2021 CHRYSLER PACIFICA HYBRID
By Greg Zyla
More Content Now
Entry price: Price as tested:
T$35,195 $52,340
his week, we’re driving Chrysler’s 2021 Pacifica, restyled for the current year and still offering the luxurious amenities and passenger room one expects from the originator of the minivan.
New for 2021 is Pacifica’s exterior styling, starting with the grille and leading all the way back to the rear lift gate. It’s a sleeker look that is well done without dating the previous year Pacifica looks. The generous seven-passenger cabin finds an upgraded 10.1-inch infotainment display, Amazon Alexa, a dozen USB ports and standard safety upgrades to include automated emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane-departure warning, blind-spot monitoring and adaptive cruise control.
Our tester is the new Pinnacle model, the top line Pacifica available in either gas engine only or hybrid form. Pacifica is a direct descendant of the famous Chrysler family of Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager minivans that debuted in September 1983 as 1984 models. As mentioned in past Chrysler minivan columns, it was the perfect timing of then Chrysler Chairman Lee
New looks, interior room, great economy, legend.
LIKES:
No hybrid AWD, lacks acceleration from 50 to 70 mph, not much else.
DISLIKES:
Iacocca that led to minivan success. As baby boomers evolved into growing families, there, in the many Chrysler dealerships across the U.S. and Canada, sat the new Dodge and Plymouth minivans just waiting to be gobbled up. Chrysler sold some 200,000 1984 minivans those first 16 months and through seven generations grew the wheelbase to over 120 inches from its 112-inch debut models.
Pacifica has come full circle as one of true minivans available that enjoys renewed interest from a millennial generation addicted to smaller and midsized SUVS. Now seeking more room than the SUV offers, the modern day family with two or three children is finding today’s minivan is a much better alternative than most of the three-row SUVS, especially when it comes to cargo space once the seats are all filled.
Most notable is that Pacifica is the only full-size hybrid minivan on the market and best of all, three people can indeed fit in the third row with lots of room for luggage behind.
There are numerous hybrid
and non-hybrid Pacificas available, with gasoline only models starting at $35,195 and then up through seven other hybrid and gas models to end at top line Pinnacle. These fully loaded Pacificas are $50,845 for the hybrid and $53,390 for the AWD gas powered Pinnacle. The hybrid starts at $39,995 in Touring trim, then moves up the hybrid ladder to Hybrid Touring L at $42,295; Hybrid Limited at $45,620 and then to our aforementioned Pinnacle tester. This year, Pacifica offers AWD on all four of its gas models for $2,995 more on Touring and Touring L, while AWD is standard on Limited and Pinnacle. Currently, AWD is unavailable on the Hybrid Pacifica.
The one big drivetrain difference between the gas-powered Pacifica and a Hybrid model is the transmission. Hybrids rely on what Chrysler calls an “Eflite SI-EVT” automatic, which is Chrysler slang for what we call a continuously variable transmission (CVT). The gas-powered models rely on a ninespeed automatic transmission, while both couple to Chrysler’s proven 3.6-liter Pentastar V6. In hybrid dress, it produces 260 horsepower thanks to an ehybrid Atkinson Cycle addition including two electric motors and a large battery-pack assist that delivers great fuel mileage numbers.
Speaking of good fuel mileage, Pacifica Hybrid delivers EPA numbers of up to 82 MPG on full charge and a driving range of 32 full-electric miles while the overall gas/electric driving range with a full tank of gas is 520 miles total range and 30 MPG average.
The gas-only engine has a 19 city and 28 highway EPA estimate.