Chrysler Pacifica/Voyager Oppos, chime in
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Tell me your experiences, good or bad on these.
I know I'll be needing to replace the Rally Van very soon here, so I've been looking at options.
The Grand Caravan is obviously on my short list, but I do like the look of the "S" "Blackout" versions of the Pacifica as well, so I've thought about giving them another try."Rally Van" 3.8 swapped, built 4-speed, 1994 Voyager.
2018 GC SE Blacktop. -
@Long_Voyager94 we bought two for work, nice vans. comfy. unreasonably quick for what they are.
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@Long_Voyager94 Other than the Uconnect, transmission selector, start/stop, and hard shifts sometimes; its a great van. Drives nice, seats are good, mpg is 25 to 27 overall. No complaints from me other than Uconnect can be frustrating at times.
"We might lose ourselves but we will never be lost"
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@krustywantout I won't use the "phone features" anyway, so Uconnect will likely never be an issue.
The dial shifter does kinda bother me, but I'm sure you get used to it?
Can the "start/stop" be disabled? Seems like more issues than it's worth.
I've always thought the 9-speed was clunky. Is it better when wrung out often like the 6-seed is?
Is the mileage mixed use or pure highway?
"Rally Van" 3.8 swapped, built 4-speed, 1994 Voyager.
2018 GC SE Blacktop. -
@Long_Voyager94 I hate the dial shifter on my 2017 Ram. My FIL has a 18 300s and his feels nice compared to plastic click feel I get on mine. Reminds me to check if I can swap them.
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We have one. I love it. Great power. Easy to drive. Everyone is comfortable. Stow-n-go for 2nd and 3rd rows makes it a work horse. And it looks nice.
I like the UConnect interface and the radio knob gear selector is fine. I prefer it over some of the wonky space dongs that the fancy brands have been making.
The eco tires suck in snow. Turning radius seems large for what it is. I always want 10-20 more degrees before full lock.
I would get another.
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@Long_Voyager94 said in Chrysler Pacifica/Voyager Oppos, chime in:
Can the "start/stop" be disabled? Seems like more issues than it's worth.
Most manufacturers give you a way to turn it off, but it gets reset every time you restart the car. Some disable it with a simple button, others require you to dig through the menus every time. There's an aftermarket solution for the Pacifica.
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@Long_Voyager94 stop/start will be defeatable, just need to find the right person to disable it. mopar/chrysler forums might be a good source
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Not an owner, but spent a week with one last fall under pretty harsh circumstances (7 passengers, driving around terrain at 7k-12k' elevation). My take: If these had been available in 2014, we would have chosen it over the Odyssey, no question. Even my wife said "This is really nice, why didn't we buy this one?" -- and that was comparing a mid-range Honda to a basic Pacifica.
Drivetrain: A little "unrefined" compared to the upmarket feel of the van -- read: loud -- but we never wanted for power from the Pentastar. Anecdotally, I've heard they're pretty bulletproof. I didn't love not being able to shift for myself at all, just PRNDL on the dial and no paddles. But not a dealbreaker to me. Torque steer at heavy throttle was noticeable, but manageable.
Ride and handling: Solid. As with any van, the characteristics change with the passenger load (part of their magic), so driving solo could be on the bouncy side, but fully loaded it behaved a little more predictably. Never bad.
"Screens N Sh*t": U Connect seemed really responsive and not too obnoxious. Most fundamental controls were on actual dials and knobs, so the screen was mostly for navigation or stereo controls, or for less-used controls. Less of a distraction than most modern cars.
My younger brother spends his days driving a 2017 GTI and even he said "This is like a sports car compared to the Suburban" (which we had rented most recently as an extended family). He announced that if he had kids, that would be his choice
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@Long_Voyager94 My sister has a 2020 plug-in hybrid one that she bought new. It spent 40 days out of service in the first six months. It would randomly brick itself for 45 minutes to an hour at a time. Which is pretty awesome for driving small children around in the winter ... oh wait, not awesome. I think they got it sorted with software updates, she hasn't mentioned any problems since. Although to be honest I've never asked her about it again.
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@Long_Voyager94 i would say 60/40 highway/ street for mpg. I also don't drive like a maniac and try to stretch out the mileage. I would say the transmission issues probably hav more to with the start stop and hard shifts are rare once you adjust for it. Start stop can be disabled but it then eats into your mpg. I guess you just have to be aware of it in quick stop/go situations. I'm used to the dial but just wished it was different. It and the other issues wouldn't stop me from getting another one.
