2018 Pacifica Hybrid

[ArkansasVolt]

I took delivery of my Pacifica Hybrid on 12/1, and it replaced a 2015 Honda Odyssey. It was very hard to find one and sales people reminded me of when I shopped for a Volt in 2011. They were not yet educated on the electric aspect of their vehicles. After a few attempts at local dealerships, I ended up going to Patriot in McAllister, OK to to a dealer transfer. It took a few attempts, but we were able to negotiate and get a Pacifica Hybrid transferred.

The Pacifica Hybrid (PacHy) is very similar to the Volt which I have had for nearly 7 years, but I can explain some differences that I have encountered.

- Stomping on the accelerator is not all electric in the PacHy which wasn't a surprise because I had read about it and had experienced it in the Fusion Energi before.
- "Engine running due to temperature" like the Volt, but has kicked on as warm as 44 degrees Fahrenheit. Unlike the Volt, there are no large warning messages. I have had it come up on one of the screens, but can't remember off hand which functionality showed the message
- Tons of extra features compared to my 2011 Volt. ACC all the way to a stop and start back up again, though not as smooth as my parents' Tesla Model S; 360 cameras; huge sunroof (tri-pane), hands free side and rear hatch; heated steering wheel; Android Auto; etc. I know many of these features are now available on the newer Volt, but worth mentioning to those interested.
- MPG is given in terms of MPGe. When in all electric in the PacHy, I typically see 80ish MPG on the trip info popups when I turn off the power.

I am sure I will think of more over time.

Range has been surprisingly good. 40+ in 50s temperature without hypermiling. In gas only scenarios, I am getting about 35 MPG.

So far, the only thing I miss is memory seats which I had in the Odyssey. The PacHy more than makes up for it by the awesome ride (smooth and low center of gravity) compared to the Odyssey.


2011 Chevy Volt;
2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid

 

[ArkansasVolt]

I took delivery of my Pacifica Hybrid on 12/1, and it replaced a 2015 Honda Odyssey. It was very hard to find one and sales people reminded me of when I shopped for a Volt in 2011. They were not yet educated on the electric aspect of their vehicles. After a few attempts at local dealerships, I ended up going to Patriot in McAllister, OK to to a dealer transfer. It took a few attempts, but we were able to negotiate and get a Pacifica Hybrid transferred.

The Pacifica Hybrid (PacHy) is very similar to the Volt which I have had for nearly 7 years, but I can explain some differences that I have encountered.

- Stomping on the accelerator is not all electric in the PacHy which wasn't a surprise because I had read about it and had experienced it in the Fusion Energi before.
- "Engine running due to temperature" like the Volt, but has kicked on as warm as 44 degrees Fahrenheit. Unlike the Volt, there are no large warning messages. I have had it come up on one of the screens, but can't remember off hand which functionality showed the message
- Tons of extra features compared to my 2011 Volt. ACC all the way to a stop and start back up again, though not as smooth as my parents' Tesla Model S; 360 cameras; huge sunroof (tri-pane), hands free side and rear hatch; heated steering wheel; Android Auto; etc. I know many of these features are now available on the newer Volt, but worth mentioning to those interested.
- MPG is given in terms of MPGe. When in all electric in the PacHy, I typically see 80ish MPG on the trip info popups when I turn off the power.

I am sure I will think of more over time.

Range has been surprisingly good. 40+ in 50s temperature without hypermiling. In gas only scenarios, I am getting about 35 MPG.

So far, the only thing I miss is memory seats which I had in the Odyssey. The PacHy more than makes up for it by the awesome ride (smooth and low center of gravity) compared to the Odyssey.


2011 Chevy Volt;
2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid

Adding pictures...


2011 Chevy Volt;
2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid

 

[Domenick]

I took delivery of my Pacifica Hybrid on 12/1, and it replaced a 2015 Honda Odyssey. It was very hard to find one and sales people reminded me of when I shopped for a Volt in 2011. They were not yet educated on the electric aspect of their vehicles. After a few attempts at local dealerships, I ended up going to Patriot in McAllister, OK to to a dealer transfer. It took a few attempts, but we were able to negotiate and get a Pacifica Hybrid transferred.

The Pacifica Hybrid (PacHy) is very similar to the Volt which I have had for nearly 7 years, but I can explain some differences that I have encountered.

