The Car Connection Expert Review
Likes
- Astounding practicality
- Exceptionally comfortable
- Stow ‘n Go seats
- Loaded interior
- Hybrid option
Dislikes
- No AWD with hybrid
- No Stow ‘n Go with hybrid
- Can be loud in back
- Gets expensive
Buying tip
features & specs
The 2023 Chrysler Pacifica stays ahead of the minivan competition, but its high prices can make shoppers head in another direction.
What kind of vehicle is the 2023 Chrysler Pacifica? What does it compare to?
The Chrysler Pacifica minivan seats seven or eight passengers in comfort and relative style. It rates higher than family haulers such as the Toyota Sienna, Honda Pilot, and Kia Carnival.
Is the 2023 Chrysler Pacifica a good car?
The Pacifica is a perennial TCC Best Minivan To Buy winner for its flexible and roomy interior, its good road manners, and its front- or all-wheel-drive options. The choice between a solid V-6 and a V-6 plug-in hybrid that can handle most daily minivan duties on electricity alone sweetens the pot even more. It earns a TCC Rating of 7.0 out of 10. (Read more about how we rate cars.)
What's new for the 2023 Chrysler Pacifica?
Chrysler tapped social media to name the Pacifica Road Tripper model based on the Touring L gas and hybrid models. It includes a roof rack, orange accents inside and out, and a trailer tow package with a capacity to lug around 3,600 pounds of additional weight on the gas Road Tripper.
Otherwise the Pacifica carries on with a winning formula of flexibility, versatility, comfort, and utility. From the sliding doors forward, it could pass for a crossover SUV, but the bulbous back end gives it away that it’s meant for family duty. Inside, a 10.1-inch touchscreen centers the dash, and large dials and buttons keep the functionality easy amid refined leather surfaces on most grades. It’s nice enough to not feel like a sacrifice and durable enough to not feel like a risk around kids.
Chrysler offers the Pacifica in three choices: a plug-in hybrid with front-wheel-drive only, or as a V-6 that can be paired with front-wheel or all-wheel drive. The 3.6-liter V-6 pairs with a 9-speed automatic transmission that can be inconsistent in low gears, yet there’s enough power to make most passing moves with confidence. The Hybrid is smoother, and uses a detuned version of the V-6 with two motors and a battery pack for seamless power delivery and an electric range of 32 miles—enough to satisfy most daily errands without using gas.
The Pacifica can’t be matched when it comes to interior spaciousness and flexibility. With seats for up to eight passengers, including room enough for six adults, the minivan makes good on its promise to move people in comfort, or the third row folds into the cargo hold and the second-row seats also collapse into the floor on non-hybrid models to turn the refined family hauler into a work van capable of hauling sheets of plywood or drywall.
The Pacifica earned top marks in crash testing by the IIHS and the NHTSA, and it avoids collisions as well. Standard driver-assist features range from automatic emergency braking to adaptive cruise control.
How much does the 2023 Chrysler Pacifica cost?
The base Pacifica Touring with front-wheel drive costs about $38,700, including a what-the-truck destination fee of $1,595. All-wheel drive can be added to the Touring L, Limited, and Pinnacle grades for $2,795 ($2,995 on Touring L).
The front-wheel-drive only Pacifica Hybrid Touring L starts at $50,595, and the loaded Hybrid Pinnacle tops the lineup at just under $60,000. It’s expensive, but Chrysler makes it worth it, as no other minivan and few family SUVs can match the level of luxury.
Where is the 2023 Chrysler Pacifica made?
It’s made across the Detroit River in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
2023 Chrysler Pacifica Styling
Accepting that smart is sexy, the 2023 Chrysler Pacifica is a pinup minivan.
Is the 2023 Chrysler Pacifica a good-looking car?
Haters mock minivans for their sliding doors and their mom jeans, but the front half of the Pacifica looks as stylish as so many other three-row crossovers that can only pretend to be as smart as the minivan. Now that Chrysler offers an adventuring Road Tripper with larger 20-inch wheels and a roof rack, it further blurs the distinction between crossover and minivan. The Pacifica earns a point inside and out for owning it. It’s a 7.
Standard LED headlights flank a demure grille underscored by fog lights, and the chrome surrounds on all of the bits lend it a refined air. Recessed rockers bisected by chrome define the sides as much as the sliding doors, and it bottoms out at the rear in that telltale minivan way that optimizes cargo and smarts.
Inside, the cockpit flexes its Chrysler wings across a long, chunky dash with easy to reach controls and dials. A gear selector in the center stack opens up the two-tiered console for tons of secondary storage for handbags, devices, Hydroflasks, and all the rest. Different trims flash various cross-stitching and shades of leather.
2023 Chrysler Pacifica Performance
The 2023 Pacifica puts a little sport in how the minivan handles.
The 2023 Pacifica employs a capable V-6 that accommodates most passing and merge moves, while the plug-in hybrid is the ideal errand-getter because one of those errands will not be stopping for gas. The spunky powertrain and composed ride earn it a point each to a 7.
Is the Chrysler Pacifica 4WD?
