Chrysler Pacifica PHEV Gets The Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval

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It seems like every week, I’m seeing a publication I didn’t expect start writing about electric vehicles. I had no idea that Good Housekeeping even had a Best Hybrid Minivan Award, but that’s exactly what just happened for the Pacifica PHEV.

How They Decided

“We are looking for vehicles that drive well and make the driving experience as awesome as possible for everyone in the car, no matter where you are seated!” Good Housekeeping‘s website says. “That means ample space for legs in all rows, good cargo space, easily accessible charging ports, clever storage solutions, comfy and roomy seating, and easy to access LATCH systems for car seat install.”

They go on to say that they work with colleagues at Car and Driver (owned by the same parent company) to narrow their lists down, so it’s not just a car test for wives and moms. They’re getting a fairly broad perspective, in other words, but prioritizing their reader base a bit. Sounds pretty legitimate!

Their Best Hybrids for 2021 article doesn’t list runners-up, but there’s only one other hybrid minivan out there right now: the Toyota Sienna. It’s not a PHEV, but it is a hybrid, which means it has no electric range nor does it plug in. From a cleantech perspective, the choice is pretty obvious, but given all of the different things that Good Housekeeping considers (and probably prioritizes over the clean technology, like many prospective buyers), it’s good to see that the PHEV managed to still win.

On the Good Housekeeping website, it lists the things they liked. It was mostly interior features and roominess that won them over. Good room, electronics, driver assistance tech, storage compartments, and other family-friendly features were the big factors. Like me, they weren’t that impressed with the acceleration and they also wished the interior was slightly better.

“The Chrysler brand continues to set the pace for the minivan segment with the new 2021 Chrysler Pacifica,” Stellantis said in the press release.

“The first-ever minivan to offer both gas and hybrid powertrains, Chrysler is elevating its minivan game to new levels, creating a new top-of-the-line Pinnacle model in the segment, offering AWD capability paired with Pacifica’s class-exclusive Stow ‘n Go seating, more standard safety features than any vehicle in the industry, new FamCAM interior camera, wireless charging, next-generation Uconnect 5 connectivity, an athletic new look and loads more creature comforts and interior storage for the 2021 model year. The Pacifica Hybrid delivers more than 80 miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe) in electric-only mode, an all-electric range of more than 30 miles and a total range of more than 500 miles.”

What Features Does The Chrysler Pacifica PHEV Have?

I’ve done some limited testing of the Pacifica PHEV. My mom was looking for a new minivan and really liked the Chryslers, and I was thinking of getting something with some electric range that could fit the whole family. When you have 4 kids, choices are a bit limited, and the much more expensive Tesla Model X was way out of my price range.

Neither of us ended up getting one, but I was fairly impressed with it.

For one, it was a typical minivan. Lots of room for people, pets, and cargo was standard, as you’d expect in a minivan. The seating arrangements were very flexible, and most of it could fold flat to allow for some good cargo volume. Unlike the gas version, it didn’t have the space below the floor for the middle row of seats to fold into (or for cargo if you don’t need seats folded down). That’s where the battery for the plugin hybrid system goes. Given the advantages, I’d make that trade, but my mom wasn’t nearly as happy about the lack of foldaway storage.

Unlike the Chevy Volt, the Pacifica Hybrid’s electric range can get a noisy interruption if you push the go pedal to the floor. When you do that, the V6 engine barks to life to give you more power to get out of a sticky situation because the electric motor is fairly wimpy by EV standards. If you take it easy, though, you can get through the whole electric range without burning any fuel. 20 miles of range seemed fairly achievable, and they’ve improved it since 2019.

I can see why it won. Sure, Toyota makes reliable vehicles, but Chrysler is actually doing a really good job in the minivan segment. Even after years, it is still selling the only plugin-hybrid minivan available for sale. This tells us that the Pacifica Hybrid was probably ahead of its time, but the competition is also behind.

Still The Only Girl In Town

We see a lot of press releases and don’t write a story about them all, but it’s notable that the Pacifica Hybrid is still not only at the top of the clean minivan game, but is basically the only van that’s really even playing. And this is after years on the market.

In some ways, it’s baffling that nobody else did a hybrid minivan at all for years, and even when they got around to it, they didn’t make it a plugin hybrid. Some of this may fall on the shoulders of minivan buyers, who tend to prioritize something other than the drivetrain when they buy one. They’re supposed to be cheap people movers for families, and the additional pricetag is harder for a big family to afford, so there may be some price sensitivity that other parts of the vehicle market don’t struggle with as much.

At the same time, though, we really should be seeing the other manufacturers step up in this segment more. There are only two models offered with a hybrid of any kind, which is strange by itself and there are no EVs at all in the segment. Given that larger families with less disposable income tend to buy minivans, I get why an expensive EV hasn’t been done yet, but the lack of hybrids and plugin-hybrids doesn’t make that much sense for the last few years.

On the other hand, battery prices are falling and it won’t be that long before it’s possible to build an electric minivan that is price competitive with gas-powered ones. That’s probably when we’ll see some serious change in the segment.

Source and images: Chrysler/Stellantis Press Release