- Stomping on the accelerator is not all electric in the PacHy which wasn't a surprise because I had read about it and had experienced it in the Fusion Energi before.
- "Engine running due to temperature" like the Volt, but has kicked on as warm as 44 degrees Fahrenheit. Unlike the Volt, there are no large warning messages. I have had it come up on one of the screens, but can't remember off hand which functionality showed the message
- Tons of extra features compared to my 2011 Volt. ACC all the way to a stop and start back up again, though not as smooth as my parents' Tesla Model S; 360 cameras; huge sunroof (tri-pane), hands free side and rear hatch; heated steering wheel; Android Auto; etc. I know many of these features are now available on the newer Volt, but worth mentioning to those interested.
- MPG is given in terms of MPGe. When in all electric in the PacHy, I typically see 80ish MPG on the trip info popups when I turn off the power.

I am sure I will think of more over time.

Range has been surprisingly good. 40+ in 50s temperature without hypermiling. In gas only scenarios, I am getting about 35 MPG.

So far, the only thing I miss is memory seats which I had in the Odyssey. The PacHy more than makes up for it by the awesome ride (smooth and low center of gravity) compared to the Odyssey.


2011 Chevy Volt;
2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid

Thanks for taking the time to tell us that. Nice to hear that it compares so favorably to the Odyssey, which is the gold standard of minivans, it seems.
Great range too! Much better than the EPA 33-mile rating.

I'm really surprised that it hasn't sold better, but it's also true they've had some production "challenges." I actually called my local dealer last summer, and they couldn't get one and couldn't say how long it would take before they did have one. Maybe I should give them a call back.

 

[ArkansasVolt]

It is very easily worth going to the dealership and see if they can transfer one in. It also helps them with further allocations for not only eco friendly vehicles but sought after cars like the hellcat. They will work with you if they care for the allocations aspect.


2011 Chevy Volt;
2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid

 

[Scramjett]

To the OP: how is your Pacifica so far? I have to say that I've heard some not so good things about it in the Pacifica forums.

 

[Cypress]

Bought a PacHy Touring L off the lot on Memorial Day weekend sale. They had about 10 hybrids on the lot. Velvet Red. Doesn’t have all the fancy stuff the Limited trim has, and I didnt really need/want for the extra cost.

But has heated front seats. Leather all-around. Blind spot monitoring and parking sensors, Apple CarPlay.

Mostly my wife’s vehicle. But her first day out, she didn’t use any gas. 10miles to an appointment, 10 miles to the Mall, plugged in at the mall for free for a full charge, and home 10 miles.

 

[Domenick]

Bought a PacHy Touring L off the lot on Memorial Day weekend sale. They had about 10 hybrids on the lot. Velvet Red. Doesn’t have all the fancy stuff the Limited trim has, and I didnt really need/want for the extra cost.

But has heated front seats. Leather all-around. Blind spot monitoring and parking sensors, Apple CarPlay.

Mostly my wife’s vehicle. But her first day out, she didn’t use any gas. 10miles to an appointment, 10 miles to the Mall, plugged in at the mall for free for a full charge, and home 10 miles.

Congrats! Looks great. I don't really hear much about the Pacifica Hybrid...I keep forgetting that it's even out there unless I see one from the Waymo fleet.

 

[Scramjett]

Bought a PacHy Touring L off the lot on Memorial Day weekend sale. They had about 10 hybrids on the lot. Velvet Red. Doesn’t have all the fancy stuff the Limited trim has, and I didnt really need/want for the extra cost.

But has heated front seats. Leather all-around. Blind spot monitoring and parking sensors, Apple CarPlay.

Mostly my wife’s vehicle. But her first day out, she didn’t use any gas. 10miles to an appointment, 10 miles to the Mall, plugged in at the mall for free for a full charge, and home 10 miles.

Congrats! We’re seriously considering getting one also. My wife talked me into a minivan, which I’ve resisted until now (I once said that I’d get a suburban long before I’d be caught dead in a minivan), but my condition was that it had to be a plug-in. I was counting on the outlander and not even expecting the Pacifica, but Chrysler surprised me. I also can’t get past the utility of it. So, pretty soon, we’ll probably get one.

Please do keep us posted on how it’s working out for you guys and any problems that come up!

