Thanks for sharing your point of view on this. Did you notice any difference in the size of the opening on the sliding door on your van vs the Ody? I read somewhere that the Ody has the widest opening for the sliding doors.

 

If it is bigger, I didn't notice. We're probably splitting hair though because I can't imagine it is that much bigger to make any difference.

 

I haven't seen the '18 Ody, but when comparing the '17 Ody to the Pacifica, the door opening seemed about the same. The Sienna's opening seemed a bit larger. Also, both the '17 Ody and the Sienna had more cargo space behind the 3rd row than the Pacifica, although the ~15% difference would not be enough to swing a buying decision for most people. The 17' Odyssey had a significantly longer passenger area than either the Pacifica or Sienna, with A LOT more combined legroom in the 2nd and 3rd rows, about 8" more if I remember right. The specs on the '18 Ody indicate it has about 4" less combined legroom than the '17, but that's still more rear legroom than the Pacifica.

 

I just couldn't get over the ugly random creases on the side body. As well as the droopy but and nonsensical floating C pillar. Like Honda went out of their way to come up with the ugliest add ons. This is a family car, they should have gone conservative. Terrible. Plus it seemed like they were resting on their reputation not really innovating. The super lame Cabin Watch. Really? And the app where you can set the rear a/c temp? lol. I'm glad they did, as it made me look at the Pac and have been satisfied so far. Love the technology, love the styling, love the quiet European drive.

 

I didn't care for the styling of the previous generation either, the rear end looked like it was from a different vehicle. They cleaned that up a bit with the new model, but then went backwards with the creased sides. I'm also not a fan of the new dash and instrument cluster. I would love to have those magic slide seats though.

 

Odyssey or Pacifica .... ???

I'm still debating between the Elite and the Limited with advanced safety tech since they appear to be almost matched in price and features.
However my concerns with the Pacifica are.

1) Seats are not as comfy as the Odyssey, they are thinner, (but the second time I tested them they seemed fine).
2) If there are two child seats in the rear, third passenger cannot sit there (since one of the car seat anchors is located more central than at side). It is a problem for me since I routinely will have seven passengers (kids ages 5,2, and newborn)
3) Seatback video monitors only on the second row is a set up for frustration and drama in the car. I understand that a kid in third row can watch the opposite side screen, but he/she would not tolerate the other kid having the ability to operate the touch screen ...>. Simply put I prefer the ceiling mounted video screen.
4) cabin watch is nice option to keep an eye on our newborn.

The positives for Pacifica which I noted are

1) More technology and custom options than Odyssey. (360 deg camera, stop / go ACC, self park, etc)
2) Generally better looking (for me)
3) Ride is marginally better, seems to have more power and handles better while turning corners.
4) Overall better build quality than the Odyssey (doors having a European thud on closing..., ) steering wheel is nicer to hold, dash is plush and upscale (where as Honda is rubber with fake stitches) I also like the instrument panel look in the Odyssey though but Pacifica's is simply better. The Key seems to have better quality than the Odyssey.

Positives for Odyssey
1) All LED headlights
2) Better resale value
3) More reliable in long term...???

Someone please help me out. After two test drives of Pacifica and one for the Odyssey, I'm still at square one. My heart says Pacifica:x and brain says Odyssey:nerd:. It's killing me. :frown2:

 

3) Seatback video monitors only on the second row is a set up for frustration and drama in the car. I understand that a kid in third row can watch the opposite side screen, but he/she would not tolerate the other kid having the ability to operate the touch screen ...>. Simply put I prefer the ceiling mounted video screen.

The rental touring-L had the overhead DVD entertainment system. We did not use it since my kids are in rear facing car seats.

I'm not sure but you might be able to get an 8 passenger Limited without the seat back theater option and get the overhead DVD system. When I was shopping for my van, a limited 8 seater without uconnect theater was less $1k more than the L-plus I eventually bought. I actually preferred the limited since the uconnect theater is not useful to me but that dealer did not want to negotiate and I got a better deal on the L-plus.

