2021 Chrysler Pacifica PHEV long term review
You may know me from my weekly grocery QC round up threads. As a single income earner and father of two, saving money is always a priority. ''Helping'' the environment is a plus.
We took delivery of our Pacifica in Sept when it was originally scheduled for April as It was delayed due to the supply shortage.
After three months of ownership I can confirm this is the best vehicle we have EVER owned. I always bought my cars new and fully loaded. ( Honda Civic SI, Honda Accord EX, Mazda 3 GT (spouse), Audi S4, Dodge Caravan GT (spouse), Grand Cherokee, now Pacifica PHEV Pinnacle )
The Pacifica is significantly more luxurious than the Audi S4 with a never ending list of standard equipment. In fact, the only ''option'' you could check are winter mats.
Of note is the Nappa leather - an expensive option in most brands, full panoramic sunroof and moonroof for the 3rd row, custom cushions for passengers, dual TV screens for the 2nd row etc.
As a downside, the Stow-and-Go seats are unavailable in the 2nd row as the batteries take all the floor space, bench is not available for the 2nd row ( limited to 7 passengers instead of 8), no vacuum and manual folding seats in the 3rd row ( they're electric folding in the gas Pinnacle).
What is incredible is that the Pacifica PHEV is actually more affordable than the regular Pacifica BEFORE the government credits. Chrysler did a great job on this and probably one of the few times carmakers thought about the consumers. The gas Pacifica Pinnacle starts at 60k+ whereas the Pacifica Pinnacle PHEV is 59 995, just enough to get the full 13 000 EV credit in QC. A better, more economical vehicle for 13 000 less? NO BRAINER!
Between being a taxi for the kid's and the occasional grocery run, we drive less than 60km per day and the maximum battery range of 60km was PERFECT. Its always plugged in a night and with the Level2 Tesla charger (don't ask, Big fan of Tesla here :P) it takes about 4 hours to fully charge. The OEM level1 charging takes about 12 hours and a Level2 would take 2 hours. We DID not upgrade our breakers etc, hence the slower charging time of 4 hours.
We set a charging schedule and a preset ''conditioning'' mode (HVAC, heating etc) starts about 10 mins before we leave for school. The car is warm/cool and ready and because it's plugged in, we leave with more or less 100% battery.
On the downside, range does decrease about 15-20% on cold days which is in line with gas cars anyway. I had not put gas in the car since the purchase until...
One big negative that we should have known/told about is the ''gas maintenance''. Because we run about 99% of the time on electric, gas is almost never used and gas does go ''bad'' after a while. 3 months in, the vehicle stayed on gas ONLY until FULL depletion. On our fill refill, I put just enough gas to feel ''safe''. The car will also run the gas engine under heavy conditions (full AC/heater on with cool/heated seats on etc).
In Montreal, the rate is about 0,06$ to 0,09$ per KW. In the WORST case scenario, It should cost us about 300$ or so in electricity.
What about the public charging grid? We use the Roulons Electrique app and chargers are almost everywhere and It's usually 1$/hour of charging. For the Pacifica, it would be around 2$ for the full 60km range. Charging stations next to a Chain department/corner store, you will often get free water bottle/coffee etc for every charging session which is really cool. Charging stations next to metro stations are usually
2.50$/day. Furthermore, some charging stations are FREE such as the ones in Marché Central and all the stations of the small shopping center in Bois-Franc/VSL On Henri-Bourassa are ALL FREE. Very nice thinking from the borough/developers.
I have attached a picture since my first gas refill. Over 331 kms driven, ONLY 4 kms was on gas or 98% electric/almost 0 emission.
Once the kids no longer need it, our next purchase will certainly be a full BEV. We're leaning towards a Tesla but we're open to offerings from KIA/Huyndai etc.
Ask me anything, especially if you still have doubts about EVs/BEVs/PHEVs. We're never going back to gas, ever.
We took delivery of our Pacifica in Sept when it was originally scheduled for April as It was delayed due to the supply shortage.
After three months of ownership I can confirm this is the best vehicle we have EVER owned. I always bought my cars new and fully loaded. ( Honda Civic SI, Honda Accord EX, Mazda 3 GT (spouse), Audi S4, Dodge Caravan GT (spouse), Grand Cherokee, now Pacifica PHEV Pinnacle )
The Pacifica is significantly more luxurious than the Audi S4 with a never ending list of standard equipment. In fact, the only ''option'' you could check are winter mats.
Of note is the Nappa leather - an expensive option in most brands, full panoramic sunroof and moonroof for the 3rd row, custom cushions for passengers, dual TV screens for the 2nd row etc.
As a downside, the Stow-and-Go seats are unavailable in the 2nd row as the batteries take all the floor space, bench is not available for the 2nd row ( limited to 7 passengers instead of 8), no vacuum and manual folding seats in the 3rd row ( they're electric folding in the gas Pinnacle).
What is incredible is that the Pacifica PHEV is actually more affordable than the regular Pacifica BEFORE the government credits. Chrysler did a great job on this and probably one of the few times carmakers thought about the consumers. The gas Pacifica Pinnacle starts at 60k+ whereas the Pacifica Pinnacle PHEV is 59 995, just enough to get the full 13 000 EV credit in QC. A better, more economical vehicle for 13 000 less? NO BRAINER!
Between being a taxi for the kid's and the occasional grocery run, we drive less than 60km per day and the maximum battery range of 60km was PERFECT. Its always plugged in a night and with the Level2 Tesla charger (don't ask, Big fan of Tesla here :P) it takes about 4 hours to fully charge. The OEM level1 charging takes about 12 hours and a Level2 would take 2 hours. We DID not upgrade our breakers etc, hence the slower charging time of 4 hours.
We set a charging schedule and a preset ''conditioning'' mode (HVAC, heating etc) starts about 10 mins before we leave for school. The car is warm/cool and ready and because it's plugged in, we leave with more or less 100% battery.
On the downside, range does decrease about 15-20% on cold days which is in line with gas cars anyway. I had not put gas in the car since the purchase until...
One big negative that we should have known/told about is the ''gas maintenance''. Because we run about 99% of the time on electric, gas is almost never used and gas does go ''bad'' after a while. 3 months in, the vehicle stayed on gas ONLY until FULL depletion. On our fill refill, I put just enough gas to feel ''safe''. The car will also run the gas engine under heavy conditions (full AC/heater on with cool/heated seats on etc).
In Montreal, the rate is about 0,06$ to 0,09$ per KW. In the WORST case scenario, It should cost us about 300$ or so in electricity.
What about the public charging grid? We use the Roulons Electrique app and chargers are almost everywhere and It's usually 1$/hour of charging. For the Pacifica, it would be around 2$ for the full 60km range. Charging stations next to a Chain department/corner store, you will often get free water bottle/coffee etc for every charging session which is really cool. Charging stations next to metro stations are usually
2.50$/day. Furthermore, some charging stations are FREE such as the ones in Marché Central and all the stations of the small shopping center in Bois-Franc/VSL On Henri-Bourassa are ALL FREE. Very nice thinking from the borough/developers.
I have attached a picture since my first gas refill. Over 331 kms driven, ONLY 4 kms was on gas or 98% electric/almost 0 emission.
Once the kids no longer need it, our next purchase will certainly be a full BEV. We're leaning towards a Tesla but we're open to offerings from KIA/Huyndai etc.
Ask me anything, especially if you still have doubts about EVs/BEVs/PHEVs. We're never going back to gas, ever.
Financial and Debt Advisor
. Looks like almost 4000 km on the odo.
