Pacifica Info

The wife and I are expecting our third young one and the two sedans we have are not going to cut it any more.

My wife has always liked the looks of the Pacifica and from the research I have done they do not seem to be too bad aside from the 04 ones. Does anyone have any first hand experience with them?

We are also looking at R class Mercedes, the prices for soem of those are really good, so if anyone has any info on those that would be helpful also.

Thanks

they are basically the same car?

I always thought they looked like the fat sister of the Grand Cherokee. Never had any personal experience with one, though.

My mom had a Pacifica. She liked it.

She then bought a Taurus X (aka Freestyle) and liked it alot better than the Pacifica.

While down .5L and ~50hp the Freestyle/Taurus X was as quick/quicker accelerating and got better fuel economy, to the point that the AWD Ford even got better economy than the FWD Chrysler.

mad_machine wrote: they are basically the same car?

Nope.

Going from two sedans to a Pacifica or R-Class, I suspect that you are fighting with the idea of owning a Minivan. Are you saying, "I will never drive a minivan?"
Embrace the idea, it really makes for easy travel. They largely are designed with your needs in mind. Sort of like the right tool for the job.

Pacifica: Weirdest. Feeling. Brakes. Ever.

I happen to like the Freestyle but my wife will not get a wagon, her parents ruined her with reguards to wagons with a brown 80 510 when she was growing up so the Ford is out. When we had our second son I tried for about 4 months to talk her into a 9-5 Aero wagon to no avail. At least she likes to shift herself so the 9-5 Aero sedan we got is a 5 speed.

The Merc and the Pac are the same consept but the R is much bigger and nicer.

Does anyone know the real world gas mileage difference between the 4 speed and 6 speed auto? That is one of the big things I can not find any good info on.

I think the crossover stuff is silly and useless. I have a Highlander and while it is a comfy ride, I would still rather have a minivan (and I do borrow Dad's van when I need to haul something) I've looked at Pacifica's and Freestyle's at the auto show and at family gatherings and they are just more of the same and don't really offer that much more room over a proper sedan (really they are just lifted sedans/wagons with slightly higher roofs, you still have to lift the kids into and out of the car)

A minivan on the other hand has a lower floor, larger doors and usually more seating capacity/seating options, plus they can handle fairly well since their CoG is usually lower than an SUV.

Honestly, you're parents any hope of trying to be different and cool needs to stop when you have kids. Do what is best for your family and just buy the best minivan you can get and keep something available for fun so that you both can remain attached to your childless days.

When you go shopping, take the kids and try getting the kids into and out of the cars a few times, then try a minivan.

I'd also check out the doors in a tight parking situation... One giant advantage of minivans is the sliding doors

Thanks for the info. A couple of things though.

Minivan is not going to happen. Some of it is the fact that neither of us likes the idea of a minivan, that much is true but there is more to it than that. We know quite a few people that have them, my dad has one and I have yet to be in one that holds the road as well as the Pacifica or the R. My sister-in-law has a KIA Sedona and aside from the sliding doors I really do not see any advantage to that over one of the vehicles we are looking at. You still have next to no room behind the back seats and as three is the max number of children we will be haveing there is no need for more seating options.

I think we have the being "cool and or different" thing covered with the two SAABs, the Alfa and the Spitfire so that is not the issue.

The two kids have gone with us and we have put the seats in each vehicle we have looked at, the third one won't be here until March. Now if Mazda would make a larger 5 with a turbo 4 in it we would be done looking but for now the search goes on.

I used to rent one almost every week for a while for work. Had a satellite radio, which I never had before. I got hooked on the all Elvis, all the time station, you know, where they broadcast interviews from Graceland. I called my girlfriend of 7 years from the road one day. I told her it was time to make the pilgrimage. She asked, "down the aisle???". I said no, to Graceland!

I called her back after she hung up on me and we did eventually get married. Funny thing is she ended up liking the Pacifica, which is surprising because I liked it too. Normally the wife hates my rides.

Seriously, I thought it was a good vehicle, I didn't notice the poor brakes but I understand that the vehicle is rather heavy so maybe that is why the brakes might go bad. A dealer once told me that the transmissions were the weak link in the Pacifica. I don't know if they are all, awd but I would not get a fwd Pacifica.