Also, it is likely you'll get a better deal on the Pacifica than on the Odyssey. You can see posts in the dealers and purchasing forum about $10K off MSRP.

 

Don't know why people are so focused on LED headlights. Its great as Fogs but Headlights personally I prefer my HIDs for lowbeam headlamps. Now if I want to match the color of my fogs and LED strip I'd just go 5000k vs 4300k stock which at this points doesn't bother me one bit. High beams I would go LED instead of HID tho..

ESS, I prefer not to have it. When I had a few rentals with it, I didn't care for it, thought as the vehicle aged, might have more issues than I would want and just don't like the start and stop noise so frequently in start and stop traffic.

Regardless of my recent issues I've had, I still love my Pacifica over the Sienna/Odyssey and the Sedona.

 

We went to the Twin Cities Auto Show in march and compared the top-of-the-line vans from Chrysler, Honda, Toyota, and Kia. In our humble opinions, it wasn't even close, and that's why we own a Pacifica.

For starters we really want Stow n Go and although it's not a 100% deal breaker it's pretty close. We've had it for 10 years now with our (now former) Grand Caravan.

Beyond that.

- Honda was pretty good. But it's not as sleek as the Pac, inside, and especially outside. It looks and feels like a minivan, whereas the Pac looks modern. Pac has more conveniences, and nice touches like LED interior lighting too.

- Sienna I wasn't impressed with at all... very very dated, like buying a 5 year old van. 'Nuff said.

- Kia was OK, but I kind of expect a discount for buying Kia and it still stickered at $42K+ for the trim line they were showing... if I'm paying that I'm going to buy one of the others instead. I'm also not sure Kia allows a 4x8 sheet of plywood to be stored, and in any case it would be inconvenient without stow&go

- Pacifica we were very impressed with. Everything sleek and modern. Better stow & go than our GC, easier to stow the 2nd row and powered 3rd row. Looks less like a minivan (I've gotten many compliments over it since purchasing it, plus people wanting to know more about it) .State of the art features like ESS, ventilated seats, the rear seat entertainment screens, etc.

Like I said not even a choice for us... probably the first time in my life where I set out to buy a specific vehicle and didn't even get bids on the competition.

-Tim

 

I was lucky to get a Pacifica touring-L as a rental for this weekend. I'm planning to do a long trip to see how it holds up with the kids. It's the awesome velvet red color and my wife liked the color (for starters)... that's a good sign. LoL.
I find that it has some road noise though (mild), it wasn't apparent when I tested the limited model earlier. Is there a difference in sound proofing between the trim levels?
Also the difference in center console, dash and steering wheel is too obvious from the limited version.
Initially I was concerned about fitting two child seats in the third row due to limited space for third person, but I improvised by hooking both ends of one child seat latch to a single hook. This being a rental, only seven seat option was available and we are seven already.
I also liked the beige / coffee interiors. Hopefully I'll develop a positive impression by this weekend. Wish me well.

 

I find that it has some road noise though (mild), it wasn't apparent when I tested the limited model earlier. Is there a difference in sound proofing between the trim levels?
Also the difference in center console, dash and steering wheel is too obvious from the limited version.
Initially I was concerned about fitting two child seats in the third row due to limited space for third person, but I improvised by hooking both ends of one child seat latch to a single hook. This being a rental, only seven seat option was available and we are seven already.
I also liked the beige / coffee interiors. Hopefully I'll develop a positive impression by this weekend. Wish me well.

I had a rental Touring-L and own a Touring-L plus.
I noticed that the Touring-L may be louder as well. According to the detailed specs here, the Touring-L plus and above have an acoustic windshield while the L does not.

Another option is to install the car seats with the belt instead of LATCH. I did this with my Diono's because they are heavy and the LATCH installation has a lower combined child+car seat weight limit.

 

Also do you have the 18 inch wheel option on your rental? If you have the standard 17's, they won't be the quieter Michelin tires that go on the 18's.

 

That could also explain the noise difference I thought I noticed. I have 18inch wheels with Michelin Premiers on my Touring-L plus. The rental Touring-L had 17inch wheels with Yokohama Avid S33 (not sure about the exact model).

