When you’re surrounded by something, especially something that changes gradually over time, it’s easy to miss how things are changing. It’s like the thing with the frog and the boiling water, which I was reluctant to reference because even if we put aside the inherent cruelty of it all, who the hell is eating a boiled whole frog? No amount of VW Curry Ketchup is going to make that good. The point is things change, and sometimes we need a jarring moment to actually see that change. And I think Chrysler just gave us that moment with their new facelifted minivan, the Pacifica.
As you may have seen in our earlier story, Chrysler has given the Pacifica it’s third facelift since its 2016/2017 introduction, with a mid-life face job in 2021. This should show how important this minivan is to Chrysler, which it should be, since it is also the entirety of Chrysler’s lineup of cars, which technically includes the Voyager, but the Voyager is really just a slightly cheaper Pacifica that still retains its original face.
Since we’re talking about car faces and facelifts, here’s a little visual reminder of what the various visages of the Pacifica have looked like:
Personally, I always liked the original 2017 look best; I thought the way the flowing lines that defined the upper and lower grille seemed to blend into the other character lines of the car was quite elegant, and I especially liked the double-ended infinity-symbol-like lower grille treatment.
The 2021 redesign I always felt was a step back, to me cruder and less refined, but I know it was just echoing trends of the time with its wide, thin headlamps and prominent hexagonal grille. This latest refresh is quite different, and I think is a really effective way to look at how car front-end design has changed over the past few years. Let’s compare the current Pacifica face with this latest one we’ve just seen from Chrysler:
There are a lot of interesting things happening here. I suspect – though I’m by no means certain – that the only changes have been to the front bumper skin/fascia panels. I think sheetmetal like the hood and front fenders remain unchanged, which would mean the designers had to make their new look work with that triangular notch cut into the front fender to accommodate the last generation’s headlamps, which I also believe was the case when that facelift happened, too. I think all of these can share front fenders, which, considering how different they all look, is a pretty impressive design achievement.
Now I haven’t actually measured the size or angle of that triangular-ish notch, so I’m not 100% certain, but it looks like it.
But look what’s happening here; the whole way front-end elements are arranged is changing. Here’s a sample of some other 2026 front ends that seem to be also part of this overall design trend so you can see what I’m talking about:
We’re firmly in the Lightbar Era; full-width white LED DRLs are becoming very popular, along with illuminated badges, both of which the new Pacifica now has. The orientation of headlamp units, which were once trending to be extremely wide and thin, have not taken a turn towards the vertical, and often remain visually connected to the light bar itself, creating designs that resemble downward-facing angled brackets or shapes made from bent paper clips.
The lights themselves have more distinct graphic elements inside them, similar to how grille patterns are becoming more unique and graphical as well. Upper grilles on many cars are becoming smaller and more vestigial, while lower grilles, once de-emphasized, are now taking on greater visual importance.
Paired “pods” of vents and lights under the bumper line and on the extremes of the lower bumper are falling out of favor, with the vertically-oriented “tails” of the headlight units compensating for that visual space on many cars.
Car faces are becoming somewhat less anthropomorphizable and less “facelike” in the bio/zoo/anthropological sense. Headlights are becoming a bit less eye-like, grilles a bit less mouth-like, and the car face is increasingly becoming more, um, machine-like, if that somehow makes sense?
Having a car like this, where everything remains the same except for the vocabulary and design language of the front end, is a real gift when it comes to being able to see exactly how car design is developing. I think, based on what we see on the punim of the Pacifica, we can sort of distill old and new car faces into something like this:
That’s a crude sketch, sure, but you see where I’m getting at. Front ends, I think, are entering an interesting period of attempting to make more overall cohesive elements, and less collections of individual components. These attempts already seem to be getting oddly ornate and many are even taking on design vocabularies that feel, to me at least, like some sort of neo-Aztec or maybe neo-Myan, in the sense of how Frank Llloyd Wright found inspiration in those cultures for much of his architecture.
Look at this Cadillac Escalade IQ, for example; see what I’m getting at?
There are a lot of interesting things happening, and I should thank the Pacifica for making me take a moment to reflect. That’s important sometimes, and the most we can hope for from any refresh of a nearly decade-old minivan.
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I like the 2021 facelift the best, but also because it reminds me of the early 2000’s I suspect.
I like the overall design of the Chrsler vans, and think it would super cool to make a sleeper ..However my previous experience with Chrysler/Dodge (97 Ram 2500, Dodge Aries) tells me to get away and fast from these vehicles.
