There aren’t a lot of minivans left on the market these days, as many families have turned to three-row SUVs instead. But unless you’re going off-roading on the weekends, there’s no real reason to choose a higher driving position over the smooth on-pavement ride and immensely versatile interior of a minivan.
Not only do these vehicles continue to make sense for families, but their lower position makes it easier to load cargo and makes them an excellent choice for drivers who like to bring their big dogs along for the ride. If you love the practical utility of a minivan but are looking for one that has an upscale look and a variety of possibilities, you might want to check out your local Chrysler dealer.
The 2024 Chrysler Pacifica is a modern minivan that has a lot to offer, including things you can’t find on other surviving models. Unlike the 2024 Kia Carnival, the Pacifica is available with AWD, and unlike the 2024 Honda Odyssey, it can be had with a hybrid powertrain. While the Toyota Sienna offers both, that model is only available as a traditional hybrid, while the Pacifica offers a versatile plug-in hybrid powertrain.
If you’re looking to learn more about this unique model, read on as we cover the highlights of what it has to offer…
What’s New for 2024?
There aren’t many changes to the Pacifica for the 2024 model year, but there are some new styling options and one new high-tech safety feature.
The top-tier Pinnacle trim has a new sepia-toned interior that features quilted Nappa leather trim in soothing natural colors. On the outside, bold Red Hot and neutral Baltic Gray are new to the lineup of paint color options. But perhaps the most substantive change is the new feature included with the Pacifica’s infotainment system: the emergency vehicle alert system detects approaching emergency vehicles, letting you know when to pull over and wait for an ambulance or fire truck to pass.
Powertrain Options
There are two powertrains offered on the Pacifica, so you can choose the one that works best for your budget and your needs. The base offering is a powerful gas-powered V6 engine. Producing up to 287 hp, this setup delivers good driving dynamics, so you can easily keep up with highway speeds. The available plug-in hybrid also uses a V6 engine but pairs it with two electric motors that are powered by a battery pack. The overall system is a little less powerful, but not much, delivering up to 260 hp.
While driving dynamics can make a difference on the road, power probably isn’t the most important factor for most families. Fuel economy and range determine two important things: how much money you have to spend on fuel and how often you have to stop to fill up. Monthly budgets can be tight for parents, and stopping at the gas station can sometimes be a frustrating affair, especially when driving with younger children. So, with that in mind, let’s dig further into the specs of each powertrain.
The non-hybrid Pacifica is available with either front- or all-wheel drive. Front-wheel drive comes standard and is the more fuel-efficient drivetrain, rated at 22 MPG for city/highway combined driving and with a range of 418 miles on a full tank. All-wheel drive gives you better traction, which can come in handy on wet or unpaved roads, but at the expense of fuel economy, bringing the numbers down to 20 MPG and a 380-mile range.
The plug-in hybrid, as you might expect, raises these numbers significantly. Even if you never plug it in, the hybrid gets 30 MPG for city/highway combined driving since regenerative braking charges the battery somewhat, even without a power source. Charge it up—either at a public station or at home—and you can unlock its extremely efficient 82 MPGe (miles per gallon equivalent).
If you need to leave the house quietly in the early morning or want to come home after a date night without waking the kids, you can use the 32 miles of all-electric range to get around quietly and with zero emissions. With both a full tank of gas and a fully charged battery, the hybrid has a 550-mile range, even though its fuel tank is a few gallons smaller than the one on the traditional plug-in model.
Trim Levels
The Pacifica is available in four different trim levels. The base Touring trim comes standard with a solid array of safety features and the same 10.1-inch touchscreen you’ll find in higher trims. While it doesn’t have all of the luxuries of the top-of-the-line Pacifica trims, it does include standard heated front seats. This trim is the most affordable in the lineup and is only available with the non-hybrid powertrain and FWD.
The Touring L trim has standard upgrades like Caprice Leatherette seating, and all trims at this level and up give you the option to upgrade to either the plug-in hybrid powertrain or AWD. The Limited trim provides premium quilted Nappa leather-trimmed seats and tech upgrades like a standard wireless phone charger. The top-tier Pinnacle adds even more style, luxury, and tech features so the driver and all passengers can ride comfortably no matter how long the trip.
Cargo Space
Minivans generally are great for bringing cargo along for the ride, but the Pacifica has a few tricks up its sleeve that make it stand out in its class. In some minivans, removing second-row seats to make room for bulky cargo means taking them all the way out of the vehicle and finding space for them in the garage.
The Pacifica offers a “Stow ’n Go” system that lets all rows of seating fold into the floor, and these gaps in the floor can be used for storage when the seats are in use. On the hybrid, this system is only available for the third-row seats because of the positioning of the battery pack under the second row. For cargo that leaves a mess behind, there’s an available Stow ’n Vac that integrates a vacuum into the cabin for easy cleaning.
Cabin Tech
The Pacifica has tech for the whole family, from systems that keep parents informed to ones that keep kids occupied. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity come standard across the trim lineup, so you can use your phone to play music, listen to audiobooks, get navigation, make calls, and more through the vehicle’s interface.
A SiriusXM subscription is available for those who want more options that don’t rely on having a phone present. An available 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot lets kids in the backseat use laptops and other portable devices to get schoolwork done or watch movies and also enables the use of available features like Alexa Built-In, a voice-activated digital assistant.
While many tech features are useful for all kinds of drivers, some are specifically designed with parents in mind. An available rear-seat entertainment system mounts a pair of screens on the backs of the front-seat headrests, allowing kids in the back to use built-in Amazon Fire TV to either stream or download videos and play games. The screens can be synced up or used individually with headphones.
A parent’s future favorite, the FamCam feature lets you use the touchscreen to keep an eye on kids in the rear seats, so you don’t have to rely on the metaphorical eyes on the back of your head. There are also available features to help parents with their hands literally full, like a hands-free power liftgate and hands-free sliding doors.
Safety Tech
Staying safe on the road is important for everyone, but parents are especially aware of safety concerns. The 2024 Pacifica has a five-star overall safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and has been named a Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Coming standard across all trims are driver assistance features designed to increase awareness and reaction time; these include Forward Collision Warning, Automatic Emergency Braking, Pedestrian Automatic Emergency Braking, Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop and Go, Lane Departure Warning, Lane Keep Assist, Blind Spot Monitoring System, Rear Park Assist, and Rear Cross-Traffic Alert.
A Well-Rounded Family Van
Overall, the Pacifica is a well-rounded option for families who don’t want to be limited by size constraints. With a wide array of family-friendly tech and design choices, it’s easy to see why US News & World Report named the Pacifica the Best Minivan for Families in 2024 and why it’s won over 175 honors and accolades over the past seven years.
While there’s still room for improvement (such as how it would be nice if AWD or second-row Stow ’n Go seats were available on the plug-in hybrid variants), the Pacifica is a well-thought-out model in a segment that many automakers are ignoring completely, and many of its family-friendly features can’t be found in any other model anywhere.