 

[Cypress]

Congrats! Looks great. I don't really hear much about the Pacifica Hybrid...I keep forgetting that it's even out there unless I see one from the Waymo fleet.

Waymo just ordered 62,000 Pacifica Hybrids from Chrysler.

 

[Scramjett]

Congrats! Looks great. I don't really hear much about the Pacifica Hybrid...I keep forgetting that it's even out there unless I see one from the Waymo fleet.

I saw one drive by our house a couple weeks ago and another parked and charging a couple days ago. The drive by took me by surprise because there are hardly any PEVs where we live and the ones you do see are usually Volts, Prime’s or Tesla’s. Sometimes a Leaf too.

 

[Scramjett]

So we finally pulled the trigger and bought a white Pacifica Hybrid Limited. Pictures below. The first was just after our test drive at the dealer and the last two are in our driveway next to our 2017 Volt. Wasn’t interested in a white car but this was the only one that had the trim and options we were looking for. I have to admit that the white is growing on me!

I have to agree with ArkansasVolt (OP) that it does drive very much like a Volt, right down to the L gear, except that the engine will come on under heavy acceleration (as he experienced). I have noticed (and verified in the owners manual) that the engine will cycle on and off after it first runs for the purpose of keeping the emissions control system warm. Not a fan of that approach, but I suspect that is largely due to the choice of not including user selected modes like the Volt has.

We all love it (kids especially) but the one frustration for me so far has been getting the uconnect and SiriusXM Guardian features to work. It seems to me that OnStar is far more user friendly than uconnect and SiriusXM Guardian.

I will update with our experiences, particularly after our first major road trip.

 

[Domenick]

So we finally pulled the trigger and bought a white Pacifica Hybrid Limited. Pictures below. The first was just after our test drive at the dealer and the last two are in our driveway next to our 2017 Volt. Wasn’t interested in a white car but this was the only one that had the trim and options we were looking for. I have to admit that the white is growing on me!

I have to agree with ArkansasVolt (OP) that it does drive very much like a Volt, right down to the L gear, except that the engine will come on under heavy acceleration (as he experienced). I have noticed (and verified in the owners manual) that the engine will cycle on and off after it first runs for the purpose of keeping the emissions control system warm. Not a fan of that approach, but I suspect that is largely due to the choice of not including user selected modes like the Volt has.

We all love it (kids especially) but the one frustration for me so far has been getting the uconnect and SiriusXM Guardian features to work. It seems to me that OnStar is far more user friendly than uconnect and SiriusXM Guardian.

I will update with our experiences, particularly after our first major road trip.

Woot! Always great to see one of our members get a brand-new plug-in. Especially one like this that I don't see too much of.

Feel free to start a new thread to document your ownership experience.

And, congratulations! (site needs a party emoji)

 

[WineCheeseChocolate]

ArkansasVolt and Scramjet
What did you end up paying for your Hybrid / what model? We have been looking at the Hybrid Limited and there are about 15 w/in 200mi from us (most only about 100mi. away) and as far as I can see none of the ones I’ve been watching have sold in the last 2 months. So, they aren’t moving well in this area. We are hoping to get a steal of a deal (no financing) toward the end of the month / year. So far I the best offer we have is $46,200 total after taxes (Advanced Safety Tech but no other options ontop of the Limited trim). Thanks!!

 

[Scramjett]

ArkansasVolt and Scramjet
What did you end up paying for your Hybrid / what model? We have been looking at the Hybrid Limited and there are about 15 w/in 200mi from us (most only about 100mi. away) and as far as I can see none of the ones I’ve been watching have sold in the last 2 months. So, they aren’t moving well in this area. We are hoping to get a steal of a deal (no financing) toward the end of the month / year. So far I the best offer we have is $46,200 total after taxes (Advanced Safety Tech but no other options ontop of the Limited trim). Thanks!!

We bought the Limited with everything but the panoramic moonroof (disappointing because I really wanted it, but since it’ll be mostly my wife’s car, she said “no”) for around $46,000 out the door. That included the advanced safety tech package and the “hybrid appearance package” (18” wheels, etc). Great car! Only minivan I’ve ever been able to enjoy driving. If you’ve ever driven a Volt before, then you’ll notice it drives very much like a large Volt. We got a $5000 dealer rebate which more than paid for the tax and title. We bought ours local but I was willing to drive to the Bay Area if needed (less than 100 miles away, and where I bought my Volt). As of this writing, it has only gone up another $1000 for a total of $6000 where we bought it.

