2021 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid Review

It's no secret that minivans are frowned upon by most people. Ever since the rise of the SUV market starting in the mid-1990s, minivans and wagons have been kicked to the curb like Kid Rock albums rejected by the CD Exchange. (Do you remember any of what I just said? No? All right, then.) To this day, minivans are mostly for school pick-up lines, but that's not to say they aren't mighty practical vehicles for lots of different people. And in the case of the 2021 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, you get a surprising amount of style and fuel-efficiency, too.

I recently drove Chrysler's latest and most advanced minivan (although not its fanciest and most expensive that's the non-hybrid Pinnacle trim) but my time was sort of cut short due to a heavy snowstorm that brought most of the midwest to a standstill for several days. And since both my wife and I work from home and our only ventures into the real world are for driving our kid to school, the Pacifica was forced to sit out a few days buried in fresh powder. Despite my relatively brief experience with it, the Pacifica reminded me of my teenage years commuting in my stepmom's Honda Odyssey, which served as a school bus, marching band bus, and even makeshift pickup truck when large items needed to be hauled to or from the house. Now in my mid-30s with a family of my own, I used the Pacifica to transport my two big-ass dogs to the park, take some extra-large boxes to the city dumpster, and quite unexpectedly, ford through a foot of snow courtesy of Indianapolis's unplowed roads. It turns out you don't need an SUV to do all that, despite what the car commercials would have you believe.

    Base Price (As Tested): $45,845 ($49,835)
    Powertrain: 3.6-liter V6 with two electric motors and a lithium-ion battery with 16kWh of total energy | electronically variable transmission | front-wheel drive
    Horsepower: 260 combined horsepower
    Electric Range: 30 miles
    EPA Fuel Economy: 35 mpg combined gasoline only | 82 mpge combined electricity + gasoline
    Curb Weight: 5,010 pounds
    Seating Capacity: 7
    Maximum Towing Capacity: "not recommended"
    Cargo Space: 32.3 cubic feet (87.5 with third row folded, and 140.5 with both rows folded)
    The Premise: A modern minivan that's enjoyable during daily commutes and long road trips alike.
    Quick Take: The Pacifica hasn't changed much since its revival a couple of years ago, but Chrysler's updates for 2021 make it better than ever.

Unlike SUVs and crossovers, minivans have never really suffered from an identity crisis, and that holds true to this day. The recipe is simple: a spacious interior, sliding doors, folding seats, and lots of cupholders. Perhaps the closest the minivan's been to undergoing a revolution is the standardization of techy features like power outlets, screens, vacuums, glass roofs, and other gadgetry to make parents' lives more bearable on the road. And of course, the plug-in hybrid Pacifica doesn't cut corners with any of these.

The Chrysler brand these days is just the aging 300 (yes, they still make that), the Pacifica minivan and its downscale brother, now called the Chrysler Voyager. That's admittedly strange, but the truth is the Pacifica is an unusual and unexpected brand flagship—still a car that does certain things better than just about anything else.