 

I think the rental car had 18" wheels, but I'm not positive though (picture on post #10).
As I understand the 8 seater comes with 20" wheels which are not Michelin premiers..correct? Is there any other option there because I would like the 8 seater.
We had a nice drive (actually a blast..). I'm loving it even more now. My wife feels more positive towards the Pacifica now as well. The one feature that she didn't like was the inability to move second seat forwards to have more space in the third row (even though it was acceptable). I loved the easy tilt mechanism for the seats. We didn't use the stow and go since we needed all seven seats and the center area was free anyway.
@ Cyph: I know about the good price discounts for Pacifica and that could be a real swaying factor one way or the other now. I'm unsure if our dealer would match those discounts, but I could get it from farther away as well. I also understand that as Odyssey inventories build they may be more open to discounts (but less likely). Will probably do one more test of the Odyssey before we make a decision.
If I could summarize my weekend experience in one sentence; this was the first time I was proud to drive and park a minivan in the midst of a crowd of SUVs and cars. It felt like landing a spaceship on a planet. I never felt like this with the Dodges and older chrysler rentals.

 

I think the rental car had 18" wheels, but I'm not positive though (picture on post #10).
As I understand the 8 seater comes with 20" wheels which are not Michelin premiers..correct? Is there any other option there because I would like the 8 seater.

Those look like the upgraded wheels. So it should be the 18" and not the 17" standard wheels.

 

Hey Bond, I agree it would have been nice to be able to slide the 2nd row seats a bit, but have you considered the difference in feet room? What I mean is, how much space there is for feet. With the Pacifica's 2nd row outboard seats, there is nothing underneath towards the rear of the seats, so there's plenty of space to extend your feet. I would think that the sliding track on the Odyssey would take up that foot space, but I have yet to actually see a 2018 Ody to actually check it. If your 3rd row passenger's knees have enough space in both vehicles, wouldn't they have more feet space in the Pac?

 

Decision made...!!!



Okay ...So today wifey tells me she wants to check out the Odyssey. Off we went to a dealer who had the new green color in Touring model. It was more grayish than green. The seats and interior in general felt more durable and comfortable. The dash was rubbery but the instrument console felt trendy. We liked the beige color since it was a little darker than we thought. The Mocha interior was too dark gray. We both test drove and it felt okay. Not much noise, transmission was smooth. Wifey was having some trouble getting the perfect seating position (she's vertically challenged...). My 5 year old was gleaming and liking the Honda for the video screen.
My interest was in the 2nd and 3rd row this time. The legs space in 3rd row was enough. I checked out the foot space as well, the sliding mechanism doesn't intrude anywhere there. It's only present at the side edges of seats and therefore doesn't compromise the foot space. As you all know, the magic seats work only in 7 seat configuration. With 8 seats in place, you cannot get into the 3rd row without folding the second row seat. The forward motion of seat alone is not sufficient to generate enough space behind to squeeze through. Pacifica's easy tilt seat wins here. I brought all of my car seats and strollers inside and installed it just to be sure that everything fits okay. Two car seats in the sides and third adult can just about sit in the middle (in third row).
The cargo area was large. Can place four check in size bags side by side (I brought that one too ). Overall impressed. I enquired about any willingness to negotiate .... but he said that he was selling all the cars within a week anyway. It was true with our other nearby dealer. They had no Odys left on the lot. I thought that wifey's made up her mind already and the deal was done.
While returning we decided to check out the Pacifica once more (just to be sure).
All the limited versions were sold except a 7 seat version sitting inside the showroom. The salesman brought it out. I let my wife test drive it herself this time (since I'd already done it a few times). Her first words were "This looks definitely premium and upscale...like a Mercedes". My 5 year old discovered the seat back video screen and yelled in excitement. I installed her carseat and she was even more happy.
My wife loved the seat adjustments for driver seat better than the Ody. The drive was very smooth and refined. She loved the park assist and 360 cameras too.
The cargo area was minimally smaller than Odyssey but can still fit four check-in size bags sideways (checked with the same bag here too).
Anyway after everything said and done we liked the Pacifica more than the Odyssey. :x
Together with the potential savings, the amount of kit offered and the premium feel, the balance tilted.
So that's our final decision for now. It's the Pacifica Limited.
I agree that the Odyssey was very very good and had most of the things we wanted (we nearly bought it).... the Pacifica had all those and in addition has the "wow" factor.
Its a bummer that they don't have the right variant for us at present but he will keep us updated on future arrivals. We are also thinking about custom ordering it, but I read somewhere that I cannot order a 2017 model now...???

