[Cornfield]

I had a 2016 Grand Caravan but longed for the advanced safety features, HID headlights and luxury of the Pacifica Limited. With the new van priced at double the old van, was it worth it?

Driving: I love it. Smoother, quitter, quicker, responsive, praise, praise, praise.

Headlights: Gotta love HID's and auto dimming headlights. I wish that it had a night vision feature (a bicyclist was out on a 30 degree night and he was not lit up).

Interior: The lights are very nice. My passengers enjoyed the new rear climate controls, reclining rear seat and heated center seats. They all felt like they were in a luxury vehicle.

Looks: The new van looks great. I like the little mock vent windows. The exterior is sleek. I can see why the Pacifica ads were targeting SUV's more than other minivans.

Electronics: I like the IPod interface, a lot easier to choose playlists etc. I don't like that there is no way to plug in the and keep the IPod in the glove box. I have it shoved in the top small cubby but there is a wire that runs from the plug in to the cubby.
The center screen has a everything built into it, Heated seat controls, climate controls, navigation, radio, apps (I have not figured this out yet), vehicle settings etc. In some ways , it is confusing but I think I'll get the hang of it quickly.

Cup Holders: There are only two cup holders for the front seat passengers. In the GC there were 6! I like cup holders

Storage: There are not many places to store things in the new van. The glove box is very small. The center console looks huge but only has a 5x4x3 storage area. I tried in vain to figure out a way to get to the lower storage area and learned that it doesn't exist. The doors offer some storage. There is a pull out bin in the center of the dash that offers some storage and a coin dispenser for toll booths. Really? Chrysler hasn't figured out that I Pass and Easy Pass now rule the country?
The stow and go does have extra storage that might come in handy when the middle seats are up.

I ordered it with the mud flaps. It has drizzled for the last two days, the flaps are keeping the body clean.


I'll have more comments as I get used to it.

Was it worth it? I can't say for everyone. I'm used to driving Audi's, Mercedes Benz and BMW's. The Pacifica feels like it is in that class. For me it is worth it.

 

[generaltso]

I don't like that there is no way to plug in the and keep the IPod in the glove box. I have it shoved in the top small cubby but there is a wire that runs from the plug in to the cubby.

This annoyed me as well. Having a visible wire running from the USB port to the cubby just bugged me. My Cherokee has a second USB port in the center console for hiding an iPod. I wish Chrysler had stuck with that and put a second port in the little covered section of the super console. Oh well. I ended up switching from an iPod to a low profile USB flash drive for music and just leave that plugged into the USB port all the time. It's barely noticeable and worlds better than a wire.

 

[Cornfield]

I looked into the available wifi hot spot. Chrysler really has to get a clue in this department. I doubt that many people will pay $19.99 per week to have a 3G hotspot. My Verizon phone can do wireless tethering at 4G without paying a penny extra.

I think that auto manufacturers should set the new vehicles to receive wifi from phones. At least set reasonable prices for such subscriptions.

CHRYSLER - WE HAVE CELL PHONES!

 

[Cornfield]

This annoyed me as well. Having a visible wire running from the USB port to the cubby just bugged me. My Cherokee has a second USB port in the center console for hiding an iPod. I wish Chrysler had stuck with that and put a second port in the little covered section of the super console. Oh well. I ended up switching from an iPod to a low profile USB flash drive for music and just leave that plugged into the USB port all the time. It's barely noticeable and worlds better than a wire.

With the flash drive can you do IPod things, like play lists, random play, choose artist or album etc?

 

[generaltso]

With the flash drive can you do IPod things, like play lists, random play, choose artist or album etc?

You can indeed. It's actually Uconnect that's indexing all that metadata from the song files, not the iPod, so the functionality from Uconnect is exactly the same as an iPod. The one caveat is that iTunes doesn't natively support syncing your music to a flash drive. So for that, I used an app called Playlist Export. It copies the music and playlists that you select from your iTunes library onto a flash drive in a format that works perfectly with Uconnect.

 

[Cornfield]

You can indeed. It's actually Uconnect that's indexing all that metadata from the song files, not the iPod, so the functionality from Uconnect is exactly the same as an iPod. The one caveat is that iTunes doesn't natively support syncing your music to a flash drive. So for that, I used an app called Playlist Export. It copies the music and playlists that you select from your iTunes library onto a flash drive in a format that works perfectly with Uconnect.

Cool. I use a Windows PC. I think that Playlist Export is a MAC app.

 

[generaltso]

Cool. I use a Windows PC. I think that Playlist Export is a MAC app.

Yeah, sorry, Playlist Export is a Mac app. I'm sure there must be something similar for Windows. You could just manually copy your music files over to a flash drive, but that would take some manipulating of the playlists to get the correct paths to the music.

 

[Cornfield]

I just tried to export a playlist from ITunes to a drive. I'll try it later and see if the dash interface works well with it.

