The venerable minivan keeps on keeping on with a mild facelift for 2027. If we haven’t reminded you lately, minivans make the best family haulers. Those who need to actually use the third row for humans along with carrying even a weekend’s worth of stuff will be let down by most three-row SUVs, which often can’t handle that task without some kind of auxiliary storage system on the roof or hanging off a trailer hitch.
As a reminder of the vehicle that started it all, Chrysler invited us to load up our family for a summer road trip in the latest example in the minivan lineage, the updated 2027 Pacifica. There hasn’t been much new since its last facelift for the 2021 model year, which followed the launch of the van for 2017. For 2027, the Pacifica gets another mild overhaul, with the most noticeable element a new Chrysler badge and front-end lighting.
View Price on AmazonIn place of the winged emblem is a logo that looks more like a couple of lines from a designer’s sketch, the same marking that’s appeared on recent Chrysler concept cars. In front, this new branding is illuminated and comes with new headlights that have substantially improved reach and a wider beam pattern. That is, unless you opt for the new base LX trim, which starts at $43,490, keeps the old nose, and replaces the previous Chrysler Voyager model.
The 2027 Pacifica also gets new wheel designs and a couple of new features, including a camera feed of the blind-spot area. Activated with the turn signal, the feature is part of the $395 Safety Sphere package on Limited models such as our test van. Our van didn’t have the dual-screen rear-seat entertainment option, which is now available only on the top Pinnacle trim.
We loaded my family of five into a bright-red Limited model, second only to the Pinnacle, and rendezvoused in Stowe, Vermont. Our vehicle had the $2995 all-wheel-drive option—a feature added for 2021, and something that’s still not ubiquitous among minivans—and just about every other option too, bringing the price to $56,365.
The Stow ’n Go second-row seats that fold into the floor are still a standout feature found only on the Pacifica. If you regularly haul large items, they’re a must-have, and when the seats are up, those large underfloor bins are great additional stash space. However, there are a couple of trade-offs: The second-row buckets have firmer cushions, a lower seating height, and less lateral support than in other minivans.
Source: caranddriver.com
