2019 Chrysler Pacifica

Is the Chrysler Pacifica a Good Minivan?

The Chrysler Pacifica is a great minivan. In fact, we named it a finalist for our 2019 Best Minivan for the Money and 2019 Best Minivan for Families awards. This Chrysler has a high-end cabin that remains quiet even at high speeds. Its cushioned ride lets you glide over bumps and dips in pavement, and it’s surprisingly nimble for a minivan. Its extensive list of features and modern technology further adds to its appeal. The Pacifica has decent fuel economy estimates, and it’s available as a plug-in hybrid (reviewed separately). It’s also more affordable than some competitors. Its rear seats and cargo hold are a little smaller than those in class rivals, but other than that, there’s little to complain about.

Should I Buy the Chrysler Pacifica?

The competitively priced Chrysler Pacifica offers just about everything you could want from a family vehicle, and it’s the only minivan available as a hybrid. However, there are some rivals worth considering. The Honda Odyssey has an upscale interior, and the base trim has a little more cargo space than the Pacifica. The Toyota Sienna has a stronger engine than the Pacifica, and it’s the only minivan to offer all-wheel drive.

Compare the Pacifica, Odyssey, and Sienna »

Should I Buy a New or Used Chrysler Pacifica?

The Pacifica debuted as an all-new model for the 2017 model year. The 2018 Pacifica gained a new base trim (the Pacifica L) with new standard features, including a 7-inch touch screen, Android Auto, and Apple CarPlay. Those updates make the base 2018 Pacifica a better value than the 2017 base model. There are no major updates for 2019. Because of that, consider shopping for the nearly identical 2018 Pacifica, which will likely cost less.

To learn more about a used Pacifica, read our 2017 and 2018 Chrysler Pacifica reviews. If you decide that an older model is right for you, check out our Used Car Deals page to learn about savings and discounts on used vehicles.

Compare the 2017, 2018, and 2019 Chrysler Pacifica »

We Did the Research for You: 24 Reviews Analyzed

To make our car rankings and reviews as consumer-oriented as possible, we do not rely on our personal opinions. Instead, we analyze hard data such as crash test results and reliability ratings, as well as the opinions of the automotive press. This Chrysler Pacifica review draws on 24 reviews and incorporates applicable research for all models in this generation.

Why You Can Trust Us

U.S. News & World Report has been reviewing cars, trucks, and SUVs since 2007, and our Best Cars team has more than 75 years of combined automotive industry experience. We care about cars, but we care more about providing useful consumer advice. To ensure our impartiality, an independent party handles our advertising, and our editorial team doesn’t accept expensive gifts from automakers.

How Much Does the Chrysler Pacifica Cost?

The Chrysler Pacifica L is the base model. It starts at $26,995, making it more affordable than some rivals. Middle trims like the Chrysler Pacifica Touring Plus, Touring L, and Touring L Plus start in the mid-to-high-$30,000s, and the highest trim – the Pacifica Limited – has a starting price of $44,445. The plug-in Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, reviewed separately, starts at $39,995. 

Check out our U.S. News Best Price Program for great savings at your local Chrysler dealer.

Chrysler Pacifica Versus the Competition

Which Is Better: Chrysler Pacifica or Honda Odyssey?

The Honda Odyssey is an excellent minivan. Like the Pacifica, it is fun to drive – relatively speaking – and offers solid fuel economy estimates and a smooth, comfortable ride. But the Odyssey’s smooth engine and transmission shifts give it the edge. The Odyssey also has one of the nicest interiors in the class. Both vans deliver a ton of family-friendly tech and convenience features, including an available built-in vacuum, but the Chrysler offers a suite of apps and games that the Honda does not. However, the base Odyssey has slightly more cargo space. Both vans are solid choices, but the Honda Odyssey is slightly better.

Which Is Better: Chrysler Pacifica or Toyota Sienna?

The Toyota Sienna is a good choice within the class. It has a slightly stronger engine than the Pacifica, as well as more total cargo space, more standard safety features, and a much higher predicted reliability rating. It’s also the only van in its class to offer all-wheel drive. Overall, however, the Pacifica is better. With its Stow ’n Go seats you don’t have to remove seats to access the cargo hold like you do with the Sienna. The Pacifica also offers a smoother ride, and its base model is a couple thousand dollars less than the Sienna's.

Compare the Pacifica, Odyssey, and Sienna »

Pacifica Interior

How Many People Does the Pacifica Seat?

The Chrysler Pacifica has seating for seven in its standard figuration. That number can be increased to eight if you get the available second-row middle seat. Cloth seats are standard, while leather seats, heated and ventilated front seats, heated second-row seats, and eight-way power-adjustable front seats are available.

The front seats have plenty of room, and there’s enough leg- and headroom for most adults to sit in the second row. As in most 3-row vehicles, the third row is best left to children. Additionally, the second and third rows lack sufficient padding, so they start to feel uncomfortable on longer drives.

