Vans are not glamorous. They are not going to have people turn and stare while you drive by, until their necks break. I have been a non-believer for vans. I have hated on them for as long as I remember. As the title might have given away, my perspective on vans has changed. During our most recent family vacation we made the decision to rent a Volkswagen Atlas. Unfortunately, the place we rented from “ran out” of Atlas and we were “upgraded” to a van. Not my idea of “upgrading” but I went along with it. Although, it is worth to mention that renting vans is definitely more expensive than SUVs.
For a while, we have been searching for the next family hauler. A lot of times “the timing has not been right”, or “too soon to pull the trigger”, “Gas is too expensive, let’s look for EVs instead”. Plenty of excuses to postpone, not just the purchase but also the search. The thought has always been a big SUV for a family of 5. Specially for family road trips, we need space for all the bags and the dog. The Pacifica proved itself capable of fulfilling our family needs. There is always positives and negatives in cases like these, let’s review both:
Highlights
Let’s start with the sliding doors, makes it so easy to load the family in and out. Getting in and out of the back seat was no issue. The sliding doors and the height of the vehicle made it easy to load people in the back, and buckle the kids on the car seats. The back seat was actually very spacious. Tons of legroom and headroom, zero complains received.
The infotainment system with apple and android car play is good to have, when it works. The times it worked, it made the whole trip enjoyable and easy to navigate. The navigation system leaves the voice of the assistant on top of the music, only in the front of the car. The people on the back seats have the music always playing without interruption. The Hybrid system was fantastic. Spent $30 dollars for a week with a V6 engine. Do I need to say more?
The Fam Cam, this is a camera on the ceiling of the car that lets you spy on all the family at once, clever if you have kids. There is also a surrounding parking camera, that let’s you see the car from top view when parking. The side and cargo doors can be operated from the key fob, or from the touch of a button on the door. You can use the same button to close them. No more slamming doors or broken fingers.
Trunk space. One of the factors that we look at in a vehicle, is definitely the trunk space. This time we were 7 people in the car and the trunk space was always sufficient, never had to put bags with the passengers.
Lowlights
The infotainment system works when it wants to. A lot of times the connection between my phone and the car was nonexistent. But when it worked, the trip was so much easier. The knob to switch driving mode is a bit laggy. Yes, you get used to it, it has very good feedback when you switch it, but it takes a second or two to switch from park to drive. Just a little nitpicking over here.
To control comfort settings, you have to fiddle with the screen quite a bit. Again, after a while you get used to it. Add to that, the fact that if you are using the navigation system, you have to switch screens to get there. Unlike our phones, where you can still see the navigation in a smaller scale on your screen. Infotainment systems have become a very centric part of the car nowadays. It is also a problem of recent times, with all the car manufacturers trying to switch to the most screens they can fit in a car. Some haven’t found a balance yet. Others are thriving. Fortunately, the Pacifica is not suffering much from this. Hopefully the future iterations will find a sweet spot, between tactile switches, knobs and screens.
So?
Well, I don’t hate to admit it, but I might be on the same camp as Sung Kang. I now understand the appeal of vans and their actual usefulness. After test driving a Mach-E and living with the Pacifica for a week, there are pros and cons on both, but today, I am inclined to say, that I really like the Chrysler Pacifica.
Thanks again for stopping by,
DL