Nice Bond. It really only need one test drive to see how good the Pac is!

That's very true in this instance with my wife.

 

Nice Bond. It really only need one test drive to see how good the Pac is!

 

My wife is still stuck on the flexibllity of sliding seats (forward and side) and overhead screen and sees it as a big differentiating factor. We are keeping it slow for now. Will do our next set of tests when she feels ready. BTW I read somewhere that they have stopped producing the 2017 Pacifica and it cannot be made to order now?

 

Bond, don't just stop with the safety concern of the mirror to see your rear facing car seat (mirror is strapped to head rest area) but also keep in mind ANY loose items in the rear cargo area that can become projectile. Not just the mirror. Items placed in the cargo area are almost never secured and will be much more likely to be projectiles vs the strapped on mirror.

 

Congrats Bond. I think Honda is resting on its laurels quite a bit lately. Even as big a fan of Honda as I was, the newer Hondas left me feeling let down. The last Elite I had I kept a bit longer than the previous ones and it was really showing its age. Steering was loose, I had the brake pedal shimmy Hondas are famous for, and a host of rattles. And I hate to admit, the VCM was beginning to rear its ugly head with a vibration off throttle at highway speeds.

In the end, I'm glad Honda tripped and delayed the 2018 Odyssey because it allowed me to look at the Pacifica as an alternative and after research and test drive, I was sold. Looks like you're in the same boat!

 

I just did a 800 mile roundtrip from SF to LA. The ride was flawless. ACC cruise control is a game changer. For the first time ever, my legs and body didn't feel sore after the long drive. For the occasional bumper to bumper traffic, it would have driven me crazy to have to engage the brakes and gas pedal as it'd be on the Odyssey. Also, I noticed the brake mitigation alarm went off when cars changed into my lane at high speed with only a few feet of distance in front of me. On my Acura RLX, the system goes off all the time even if the cars were 20 ft in front of me.

 

I was set to purchase a '17 Pacifica Touring L-Plus, which was my target, but it lost out to the '18 Odyssey EX-L for several reasons: in back to back test drives the handling and ride were FAR superior (control or lack of bobbing/noise/precision steering) in the Odyssey, you cannot configure 8 passenger seating with a sunroof on the Pacifica, our kids MUCH preferred the Honda's rear seating (they revolted when I suggested I may still consider the Pacifica if Honda was not dealing on the '18 Odyssey), and Android Auto is awesome vs car nav (navigation on phone/android auto much better than Chrysler's - which we used on a trip to FL a few month prior) ...side note, the concern about # of charges is misplaced with LiO batteries, in fact depleting them to a very low battery charge is more problematic to battery life and the number of charges it can accept than the number of cycles (see Popular Mechanics for article). Overall, although I liked the exterior styling of the Pacifica more and really liked the concept of sto-n-go seating the Odyssey was the clear winner for our family. That said I don't believe either is a bad choice and both far exceed all the other competitors (toyota only one close and they need to move off 8yr old platform to compete!).

 

I could not agree with you more! I too test drove both back to back and cannot for the life of me convince myself that the pacifica is anywhere near as good as the ody "on the road". Handling and acceleration are very impressive in the ody. One could even say its fun to drive.
Yet so many say the PAC is better at handling and power..hmm. Odd. I didn't hate the PAC drive just kind of uninspiring after the ody.
I will say this though - the PAC looks WAY way better! Its just gorgeous on the outside, best looking van EVER. Love the ACC and no touch sliding door features best too. But as a driving enthusiast I'm going for ody probably, unless in laws and wifey really convince me otherwise. Now if only I could unsee those ghastly " lightning bolt" patterned side panels on the ody. What were the design team thinking?! Looks like they had a coupe and glued on another piece of extension to make a van...ugh.