The base Touring and all of the plug-in hybrid models can only be had with front-wheel drive. All-wheel drive is a $2,795-$2,995 option with the V-6. It can disconnect from the rear axle in dry conditions to save fuel, and the driver won’t have to do anything to make the magic happen.
How fast is the Chrysler Pacifica?
The 3.6-liter V-6 makes 287 hp and 262 lb-ft of torque, and the 9-speed automatic transmission sends power to the front of all wheels. The transmission can hiccup under light throttle in low gears, as if it prefers a heavier, most consistent push. Still, it hustles to 60 mph in less than eight seconds, and the steering heft and balance weight make for a mostly composed ride. It can push coming in hard to turns, and lean once the turn begins, but that could be said of most three-row vehicles.
Pacifica Hybrid performance
The Pacifica Hybrid uses two motors and a 16-kwh battery pack to supplement power to the detuned V-6, conspiring to make up to 260 hp. Under light throttle, it can be powered by electricity alone, and once the engine kicks on the pairing is seamless. It has a 32-mile range, and when the juice runs out it’s still rated at 30 mpg combined on gas only. It’s tuned more for efficiency than power, and with a curb weight of 5,010 pounds, which is about 500 pounds heavier than the FWD V-6, it’s not as spry but it smothers out road surfaces better. It’s also quieter.
2023 Chrysler Pacifica Comfort & Quality
The 2023 Chrysler Pacifica optimizes space better than any other family vehicle.
With second- and third-row seats that stow flat into the floor, the Chrysler Pacifica makes life easier. That’s a win for everyone. The Pacifica’s cavernous, clever interior, large cargo hold, and room for the extended family earn it a 9 out of 10.
The Pacifica can seat up to eight passengers, but the front seats have the most comfort and standard seat heaters.
The second row of most Pacificas feature Chrysler’s trademarked Stow ‘n Go seats that collapse into the floor to turn the family hauler into a weekend work van that can haul standard sheets of plywood or nearly 141 cubic feet of cargo total. The Hybrid and top Pinnacle trim use captain’s chairs that don’t stow into the floor. On all models, the third-row bench seat splits 60/40 to collapse into the rear floor.
The third row is easy to access and offers more supportive seating than other vans. With all seats up, the Pacifica holds 32.3 cubic feet of cargo, which far exceeds that of three-row SUVs.
All Pacificas are nicely equipped, with Limited and Pinnacle versions going a step farther with soft nappa leather. Pinnacles even include little pillows for middle-row riders.
2023 Chrysler Pacifica Safety
The 2023 Pacifica aces crash tests.
How safe is the Chrysler Pacifica?
The 2023 Chrysler Pacifica earned a five-star NHTSA crash rating and a Top Safety Pick+ from the IIHS. Loaded with standard driver-assist tech, the Pacifica does its best to avoid crashes as well. Surround-view camera system and automatic parking are among the options that help it earn another point to a 9.
Standard safety tech includes automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, active lane control, blind-spot monitors, adaptive cruise control, and a rear-seat reminder.
2023 Chrysler Pacifica Features
The 2023 Chrysler Pacifica can be basic or luxurious, depending on what you want to pay.
Good standard features, a long list of options, and an intuitive infotainment system each earn the 2023 Chrysler Pacifica a point. Its 3-year/36,000-mile warranty is just average. The Pacifica Hybrid’s 5-year/60,000-mile warranty would earn a point here, however, and the battery is covered for at least 10 years or 100,000 miles.
Which Chrysler Pacifica should I buy?
Ranging from under $40,000 to about $60,000, it’s hard to call the Chrysler Pacifica a value, but you get what you pay for.
The base Touring comes with heated front seats and a heated steering wheel, remote start, a power driver seat, satellite radio, and 10.1-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
That’s a good get, but if you need all-wheel drive, then the cheapest model is the Touring L for about $46,000. A similarly equipped Pacifica Hybrid costs about $7,000 more.
The $51,000 Limited adds a sunroof, leather upholstery, a power folding third row, and an integrated vacuum. The Limited Hybrid is about $5,000 more, and on the Pinnacle it’s only $4,000 more.
How much is a fully loaded 2023 Chrysler Pacifica?
The range-topping Pinnacle Hybrid comes in just under $60,000 and Pinnacle models have a rear-seat entertainment system with twin 10.1-inch touchscreens in the seatbacks, nappa leather upholstery with throw pillows, a surround-view camera system, and park assist.
2023 Chrysler Pacifica Fuel Economy
The 2023 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid offers up to 32 miles of emissions-free commuting.
Is the 2023 Chrysler Pacifica good on gas?
The front-wheel-drive Pacifica with the V-6 has an EPA rating of 19 mpg city, 28 highway, 22 combined, and all-wheel-drive versions dip to 17/25/20 mpg, which is in the range of three-row SUVs. Despite all the strengths of the Hybrid, non-Hybrid models remain more popular, and based on that it’s only a 2 here.
The EPA estimates the plug-in hybrid saves $5,000 in fuel costs over five years, and the more local trips driven on electricity alone, the greater the savings, subject to your local utility cost. It goes up to 32 miles on electricity alone, and when the juice runs out, it has an impressive 30 mpg combined rating on gas. The Toyota Sienna offers better combined fuel economy, but it doesn’t have any electric-only ability for longer distances.