Spend the money for a 6 speed model, more power and better motor. Plus there were trans issues with the 4 speed iirc. My parents have one down in Florida for when they come down to their boat, and it's been great. Has hauled four people plus luggage and dive gear to the airport, boat parts, dive tanks, etc. All over creation.

we're getting ready to turn in her leased (ugh) CX-7 and buying a CX-9. thinking about it, i think crossovers make a lot of sense (if a type of car can even "make sense" or not).

like 81gtv6, a minivan is not happening (and i figure if you're writing a check for a car, it might as well be one you like). neither is the Z56 police package Tahoe i was advocating. but focusing purely on needs and capability, the crossover is a pretty good solution for many people. speaking for the CX-7:

-drives better than many sedans, and certainly better than any minivan. shockingly good brakes...stops almost as well as my RX-8. -hauled our two large dogs easily. -has plowed through 12" of water and 18" of snow with no issues.

it's been a fantastic car for us, and perfect for our needs so far. we're upsizing to something that can fit the dogs and rear-seat passengers (i.e., baby) at the same time. the 9 is basically the same car in a larger package.

and "minivans" (they shouild just call them "vans" at this point) these days aren't really any cheaper or better on gas.

I feel you buddy, that's how I wound up in a Rondo. For the price and my needs, no minivan or sedan or SUV met my needs as well. My daughter's coach had a Pacifica and I can say it is bigger than the Rondo by a good bit. They are W-I-D-E. They are also pretty luxurious inside. If it works for you, I don't see what the extra $$$ for the Merc would do. Unless you go for the AMG!

Thanks again. We had an 06 Pac overnight and aside from the 4 speed and smaller motor we liked it alot.

I had not thougth of a CX-9, I will check those out.

The thing I like about the Merc is that it has a decient amount of room behind the last row of seats and man they are sweet inside. They can be had for mid to low 20's if you look and that was what we were looking at but after seeing the prices for the Pacifica I think that is the way we are going to go, maybe upgrade to the Merc in a couple of years.

I first got interested in the R because you could get it with a diesel but they are holding their value too well. My 6 year old would love the AMG but again too much $$$.

Strizzo wrote: Spend the money for a 6 speed model, more power and better motor. Plus there were trans issues with the 4 speed iirc. My parents have one down in Florida for when they come down to their boat, and it's been great. Has hauled four people plus luggage and dive gear to the airport, boat parts, dive tanks, etc. All over creation.

In what year did they start putting in 6 speeds? I assume of course you mean 6 speed auto, right?

07 is the first year for the 6 speed auto.

Honestly, my wife and I fought the minivan thing as long as we could, too. Pre-kids, we bought an '06 RAV4 for her to commute in and we figured that would be all the kid hauler we'd ever need. Just before #2, we bit the bullet and bought an off-lease '05 Honda Odyssey. It has decent power, handles well, and does all of the kid hauling duties better than anything else. Power sliding doors are a great thing! The best part is, I can reconfigure (or remove) the seats and haul a bunch of stuff if I need to.

Between the kids and all of their stuff, we really needed the Odyssey. By the time you put a double stroller and a diaper bag in the cargo area of our RAV4, there's not much room left. My only regret in buying the Odyssey is that we didn't do it sooner.

My brother's wife has a Pacifica. I have limited experience in it but it seems to drive and ride nice, and I personally think they're pretty attractive as far as people movers go.

Celine Dion did the commercials for those. That alone is enough to make me never want one. EVER.

In all fairness, I do know two pacifica owners. They have churrens, and they seem to be happy with it.

I've worked on a few of them, and they were all giant POS's. To be fair, that could have been the owner's faults for neglecting them. The interiors on all of them fell apart pretty hardcore, one would kill the battery all of the time, another had electrical issues, and finally ALL of them had really horrible brakes.

I'd pass at any price.

Look into a Mazda 5, especially the newer ones. They look really cool. They have all of the convenience of a minivan with some cool styling. I showed one to my better half and she thought it looked cool (and she hates minivans).