Can you believe it’s officially been more than a decade since we first saw the Chrysler Pacifica minivan? On Jan. 11th, 2016, Chrysler’s sixth-generation minivan rolled on stage at the Detroit Auto Show, giving families and rental fleets a much-desired dose of modernity. Little did we know that rounded styling, a nicer interior, and a gearbox that didn’t date back to the K-Car’s Ultradrive would define America’s family car for the next decade. However, you can’t leave stuff on the shelf forever. Sometimes you need to switch it up, which is why the Pacifica is getting another facelift.
Right now, details are scarce. All we have to go on are three photos published to Chrysler’s official Facebook page, all showing a dramatically different face on the same basic van we’re all deeply familiar with. It’s unapologetically weird, yet not unprecedented. After all, it’s largely a mix of trends we’ve seen before.
Let’s start with the big statement pieces, the largely vertical headlights. Alright, they’re technically L-shaped, but all the important bits stack in a straight line up-and-down. We’re talking low-beams, additional elements, and what look to possibly be turn signals. As the driver of a small sedan and an even smaller convertible, automakers effectively lowering headlight beams on tall vehicles is a rather welcome thing, as it generally strikes a nice balance between headlight throw and glare reduction.
At the top of the fascia sits possibly the most controversial trend in modern car faces: A light bar with gaps. While several thin elements effectively span the width of the Pacifica in a singular line, I can’t help but wonder what this arrangement will actually look like at night. Maybe the stylistic gaps around the new-look Chrysler emblem will balance out the panel gaps between the headlights and the center element. We’ll just have to wait and see.
This newly slimmed upper grille treatment has really given Chrysler leeway to play with texture on the front fascia. The latest Pacifica comes across all texture-and-trim, especially where dimpling on the bumper cover meets stylized brightwork on the lower grille. Sure, the forward-facing radar unit isn’t as neatly hidden as it could be, but I’m definitely interested in seeing this latest front-end treatment up close. Add it all up, and you get a face perfectly in line with where the latter half of the 2020s is going.
What else can we see from these initial shots? Well, there is one thing perhaps unsurprisingly absent from the new Pacifica: A charging door on the left front fender. While you used to be able to order Chrysler’s modern minivan with a plug-in hybrid powertrain, recalls and eventual discontinuation brought an end to the only plug-in hybrid minivan in America. Sometimes making batteries is hard. That begs the question: What’s under the hood of this latest van? While the outgoing model features Chrysler’s ever-present Pentastar V6, there have been recent efforts to phase out the Pentastar in favor of the GME T4 engine family seen in the Jeep Wrangler, Jeep Compass, and Alfa Romeo Giulia.
For now, we’ll just have to wait for Chrysler to give us a closer look at the refreshed Pacifica. Don’t be surprised to find updated infotainment and some interior renovations, but it looks like America’s last homegrown minivan keeps a lot of what we love. Same flexible Stow-N-Go platform, just with a fresher look. If one thing’s for certain, this latest update is a whole lot more interesting than the 2021 facelift.
Top graphic image: Chrysler
So basically those look like the Cadillac Vseries.R from IMSA/WEC just a bit elongated at the top to me. Really pushing hard for that connection here though
This kind of reminds me of the Lincoln MKZ refresh, but in reverse. Initially, the last MKZ was all angular and squinty face with the rear end to match. The refresh went more “organic” in the front with smoother sheetmetal and bigger, blobbier headlights. The front definitely doesn’t match the rear, like two different designs just met at the A pillar.
This van is the same, but backwards. The rear is the original “organic” blobby ass end, and now the front is gone all squinty and angular. Again, two different designs that meet at the A pillar.
That plastic cover on the DRLs and headlights has a really noticeable birefringence which makes it look like the lighting was an afterthought.
Helmet definitely does not go with the rest of the armor.
As Jason says elsewhere, it’s an effective modernization within constraints of the vehicle’s basic design – whether or not you like the modern trends. I think it’s fine.
Crazy thing to me is that the Pacifica still does well in minivan comparisons after all these years. They really have the not-so-secret formula locked in.
Shame about the PHEV, which was a positive differentiator, and the quality, which is a negative differentiator. Hoping Steelantis finally gives them some new, good product to sell soon.
Is this just a Chevy Bolt?
It’s a Kia Carnivalesce update, given the in house Bolt design language.
I feel like the headlights are absolutely cribbed from Cadillac and the lower grill is from Toyota/Lexus.
Ok, but where’s my Chrysler Portal?
It looks like an old Prius now. Woof
Oh look, a futuristic face. Yay.
MY EYES!