Pacifica and Car Seats

The 2019 Pacifica offers four full sets of LATCH car-seat connectors on all rear-outboard seats. However, the system is trickier to use than in some rivals. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety gave the system a Marginal rating, the second lowest, for ease-of-use. Some lower anchors are set too deep in the seat and are difficult to maneuver around, and the tether anchors are hard to find.

Pacifica Interior Quality

The Pacifica has one of the nicest cabins in its class, with high-quality materials, an elegant dashboard, and ample insulation to keep the cabin quiet, even at highway speeds.

Pacifica Cargo Space

The Pacifica doesn’t have as much cargo space as other minivans, but that doesn’t mean its cargo hold is small. It has 32.3 cubic feet of storage with all the seats up. That’s enough room for about two dozen carry-on sized bags. Folding down the second and third rows reveals more than 140 cubic feet of space.

The Pacifica also draws praise for its Stow ‘n Go seats. They fold down into the floor to make the cargo area as usable as possible. Most rivals make you physically remove the seats to use that space.

Pacifica Infotainment, Bluetooth, and Navigation

Standard features in the Pacifica include Chrysler's Uconnect infotainment system with a 7-inch touch screen, Bluetooth, a USB port, Uconnect Access (which lets you remotely track, lock, or start your vehicle using your phone), Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration, and a six-speaker stereo.

Minivans are known for offering a long list of features, but the Pacifica exceeds that expectation. Among its many available offerings are KeySense parental controls, satellite radio, two 10-inch rear-seat touch screens, a 13-speaker Alpine or 20-speaker Harman Kardon audio system, a rear-seat DVD player, a built-in vacuum, a 4G Wi-Fi hot spot, and an upgraded Uconnect system with an 8.4-inch touch screen and navigation.

This Chrysler offers something for everyone, but the centerpiece of its technological is the Uconnect infotainment system. Its responsive touch screen and sensible menu layout help make it one of the best systems in its class.

For more information, read What Is Apple CarPlay? and What Is Android Auto?

Read more about interior »

Pacifica Performance

Pacifica Engine: Not Perfect, but It'll Do

All Pacifica models feature a 287-horsepower 3.6-liter V6 engine and a nine-speed automatic transmission. While not as smooth as the powertrains in some rivals, the Chrysler’s V6 has ample power for daily driving and provides decent acceleration.

Pacifica Gas Mileage: One of the Best

The 2019 Chrysler Pacifica earns up to up to 18 mpg in the city and 28 mpg on the highway – 19/28 mpg when equipped with the engine stop-start feature. Those are some of the best fuel economy ratings in the class for a nonhybrid van. The plug-in Pacifica Hybrid, reviewed separately, gets 84 MPGe and has an all-electric range of 33 miles. Compared to the nonhybrid Pacifica, it will save you around $950 annually in fuel costs.

Pacifica Ride and Handling: Comfortable and Competent

As the iconic family vehicle, minivans are expected to deliver a smooth, comfortable ride – and the Pacifica does. It’s relatively agile for a minivan, and its responsive steering and strong brakes help this Chrysler remain composed around corners and on winding roads. Front-wheel drive is standard.

Read more about performance »

Pacifica Reliability

Is the Chrysler Pacifica Reliable?

J.D. Power gives the 2019 Pacifica a predicted reliability rating of three out of five, which is about average for a new vehicle. 

Chrysler Pacifica Warranty

Chrysler backs the Pacifica with a three-year/36,000-mile basic warranty and a five-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty. Most other minivans have similar warranties.

Read more about reliability »

Pacifica Safety

Pacifica Crash Test Results

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gave the 2019 Pacifica a five-out-of-five-star overall rating, along with five stars in front and side crash testing and four stars in rollover tests. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety named it a Top Safety Pick, giving it the highest rating of Good in five crash tests and a Superior rating for front crash prevention. It gave it the second-highest rating of Good for headlights and the passenger-side small overlap front crash test. 

Pacifica Safety Features

Standard active safety features include a rearview camera, blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, and rear parking sensors. Available driver assistance features include automatic parking, front parking sensors, a surround-view camera, lane departure warning, automatic high beams, forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, and adaptive cruise control. Most minivans offer comparable driver assistance technologies.

Read more about safety »

Which Chrysler Pacifica Model Is Right for Me?

Chrysler offers the Pacifica in six trims: L, LX, Touring Plus, Touring L, Touring L Plus, and Limited. All feature a V6 engine and front-wheel drive. The plug-in Pacifica Hybrid, reviewed separately, comes in the Touring Plus, Touring L, and Limited trim levels.

The Pacifica L is this Chrysler’s base trim. Equipped with a generous number of standard features, the base L is a solid bet. However, the higher trims offer many more features for a relatively small price jump, making them better values. At the other end of the spectrum is the Pacifica Limited. It comes with approximately a bajillion standard features, and it’s the only trim that offers some of the high-end luxury tech. However, it’s also the most expensive trim by far.

