Chrysler Pacifica COTY Review: No News Is Good News?

Chrysler is promising exciting new things in the near future, but for now, the brand’s sole model offering remains the Pacifica minivan. It gets a light update for 2027, but it mostly soldiers on as before, with essentially the same interior, the same underlying architecture, and the same 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 that has anchored the line since the Pacifica’s debut for the 2017 model year.

That V-6 is the only powerplant available, too, now that the plug-in hybrid version has been axed. Familiarity doesn’t necessarily breed contempt, however. Inefficient though it may be by the standards of the modern minivan segment, the gas-only engine puts a drama-free 287 hp and 262 lb-ft through a nine-speed automatic, which keeps it reasonably competitive.

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It’s also the only minivan now on the market to offer a traditional gas engine and AWD, if you’re into that sort of thing, though that AWD system does drag down the van’s 0–60 time to 8.2 seconds, 0.8 second slower than our last FWD variant’s time. Otherwise, driving dynamics are just as they’ve always been—not as smooth or sporty as some rivals but perfectly acceptable for carpool and road trip duties.

With the exception of the base LX, 2027 Pacificas get a revised front end with LED lighting and an updated Chrysler logo. The barrier of entry has come down slightly across the line, as well, most notably on Limited AWD models like the one we tested, which get a price cut of a little more than $2,000, helping to mitigate the extra $3,000 the AWD option adds.

If it sounds like we’re grasping at straws here, you’re right. The Pacifica’s interior, arguably the most important part of any minivan, hasn’t been updated much, either. It’s still pretty comfortable, and Stow ’n Go—Chrysler’s time-honored system for turning a full cabin’s worth of seating into a flat floor and 140.5 cubic feet of cargo space with a couple of flicks of the wrist—is still great, but you can’t get it in the Pinnacle, its most expensive and well-appointed trim.

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We think Stow ’n Go is a must-have feature, and the less expensive Limited spec we tested had it. It’ll still cost you, though—a Pacifica S Limited AWD starts at $53,580, and one optioned like ours neared $59,000, putting it in a bit of an awkward spot against a generally newer and less expensive competitive set.

But if you long for that old-school feeling or just gotta have a gas engine to go with your AWD, this minivan might still be the one. Ultimately, though, as features editor Scott Evans put it, the 2027 Pacifica “needs much more than some new headlights and a badge that looks like a space invader” to make it into the finalist round of our competition.

This review was conducted as part of our 2027 Car of the Year (COTY) testing, where each vehicle is evaluated on our six key criteria: efficiency, design, safety, engineering excellence, value, and performance of intended function. Eligible vehicles must be all-new or significantly revised.