Edit: as mentioned before, it handles really well for a minivan. It also chirps the tires quiet often too since first gear is ridiculously low and the V6 has a lot of power. The V6 also sounds really good once you give it the beans.
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@Shop-Teacher I have heard a lot of issues with the plug in hybrids, but I'll be avoiding those anyway.
"Rally Van" 3.8 swapped, built 4-speed, 1994 Voyager.
2018 GC SE Blacktop. -
I had a 2019 model as a rental and the only thing I greatly disliked about it was the massive turning radius. Parking in anything other than an open field felt like a challenge.
Otherwise it was economical, comfortable, and handled very nicely for a minivan even when loaded with lots of kids and stuff.
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@Long_Voyager94 I figured you would want the relative simplicity of a straight gasser anyways.
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@BJ said in Chrysler Pacifica/Voyager Oppos, chime in:
I had a 2019 model as a rental and the only thing I greatly disliked about it was the massive turning radius. Parking in anything other than an open field felt like a challenge.
Otherwise it was economical, comfortable, and handled very nicely for a minivan even when loaded with lots of kids and stuff.
Wondering how they managed to make the Pacifica have a wider turning circle than the Grand Caravan....
19.85' for the Pacifica
19.55' for the Grand CaravanAlthough the only "quick" number I could find for my old Voyager claims 42' turning circle, so I guess either are better than that
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@Long_Voyager94 I remember you saying the Rally Van has about one winter of structure left in the front strut towers. Why not just throw another set of towers and inner fenders in? Pretty sure they're available right?
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@SSfancy I find the turning radius pretty good in the Pacifica coming from a 1999 Golf with a turning circle of 35.1 ft (18ft radius). The Pacifica is 39.7 (so about 20ft) which is pretty much the same as my now gone 2008 Acura TSX which is basically an Accord. For reference the 1995 Caravan had a 43ft turning circle. Figures gathered from the usual Google returned car sites.
I think FWD in general is the limitation.
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@Long_Voyager94 Had a rental Pacifica out on the Pacific Coast Highway back in April. Even with 40k hard rental miles on it, it was fine in the twisties (was capable of higher speeds than my wife was comfortable with) and had plenty of power going over the mountains. Very comfortable for all.
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I rode in one as a Lyft. It had 100k+ miles (likely hard miles since the dude was a Lyft driver) and still seemed to be holding up well. The only issue I noticed was the start/stop felt rough and unrefined. I don’t like start/stop anyway.
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- They're not available for 2nd gens, only for 3rd gens.
- I would need the tower and the "frame" rail for the driver's side.
- I have no interest in doing that kind of work on it.
I've been on the fence for a while about letting it go, finding the rusting/separating strut tower just solidified that decision.
"Rally Van" 3.8 swapped, built 4-speed, 1994 Voyager.
2018 GC SE Blacktop. -
@Long_Voyager94 fair enough. Hate finding structural rot.
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@Qaaaaa said in Chrysler Pacifica/Voyager Oppos, chime in:
@Long_Voyager94 fair enough. Hate finding structural rot.
If it wasn't for that I wouldn't be looking. I just have no interest in fixing structural.
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@Long_Voyager94 had a rental 22k mile Voyager for 10 days on a road trip last fall. It was cheaper feeling than expected, very few amenities and I disliked the 6" uconnect system. Beyond doing regular minivan things and functioning acceptably, the NHV was a bit high and overall I was unimpressed.
My brother had rental a similarly low-ish mile Pacifica for a week and didn't really have anything bad to say. I must assume there is a fairly large difference.
Overall I'm a Mopar product fan, wife dailies a 2014 GC and I've had plenty of other Chrysler products over the years. I wanted to like the Vogager but it's just not well equipped for my liking. Maybe I'm becoming a snob?
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@Long_Voyager94 I rented one a while back. I liked it pretty well. It was better on gas than I thought it would be. Not nearly as thirsty as the Journey.
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@Long_Voyager94 I had a first year Pacifica Limited with every single feature as a company car and genuinely loved having it. It is a vehicle designed to be used logically, with a spot for everything. I also absolutely loved stow and go seats, with hidden storage when the seats are up and a ton of space when the seats are stored. Entry into the 3rd row was also great, since the seats tilt forward and maintain shape, so you can still access the 3rd row with a car seat installed. Feel free to ask any other questions!
