The new 2017 Chrysler Pacifica has been revealed and is in its first stage of production. This will be the new minivan from Chrysler that takes the place of the outgoing Town & Country to be a minivan we can all admire and enjoy. This is a vehicle that has been shown to have the most technological advancements of any minivan and shows us what an updated and modern look should be. In many aspects this vehicle is boasting class leading ratings for many aspects of the vehicle but it does fall slightly short on one very important feature.
When it comes to the fuel mileage ratings the Pacifica will be only slightly short of the leader in the class which is the Honda Odyssey. The way these two vans are close in this category is uncanny as the 28 mpg on the highway and 22 mpg combined rating match that of the Honda model but the city mpg is only 1 mpg short of the Honda as it comes in at 18 mpg in the city. Even though the Pacifica won’t be able to boast the best numbers in the class the results are a huge improvement over the 17 city/25 hwy and 20 combined numbers that we find in the outgoing Town & Country model.
This new and better fuel mileage result is gained through the use of a sleeker aerodynamic profile, an improved 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 engine the replacement of the six-speed automatic transmission with a nine-speed version that makes for much smoother shifting of the vehicle. These features make for a van that is much more efficient than the older models from Chrysler to be exactly what the Pacifica should be and what the families who will be buying this van will want from their new minivan.
The overall efficiency rating will eventually go to the Pacifica as the plug-in hybrid version has already been announced even though the EPA numbers haven’t been released as of yet. This version of the van will make use of a 3.6-liter V6 engine that is combined with a 16 kWh battery pack and two electric motors to allow 80 MPGe in the city and a full 30 miles of EV driving on a full charge. This will force other manufacturers to work toward bringing hybrid technology to a segment they thought might eventually go away completely.
What we expect to see are others create their own hybrid models, but the Odyssey isn’t even as efficient as it will be when the nine-speed automatic is added later this year. This will make for an interesting comparison when put up against the Pacifica once the Odyssey has a matching transmission. Until that time we can enjoy the fact the Chrysler Pacifica seems to be taking the world by storm and is a minivan that more families will want to enjoy in the future as it carries on the grand tradition of Chrysler to be a leader in the minivan segment of the automotive world.
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