 

I guess it's all individual tastes and preferences as I felt the opposite while test driving them back to back. The Pacifica felt like truly fun, luxurious and small car to drive whereas the Odyssey felt like a big van. The Odyssey has body roll a bit too much while turning (not that I'm crazy about that aspect) but it was enough to make me feel uncomfortable. In addition the general interior ambience was way better in the Pacifica. Perforated leather seats, LED accent lighting, power reclining third row, two RES screens, light colored headliner, etc. the only damper was slightly thinner seats, but kiddos are in car seats anyway and it doesn't matter.
May be Odyssey felt that way because I was comparing it to luxury / premium cars, but the Pacifica was able to blend in seamlessly within my ride / noise expectations. Well, different strokes for different folks. I'm glad there are choices available, otherwise we all will be driving the same car. .

 

I've been comparing minivans more lately as I'm considering asking Chrysler to buyback my PacHy via Lemon Law and it just seems every other one is missing something that my PacHy has.

The new Ody looks nicer (the lightning is less apparent and they finally hid the sliding door track) but it doesn't have a 360 camera at any trim level.

The '18 Sienna won't be out until later this year, and only the Limited has the 360 camera and I've read about problems with their remote start.

The Kia, like the Sienna, only gives you all the bells and whistles at the highest trim level, the SX Limited.

For all of those 3, the price for the highest trim is the same as the PacHy without the advantage of a plug-in hybrid engine... so it just doesn't make sense.

I'm hoping Chrysler will swap out to a 2018 Hybrid Limited instead but I doubt they will do that.

 

I'm hoping Chrysler will swap out to a 2018 Hybrid Limited instead but I doubt they will do that.

Maybe your best option would be to do the buyback and then immediately place an order for a 2018.

 

The 9 speed in the Pacifica can skip gears as well when shifting.

ZF 9-Speed Automatic Transmission for Chrysler and Dodge cars

 

I still don't get the criticism of the Pacifica's 9 speed transmission. So far after a little over 1000 miles, it has performed very well. I haven't noticed it hunting for gears, or getting bogged down in too high a gear. It's always responsive, and really keeps the rpm's pretty low when you're cruising at highway speeds up to 85mph, I haven't driven faster up to this point. I also have driven around town in what would be considered city driving, and again, the transmission provides seamless shifts and doesn't keep you out of the power band.

 

Maybe FCA and Honda now have it working properly and that is a good thing. The criticism comes from the history that FCA and Honda have had with it. It should have never been released by either company during the rough gestation period. It's certainly good to hear you find yours works well.

With The 2017 Chrysler Pacifica, Has FCA Finally Sorted The ZF 9-Speed Automatic? Very Nearly - The Truth About Cars

Honda lurches ahead with pesky 9-speed transmission - Chicago Tribune

 

I've driven three 2017 models with the ZF 9HP: Pacifica, Cherokee, and Pilot Elite. No complaints with the transmission in any of them. We have 6k or 7k miles on the Pacifica now and the shifting is pretty seamless. Unless I'm accelerating hard, I usually don't even notice the transmission working. I felt some of the shits a little more in the Pilot, but it wasn't the slightest bit objectionable. I know there were a ton of complaints about the 9HP from early Jeep, Acura, and Land Rover owners in the 2013-2015 time frame, and even after multiple software upgrades some of those owners still aren't happy. But in the vehicles that are currently on the market, I think they have this transmission nicely sorted out.

The Honda 10-speed is a bit of an unknown quantity since it's so new. One worry I had was that the Odysseys from last decade suffered a lot of expensive transmission failures.

 

Saw a 2018 Odyssey on the road for the first time today and my word is that thing ugly. Looked like they took the last gen, squished the front end so there is less overhand and made it taller. I am not a fan.