her to slide the seat so far forward that she is uncomfortably close to the steering wheel. The seat memory remembers not only seat position, but pedals, mirrors, and radio presets. This is nice. The analog clock on the dashboard is a nice touch, as are the cruise control and radio buttons on the reverse side of the steering wheel.
The engine is very weak: it often drops back to first gear and stays there a long time when driving onto a freeway or entering a faster traffic lane, making this somewhat dangerous as other cars must slow down significantly to accommodate the Pacifica entering in front of them. My wife describes the experience as "feeling like the Pacifica is having a heart attack" whenever she tries to accelerate.
But the vision is too limited. Firstly, the side pillars and headrests are positioned directly in the line of sight when turning into traffic, and therefore obscure any oncoming vehicles. Then the rear pillars and small rear windows mean that rear vision only shows cars that are directly behind in the same lane, not cars that are even slightly out of the lane. Then the passenger-side external mirror seems to have more curve than most other cars: the "objects are closer than they appear" effect is so dangerously exaggerated that merging right often causes cars which appeared very far behind to have to swerve and honk to avoid the Pacifica. The driver-side mirror is inadequate and so from the left passenger door back for several car-lengths is the largest blind spot we have ever experienced. For the sake of our lives, and those of other drivers, we have become nervous whenever we drive the Pacifica.
In the interior there is nowhere to put stuff like a portable computer, a plate of breakfast, a handbag, a schoolbag, or a pile of papers. The console area between the seats in the front and middle rows is hard and curved so that anything slides off. At best it slides sideways onto the floor and tangles with the feet while driving. Often it slides irretrievably into the narrow space between the seats and the center console.
When the third row is folded down to enlarge the rear storage space, there is too little space available. I play keyboards in a band, and so sometimes carry them in the back. In most other large cars they fit just fine but the Pacifica is too narrow because of the deep rear wheel wells, and too short so that a middle row needs to be lowered as well. Overall there feels like less space than a Toyota Camry wagon.
The air conditioning controls are very difficult to figure out, especially while driving. They are not intuitive.
We would never buy this car.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): rental
Condition: New Model Year: 2004 Model and Options: Basic model
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