A solid compromise is one of the numerous Touring trims – particularly the Pacifica Touring L. It comes standard with tri-zone automatic climate control, remote start, a leather-wrapped and heated steering wheel, second- and third-row retractable sunshades, heated front seats, perforated leather upholstery, and hooks on the third-row seatbacks for grocery bags. It’s also available with a few infotainment upgrades and driver assistance features.

Chrysler Pacifica L

The Pacifica L has a base price of $26,995. It comes standard with dual-zone manual climate control, remote keyless entry, a rearview camera, rear parking sensors, and blind spot monitoring with rear cross traffic alert. It also comes with the Chrysler Uconnect infotainment system that includes a 7-inch touch screen featuring Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration, a six-speaker stereo, a USB port, Bluetooth, and voice controls. The L is available with KeySense parental controls and tri-zone manual climate control, but there are no notable option packages for this trim.

Chrysler Pacifica LX

The Pacifica LX starts at $29,795. In addition to the Pacifica L’s features, the LX comes with a stop-start feature for the V6 engine, automatic headlights, front and rear LED lights, alloy wheels, steering wheel-mounted audio controls, an eight-way power-adjustable driver’s seat, and Stow ‘n Go second-row bucket seats. As with the base trim, there aren’t any notable option packages, though this is the first Pacifica trim available with a rear-seat DVD player.

Chrysler Pacifica Touring Plus

The Pacifica Touring Plus retails for $32,945. It comes with power-sliding rear doors, a power liftgate, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, a universal garage door opener, tri-zone automatic climate control, remote start, and satellite radio. This trim has a few packages available. The Advanced Safety Tec Group (around $995) adds an 8.4-inch touch screen, navigation, and numerous driver assistance features. The Cold Weather Group adds a heated steering wheel and heated front seats, while the Uconnect Theater with Wireless Streaming adds dual 10-inch seatback touch screens.

Chrysler Pacifica Touring L

The Pacifica Touring L starts at $36,295. Standard features include leather upholstery, heated front seats, second- and third-row retractable sunshades, and grocery bag hooks on the third-row seatbacks. It’s offered with the same safety package as the Touring Plus but adds a new Premium Audio Group package, featuring a third-row USB port, a power-adjustable passenger seat, a 13-speaker Alpine premium sound system, and the upgraded Uconnect infotainment system with an 8.4-inch touch screen.

Chrysler Pacifica Touring L Plus

The Pacifica Touring L Plus has an MSRP of $39,395. It adds the Premium Audio Group package as standard equipment, as well as a 115-volt power outlet, a heated steering wheel, heated second-row seats, and the two 10-inch seatback touch screens. You can also add the SafetyTec package to the Touring L Plus, as well as a 20-speaker Harman Kardon audio system (for around $695) and a tri-pane panoramic sunroof (foe around $1,595).

Chrysler Pacifica Limited

The Pacifica Limited has a base price of $44,445. It has an immense list of features, including a hands-free power liftgate, hands-free power-sliding rear doors, power-folding third-row Stow ‘n Go seats, ventilated front seats, premium Nappa leather upholstery, and the Stow ‘n Vac integrated vacuum cleaner. Interestingly, the Limited loses the Uconnect Theater package that’s standard in the Touring L Plus, though you can add it for approximately $2,000. The SafetyTec package is also available.

Check out our U.S. News Best Price Program for great savings at your local Chrysler dealer.

See 2019 Chrysler Pacifica specs and trims »

The Final Call

The 2019 Chrysler Pacifica is a great minivan that ranks near the top of its class thanks to surprisingly adept handling, solid fuel economy estimates, an abundance of practical storage space, an upscale cabin, and a lengthy list of uncommon and impressive features. On top of all that, it’s reasonably priced. If a new minivan is on your shopping list, the Chrysler Pacifica is a choice you won’t regret.

Don’t just take our word for it. Check out comments from some of the reviews that drive our rankings and analysis.

• "The 2019 Chrysler Pacifica is an excellent example of the modern breed of minivan…. The Pacifica also has a full complement of safety features and a classy design both inside and out…. The Chrysler is a bit behind class leaders when it comes to cargo space, but that's mostly by the numbers. Real-world storage is still very useful…. Despite its virtues, the Pacifica does have competition….But no matter the competitor, the Pacifica is still an attractive minivan." -- Edmunds
• "The most important success metric for a tool is how well it performs the function for which it's designed. Judged by that criterion, the Chrysler Pacifica is the best multi-purpose people mover in the world, at least for the moment (Honda has a new Odyssey in the works, and Toyota will likely follow with a refreshed Sienna)." -- Autoweek (2017)
• "But what I love most about the Pacifica is its unabashed van-ness in a world where everything is a crossover … and telling your friends that you're considering a minivan is tantamount to announcing that you've given up on life. It warms my heart to see there's still innovation and competition to be found in this shrinking class and that the form and function can work together." -- CNET (2017)