Topic: Preview: 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Minivan

[bombastic]

Ontariodriver doesn't like anything that's not from Toyota.

I actually prefer Honda's to Toyota. If I wasn't so worry about the car breaking. I'd like a MK7 golf. Such a nice car.

Golf breaking??  I had a 2010 for 4 years and 80k.  Other than scheduled maintenance every 15k, it was never in for repairs, not even a squeak or rattle.  So far, after 2 years and 40k, my 14 Passat hasn't had any problems either.  Can't say that for any other makes of cars I've had before, the worst being '04 and '08 Camry's.

Well you've been lucky.

Please, check the reliability statistics. Golf is by no means an unreliable car. It is somewhere mid back. And the difference with Corolla/Civic is negligible.

[Solstice2006]

Ontariodriver doesn't like anything that's not from Toyota.

I actually prefer Honda's to Toyota. If I wasn't so worry about the car breaking. I'd like a MK7 golf. Such a nice car.

Golf breaking??  I had a 2010 for 4 years and 80k.  Other than scheduled maintenance every 15k, it was never in for repairs, not even a squeak or rattle.  So far, after 2 years and 40k, my 14 Passat hasn't had any problems either.  Can't say that for any other makes of cars I've had before, the worst being '04 and '08 Camry's.

Well you've been lucky.

Your talking about VW reliability in a Chrysler thread! Which is at the bottom of every list going.  Way to derail the thread, I thought it was only me that did that...

[safristi]

I tend to agree in purpose they are useful...but should come with HOOKERS & BLOW to make up for the shaming from friends & neighbours..................OK cheap BLOW then....

[safristi]

"DEALER!!!" option

[OliverD]

But those aren't the options people choose between.  Personally, I fail to see how choosing a garden variety CUV somehow makes a world of difference, other than that CUV's escape the "minivan shaming".  But on most metrics that actually matter on a day-to-day basis, the minivan will be the better pick for many people.

Minus the lack of AWD options. But yes, you certainly get more bang for your buck with a minivan in terms of people and cargo carrying capabilities.

[tooscoops]

WOOOOOooooOOOOOOOOO!!!!! COME buY a VaNN oFFFFF ME!!!!!!!!! YiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiIIIIIIP!

anywho, i totally agree. just had a super blue collar guy come in (his work truck on lunch break) wondering about cherokee... married with three kids... price is important... options, not. suggested van and he literally just started laughing and called his coworker over to tell him the funny joke i made and stuck with a cherokee...

so no van... after all, at the price he can afford, it would have a more reliable transmission, bigger/stronger engine, WAY more space and the kids wouldn't grow out of it in a year or two, have stow n go and way more topys to keep people happy..... the only actual negative is the fuel is a bit more. but that image part is just so darned important that it's worth being uncomfortable, unable to do the same trips, and put yourself in financial strife... pride can suck sometimes.

[canbra]

Over a year ago, I wrote this about FCA minivan going hybrid and my yearning for a Sienna Hybrid that would follow suit:

I am actually waiting for Chrysler to announce their new minivan in hybrid form. The Fiat guy said a couple of years ago that they were working on one.

Not that I would buy one from Chrysler, but I believe that move on their part would force Toyota to move their *** out of the comfort zone and incorporate their hybrid powertrain into the Sienna. Possibly in a brand new and more fuel efficient new Sienna. Hopefully Honda follows suit, to give Toyota some competition and not end up like the Highlander Hybrid, that costs 6 grands more over the regular Highlander...

A hybrid minivan in 4, 5 years from now would make me seriously consider getting one.

Even though I got beat up by then NoTo now No-san (below)  , I am still hoping for Toyota to approve funding to their minivan product department and announce a revamped 2017 Sienna shortly with the option to go hybrid. (And hopefully not only on the top Limited trim...)

Don't hold your breath.  It's not because they don't think that they could get better fuel economy, nor that they don't have a hybrid system that they could use, but the battery has to go somewhere.  It's kind of like the Sienna AWD - in order for the rear driveshaft to fit, there could not be a spare tire and all Sienna AWDs come OEM with runflats for that reason.  Many folks already say "I won't buy the AWD Sienna because then I have to use runflats or take up cargo space with a spare tire!"

If they did make a Sienna hybrid, it could be AWD like the RX hybrid is, but it will then lose the rear seats' ability to be folded flat into the floor.  Most folks would rather have the folding seats than save 2-3L/100km, and pay $3,000+ for the premium of having the hybrid system.

While I am fully in support of an AWD minivan, I have less support for a hybrid minivan.  I would like to see a minivan be more fuel efficient, but the reality is that there's simply no great place to store the battery.  I'm amazed that our RX400h has a full-sized spare tire and a massive battery pack, but that's because the battery sits under the rear seats.  In a minivan, that's simply not possible, especially if you want the seats to be removable.

I believe Toyota has several design sheets about how it'd be, what they would tackle, what to focus on etc., on their new minivan and this just hasn't been funded so far because, basically, there was no commercial need for it given where the competition was. Now, that landscape was shaken up by this solid announcement from FCA and this may be just the kick that was missing for the new Sienna engineering to be given go-ahead by the $ guys at Toyota.