 

[Cornfield]

The Navigation can not be programmed while the vehicle is in motion. It should have a way form the front passenger to enter addresses.

We went to the Weathertech outlet store in Bolingbrook, IL today and bought the front floor mats as well as a Bump Step. The store is very cool. The owner has his car and motorcycle collection (including a 1952 Vincent) on display in the showroom. They also have a complimentary coffee bar with Starbucks type drinks along with fresh pastries.
Their floor mats are good too

 

[Cornfield]

I am starting to use the remote start feature. I never had that before. Very nice. I was checking out of the grocery store and it is around 20 degrees. The remote start helped get the car warm for me.

The Adaptive Cruise Control is great too. It is easy to change the follow distance, needed in Chicago traffic.

I set the Blind Spot Warning to beep as well as light up the mirrors.

The feature that allows it to park itself works wonderfully. It parallel parked better than I can. My wife was amazed while I was just grateful.

 

[Gohawks1224]

Was it worth it? I can't say for everyone. I'm used to driving Audi's, Mercedes Benz and BMW's. The Pacifica feels like it is in that class. For me it is worth it.

I am use to driving VW Golfs, GTis, Mazda3s and a Mazda CX-9. I have driven BMW's in Germany (2 years total) and while the Pacifica does not pass those vehicles up on handling, even the equally heavy CX-9, it is on par with at least the CX-9. Read: it IS a good driving 'car'.

 

[Cornfield]

I've had the Pacifica for a few weeks now. Some additional comments:

Traction control: The TC works OK, for a FWD vehicle. Wish it was AWD. There is some wheel spin when accelerating on slippery pavement. AWD would be better but it is not available at all on the Pacifica.

Wind: This van seems to be blown around more than my old Grand Caravan. More susceptible to cross winds. It's not a problem as far as vehicle control but it is noticeable.

Remote Start: I never had this feature before. I love it. I can start the van while checking out at the grocery store and then get into a vehicle that is already warming up. Great on Winter days.

Rear Access: My daughter and her family rode to a restaurant with us, They were impressed with the way the middle seats tilt forward, no more crawling through the gap.
They also liked the rear climate controls, reclining third seat and heated middle seats.

Climate Control: Something doesn't seem correct about the front climate control. On automatic on a cold day, it has been blowing cool air through the dash board vents.

 

[Cornfield]

I have a three year old grandson who rides in a child safety seat directly behind me. I have found that if I push the button that moves the drivers seat forward (Limited) so that I can use the stow and go, that it gives me a lot more room and it makes it easier to buckle him in.

 

[80085]

Yes, I use the stow-and-go assist button to make it easier to get my youngest into her carseat in the middle seat, as well.

 

[Cornfield]

Over 5000 miles and we're averaging 21 MPG combined city/highway. Zero defects. The only time I have been back to the dealer was to pick up my license plates.
I'm still waiting to see when "service me" appears on the dash board for the first time.

I have a love/the relationship with the Navigation system. On highway trips it often prompts me to exit s tollway or freeway and then immediately get back on.

 

[generaltso]

I'm still waiting to see when "service me" appears on the dash board for the first time.

You can see how close you are to that by checking the percentage of oil life remaining in the instrument cluster.

 

[Cornfield]

The console was showing that I had 14% oil life remaining but I'll be heading on a road trip to Pennsylvania in a week followed by lots of summer driving as grand children come to visit for the Summer. 8600 miles, the Pacifica ha its first ever visit to the shop. Lube, oil (synthetic) and filter with tire rotation the total was $79 at the dealer I purchased from, RiverFront Chrysler in North Aurora.
The service writers and technicians have always done a great job for me (this is my 5th or 6th vehicle from them). I do always have to remind them to reset the service indicators

The only issue that I have with the Pacifica is the navigation system. It frequently prompts me to exit the highway (especially on I80) and then get right back on. Chrysler says they are not responsible for this but I think that is a BS excuse.

 

[johnso28]

The Navigation can not be programmed while the vehicle is in motion. It should have a way form the front passenger to enter addresses.

It absolutely can be. You simply use the voice recognition function. I was able to have it find an address, enter it, and start the route guidance while driving down the interstate at 70mph. Give it a shot. It works well.

 

[johnso28]

The only issue that I have with the Pacifica is the navigation system. It frequently prompts me to exit the highway (especially on I80) and then get right back on. Chrysler says they are not responsible for this but I think that is a BS excuse.

I just took a road trip this past week, and noticed some quirks myself. For example, as it was guiding me from a highway to an interstate it was going to have me make a right turn and then a u-turn and then another right turn. Fortunately I was able to see the better route was to just continue straight ahead. :grin2:

Weird though.

 

[Cornfield]

It absolutely can be. You simply use the voice recognition function. I was able to have it find an address, enter it, and start the route guidance while driving down the interstate at 70mph. Give it a shot. It works well.

Yes, I figured that out but it is not convenient for a passenger to enter data