Just out of curiosity, where are you located? When we bought ours in August, I found about 3 dozen limited trims within 100 miles (but this is EV friendly California after all). The sparse number might be because the 2019’s haven’t hit the dealer lots yet. A little birdie told me that the 2019’s probably won’t hit dealer lots until December. You can probably give it a couple more weeks before the dealers start ordering the 2019’s and then they’ll really start dropping prices. I definitely recommend getting the 2018 because there is exactly no difference between the 2018 and 2019.

Sorry, that was a bit long winded. Good luck!

 

[Cypress]

ArkansasVolt and Scramjet
What did you end up paying for your Hybrid / what model? We have been looking at the Hybrid Limited and there are about 15 w/in 200mi from us (most only about 100mi. away) and as far as I can see none of the ones I’ve been watching have sold in the last 2 months. So, they aren’t moving well in this area. We are hoping to get a steal of a deal (no financing) toward the end of the month / year. So far I the best offer we have is $46,200 total after taxes (Advanced Safety Tech but no other options ontop of the Limited trim). Thanks!!

We got the trim below the limited. The Touring L. ~$39k (under $29k after our trade in of a 2012 subaru). Didn't want the in seat entertainment system that comes standard in the Limited. Kids don't need screen time everywhere we go, and I saw alot of reports of people having issues with the system. Just one more thing to go wrong/break overtime. Would have been nice if the advanced safety package had been available in that the touring L trim though. Also, for UCONNECT app, think you need the UCONNECT NAV upgrade, or maybe it only works in the Limited. Basically allows you to remote start and check on the charge status and lock/unlock the doors from your phone, stuff like that. I didn't realize it wouldn't work with the trim I got. Not a huge deal for me, though. Sounds like alot of people have issues with the app not working anyway.

No regrets on the purchase though. Currently at about 86% electric miles, and 47mpg average. Had been up to 65mpg. Think we are taking a hit due to the colder fall weather and heating the interior.

 

[BmoreTesla]

We bought the Limited with everything but the panoramic moonroof (disappointing because I really wanted it, but since it’ll be mostly my wife’s car, she said “no”) for around $46,000 out the door. That included the advanced safety tech package and the “hybrid appearance package” (18” wheels, etc). Great car! Only minivan I’ve ever been able to enjoy driving. If you’ve ever driven a Volt before, then you’ll notice it drives very much like a large Volt. We got a $5000 dealer rebate which more than paid for the tax and title. We bought ours local but I was willing to drive to the Bay Area if needed (less than 100 miles away, and where I bought my Volt). As of this writing, it has only gone up another $1000 for a total of $6000 where we bought it.

Just out of curiosity, where are you located? When we bought ours in August, I found about 3 dozen limited trims within 100 miles (but this is EV friendly California after all). The sparse number might be because the 2019’s haven’t hit the dealer lots yet. A little birdie told me that the 2019’s probably won’t hit dealer lots until December. You can probably give it a couple more weeks before the dealers start ordering the 2019’s and then they’ll really start dropping prices. I definitely recommend getting the 2018 because there is exactly no difference between the 2018 and 2019.

Sorry, that was a bit long winded. Good luck!

Just thought I would correct some mis-information in this post.

1) There are 2 big differences between the 2018 and 2019. They especially matter to us and helped us decide to go with a 2019 instead of a 2018 PacHy.

A) The 2019 now has power folding mirrors. This is huge for my wife, as she will be squeezing the van into a tight garage.
B) The 2019 has added memory seats, which not only save seat position, but also saves mirror position and radio presets.

2) The 2019's have hit the ground. and have been delivered for the last couple of weeks, so no waiting until December. Over on the PacHy forums people were ordering them as early as August, but there was a delay due to a software update. Quite a few 2019s here locally, and a lot more in transit.

BMoreTesla

 

[BmoreTesla]

Just thought I would correct some mis-information in this post.

1) There are 2 big differences between the 2018 and 2019. They especially matter to us and helped us decide to go with a 2019 instead of a 2018 PacHy.