[X-Traction]

I mean the vitriol spewed over these vehicles would lead one to believe that car choices are binary: a minivan versus _____ (enter your favourite enthusiast offering).  Given these two options, then, yes, the minivan might be somewhat lacking.

But those aren't the options people choose between.  Personally, I fail to see how choosing a garden variety CUV somehow makes a world of difference, other than that CUV's escape the "minivan shaming".  But on most metrics that actually matter on a day-to-day basis, the minivan will be the better pick for many people.

True, but minivans, having become anything but MINI, may be just too big for many people.  For us, a minivan, even with awd, just can't get to places we like to go.  I see cuv's as a better combination of features for far more people than a minivan.  Yes, the minivan excels in some aspects and for some people, but not overall.  Decades ago, before cuv's, our circle of friends were putting up with all sorts of things from sports cars to vans.  Our conclusion was that the ideal vehicle for us would be a 2/3 to 3/4 scale Suburban. Now, we have tons of such choices.

[safristi]

WOOOOOooooOOOOOOOOO!!!!! COME buY a VaNN oFFFFF ME!!!!!!!!! YiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiIIIIIIP!

anywho, i totally agree. just had a super blue collar guy come in (his work truck on lunch break) wondering about cherokee... married with three kids... price is important... options, not. suggested van and he literally just started laughing and called his coworker over to tell him the funny joke i made and stuck with a cherokee...

so no van... after all, at the price he can afford, it would have a more reliable transmission, bigger/stronger engine, WAY more space and the kids wouldn't grow out of it in a year or two, have stow n go and way more topys to keep people happy..... the only actual negative is the fuel is a bit more. but that image part is just so darned important that it's worth being uncomfortable, unable to do the same trips, and put yourself in financial strife... pride can suck sometimes.

,,,,,,


   OR BLOW      COULDN'T RESISIT.      great post.....it's better to look good than have a few quid in the BANK

[neil]

Ontariodriver doesn't like anything that's not from Toyota.

I actually prefer Honda's to Toyota. If I wasn't so worry about the car breaking. I'd like a MK7 golf. Such a nice car.

Golf breaking??  I had a 2010 for 4 years and 80k.  Other than scheduled maintenance every 15k, it was never in for repairs, not even a squeak or rattle.  So far, after 2 years and 40k, my 14 Passat hasn't had any problems either.  Can't say that for any other makes of cars I've had before, the worst being '04 and '08 Camry's.

Well you've been lucky.

Your talking about VW reliability in a Chrysler thread! Which is at the bottom of every list going.  Way to derail the thread, I thought it was only me that did that...

Godwin's second law of the Internet:

[Calbrez]

I never understood why north americans came to hate the minimavan, especially canuks... i suspect, though, that it has to do with the any-child/anti-familiy attitude that prevails these days..  We need these vehicles and we need people to make babies and have families! it's the foundation of civilization!  But I digress...

Bravo, Fiat-Chrysler...

[Solstice2006]

I never understood why north americans came to hate the minimavan, especially canuks... i suspect, though, that it has to do with the any-child/anti-familiy attitude that prevails these days..  We need these vehicles and we need people to make babies and have families! it's the foundation of civilization!  But I digress...

Bravo, Fiat-Chrysler...

North Americans?  How many Odyssey's, Sienna's, Ford, and GM minivan have you ever seen in Europe, Asia?

[dirtyjeffer]

I never understood why north americans came to hate the minimavan, especially canuks... i suspect, though, that it has to do with the any-child/anti-familiy attitude that prevails these days..  We need these vehicles and we need people to make babies and have families! it's the foundation of civilization!  But I digress...

Bravo, Fiat-Chrysler...

meh...there's enough people on this planet already...the more we add, the more we ruin it.

[tooscoops]

I never understood why north americans came to hate the minimavan, especially canuks... i suspect, though, that it has to do with the any-child/anti-familiy attitude that prevails these days..  We need these vehicles and we need people to make babies and have families! it's the foundation of civilization!  But I digress...

Bravo, Fiat-Chrysler...

North Americans?  How many Odyssey's, Sienna's, Ford, and GM minivan have you ever seen in Europe, Asia?

people over the pond probably look at our bevy of vans and dream about road trips and being able to fit everyone in without feeling like the car might burst...

so yeah, it is a north american view that the vans are a penalty box... i think that's what he means... also, even the way you said it, europeans wouldn't have a view one way or the other, would they? but whatever...

[neil]

Saw lots of T&C's in The Bourne Supremacy running around Germany.

[Solstice2006]

Saw lots of T&C's in The Bourne Supremacy running around Germany.

LOL, I didn't mention Chrysler in my first post! Those were probably imported for the government goons. 

[dkaz]

I never understood why north americans came to hate the minimavan, especially canuks... i suspect, though, that it has to do with the any-child/anti-familiy attitude that prevails these days..  We need these vehicles and we need people to make babies and have families! it's the foundation of civilization!  But I digress...

Bravo, Fiat-Chrysler...

North Americans?  How many Odyssey's, Sienna's, Ford, and GM minivan have you ever seen in Europe, Asia?

Some guys in the Japanese chapter of VanKulture have imported Siennas there and modified the hell out of them. One pretty much has to be in the upper middle class there to be able to afford to drive something like a Sienna though.

[neil]

Nothing let's the spooks blend in in Berlin like Driving Canadian built American minivans.