This is the Chrysler Pacifica. Or, the MiniVan of Dreams. It’s a four-door van with several forward-thinking features. It’s got a power-lift gate. Normal windows for the rear passengers to roll down. A center console between the backseats. About a hundred different seat configurations (some up, some down, some hidden or taken out), and a multi-media mavens dream.
Featuring the UConnect, it allows you to speak commands to the car without taking your hands or eyes off the wheel/road. It sounds fantastic, but I never got it to work (although, I barely gave it the college try, and didn’t read the manual… But I stick by my guns that I shouldn’t have had to.). Did I mention forward-thinking features? Well, it also has the most backwards thinking feature I’ve seen in a long time. Instead of putting the navigation and rear-camera display in the center dash like everyone else in the world, they put it inside the instrument cluster. This makes it almost impossible to look at while backing up (when you’d actually need to use a rear-mounted camera), and extra impossible to use when you’re turning the car while backing up, as your arms and hands and steering wheel all server as obstacles to look past. If you’re going to go through the trouble of putting in these features (camera and nav), please put them somewhere where I can see them, and my passengers can view them. It’s great to have my co-pilot watching the navigation and telling me what to expect, but when it’s out of their view, and ultimately, out of mine, it’s worthless.
By the way, that photo above? DEFINITELY a ’simulation.’ The video doesn’t look anywhere near that clean.
Another thing that’s kind of weird, is that the on the door are the seat adjustment tools. It’s odd because you only really mess with your seats once in a while, but there they are, in a prime location, and not an aesthetic location. I can see this is definitely a carry-over from Mercedes-Benz, but it seems that MB somehow places this more elegantly.
When it comes to Multi-Media, this car is one of the most loaded I’ve ever encountered. It had DVD players in the back, as well as two sets of cable hookups in the dash. Red, White, and Yellow, there they were. Right in the dash, looking kind of awkward and unattractive. With everything else they’ve thought of, I’m surprised they don’t find better locations for some of these things. Maybe put them where the wires won’t dangle all over the car and make it an annoying rat’s nest throughout the cockpit. Just my opinion. (did I mention there were TWO sets of plugins?)
In the end, it was a very comfortable ride and could very easily do what it was meant to do: move lots of people all the time, with features that make that easier. Driving it was effortless with just enough power to get you where you needed, but not drink unnecessary gas. It was quiet, letting you focus on the kids or grandparents behind you, and whatever trouble they were causing. it was easy to get in and out of, even for a few older adults climbing into the very back seats. And it had nice comfortable seats for everyone. Take away the horrible decisions made on the navigation and backup camera, and you have yourself a very nice not-a-minivan. 3.5 stars.