A) The 2019 now has power folding mirrors. This is huge for my wife, as she will be squeezing the van into a tight garage.
B) The 2019 has added memory seats, which not only save seat position, but also saves mirror position and radio presets.

2) The 2019's have hit the ground. and have been delivered for the last couple of weeks, so no waiting until December. Over on the PacHy forums people were ordering them as early as August, but there was a delay due to a software update. Quite a few 2019s here locally, and a lot more in transit.

BMoreTesla

Oh, I forgot, Auto Advance and Return have also been added to the 2019 front driver and passenger seats.

BMoreTesla

 

[specialgreen]

Could anyone guess the distance from the back of 2nd-row to the rear door (especially near the floor, where it's probably biggest)? We need about 6 feet of length for frequent cargo, and aren't interested in constantly pulling the 2nd row seats out. In our old Sienna, we could unlatch the back-end of the 2nd row and tip them forward to get an extra foot, without having to lift and remove them.

Also, if you preheat the van while plugged-in, does the PacHy still start the engine? Where we live, it's typically below freezing from late November to early April (we've had snowcover for a week now). I don't mind reduced range from an electric heater, but running the engine for no good reason would be annoying (with the Volt, some people added a resistor to the outside temp probe, to make the car think it was warmer out!).

 

[BmoreTesla]

Also, if you preheat the van while plugged-in, does the PacHy still start the engine? Where we live, it's typically below freezing from late November to early April (we've had snowcover for a week now). I don't mind reduced range from an electric heater, but running the engine for no good reason would be annoying (with the Volt, some people added a resistor to the outside temp probe, to make the car think it was warmer out!).

Not an owner yet, but I have been researching up in anticipation of the arrival of our PacHy. YOu can run the heat without the ICE coming on. It is called "the Pittman Method" after a member of the Facebook PacHy group who discovered it. Apparently, push the start button twice, without putting your foot on the brake will allow the heat to come on and run off electric. Obviously you will need a level 2 EVSE to maintain the charge, a level one will still allow the battery to get depleted.

 

[Sparta]

...No regrets on the purchase though. Currently at about 86% electric miles, and 47mpg average. Had been up to 65mpg. Think we are taking a hit due to the colder fall weather and heating the interior.

Those numbers seem impressive, but I can't figure out for the life of me how the mpg read-out on the dashboard, and have no idea how it's calculating the imaginary figure that seems to be no-where close to reality.

I've just started tracking during the the last fill-up, and found that I've been averaging 2.34 Miles / kWh over 387 electric miles, and 20.5 MPG over 297 gas miles. Super disappointed by the MPG given that ~ 200 of those miles were at a steady highway speed round-trip to Monterrey, where the engine should have had plenty of time to warm up. During this time, the dashboard showed 29.6 MPG on fuel-only... or at least that's what I think it means on the trip-meter, since it has a fuel station pump symbol next to it.

Because I trust nothing the car tells me, I went and made a calculator that incorporates the current Miles / kWh and MPG I'm achieving along with the Price Per Gallon of my most recent fill-up to generate a $ / kWh break-even point. I contemplated also calculating a $ / Gal break-even, but given that I'm charging in a Time-Of-Use in the SF Bay Area with 3 separate time-of-day rates and different tiers on the weekends / weekdays, and different rates in summer / winter... I'm going to hold off on that bit.

With that low MPG figure, my break-even point on $ / kWh is about $0.39, so it's worth it to charge any time except in peak-time rates ( ~$0.48 / kWh ). Even then, I figure it's worth it to charge-up if I have to choose between that and Gas, assuming the maintenance costs down the road from using the gas engine will offset the extra $0.09 / kWh.

Anyone interested in seeing the details is welcome to check out the Google Sheet I'm using to track info here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LTBtGCgOz8wZ5q-z9ncc0_i-tUmXdzA7yAzhUYc0If8/edit?usp=sharing

All that aside, I love the vehicle though, and think there is nothing on the market right now that compares at the price-point given the massive discount dealers are offering. Anyone interested should check out Gilroy (South County) Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge. I picked my 2018 Touring Limited with Safety Tech up for $8,000 off MSRP, and that's BEFORE any State or Federal Rebates. Taxes and Reg extra of course. I thought I was gonna get the run-around when I showed up to purchase, but they actually were a no-hassle process with no hidden fees. Looks like they're still offering about the same right now also...