So with this facelift, it’s not unreasonable to assume we won’t be getting a second-generation of this van until 2030-ish?
And even then, they’ll probably just flat-out stop selling it for two years and when they finally do come out with the new one it’ll explode if you look at it weird.
“Car faces are becoming somewhat less anthropomorphizable and less “facelike” in the bio/zoo/anthropological sense.”
I think the Ferengi, Jem Hadar, Cardassians, and Kelpians would disagree with that assessment.
Will these age as poorly as the late ’70s stacked rectangular lamp setups (Monte Carlo, LTD 2, Fury)?
Or even the mid-80s full width light bars? (Sable is the prominent one that comes to mind.)
“Hey, Kia’s fronts look great. Let’s do that!”
“Sir, we can’t just copy them”
“Ok, how about we throw a little Lexus in too?”
“Brilliant as always, sir”
The updated lights look odd and seem like a desperate attempt to make an old design look modern, kind of like when Studebaker started bolting on headlight pods to accommodate quad headlights to a front end that wasn’t designed for them.
1) light bars are the new big thing? Man, Mercury was like 35 years ahead of it’s time.
2) The Pacifica facelift reminds me of back when SUV’s were a big thing and Mazda jacked up the MPV and tried to pretend it was an SUV instead of a minivan.
If you count the Aston Martin Bulldog as being the first with a rudimentary lightbar – make it 47 years.
My 2018 Hybrid is easily the best vehicle I have ever owned. Comfortable, roomy and fast.
I can deal with the stacked headlights and such, but full width light bars, lighted grills and emblems need to go away.
These new designs look infinitely better than the ever increasingly large grills from about 10-15 years ago. These new designs de-emphasize the headlights, while adding a ton of extra attention to the daytime running lights and any other accent lighting they can think of.
There’s only so much you can reasonably do with a big fat grill from those old designs other than making them bigger and bigger, but I think this new design language has more potential even if I don’t like all of the variations. For instance, that Palisade looks awful.
I still think the original is a timeless look but I’m probably in the minority. I even think the 200 still looks great as a car even though it’s a pile of shit. This new front end is baffling to me though. Especially since the rest of the van looks to be exactly the same as it has always been. It’s almost like this could be a diversion somehow but who knows? I like the idea of a lightbar still but those headlights are just terrible.
I used to look in my rearview mirror and be able to tell what kind of car was following me, but lately I have no clue. Is that a Cybertruck riding my bumper? Nope, it some sort of VW.
Or Kia.
I was recently telling my wife I could describe ANY car at night based on the headlights or taillights when I was younger. I don’t know if now its a result of not paying as much attention or designs changing rapidly or maybe there’s just too much other things on the mind than recognizing light signatures, I just can’t do it anymore. There’s some cars I’m just like WTF is that thing, I have to get up to it and read the badge to recognize it now. I can still recognize a lot of them but not like in the past
… and sometimes there are no badges. Yes, I know it’s a Tesla, but which one? What that black EV? Oh, is it a PoleStar? Hey manufacturers; I like your car, but if I don’t know what it is, how am I going to learn more about it.
I can’t unsee it! It’s awful.
I’m always amazed at how these design trends quickly sweep through nearly every automaker.
Seems like there’s usually one or two companies who really understand how to work with the new style and make it appealing, while everyone else is jumping on the bandwagon and doing something horrible with it.
I can only assume this is the result of top management telling their designers which trend they must emulate to stay relevant, and the designers then being forced to work with a style they don’t believe in. For the small number of design departments who actually like the design language of whatever the latest fad is, they get to have a field day and do what makes them happy. Every other company is being told to make something they don’t believe in, and that resentment (or at the very least apathy) shows in the finished product.
In this case, I hate the latest design trends, but even now there are a couple cars that manage to make it look deliberate and cohesive. The Pacifica is NOT one of them. They did a good job executing their chosen aesthetic on the previous two styles, but this latest design is one of the worst examples of an already-bad trend. Yuck!
Apparently, the number one design principle for modern cars is: “Complicate and add
heavinessuglyness.”Could the auto industry please stop with the full length light bars? Front and back, please.
Sorry (not sorry), but this facelift is objectively worse than the previous two faces.
I never cared for the original. It was too swoopy and reminded me too much of the blob cars of the 90’s. It also made it look like a Chrysler 200 (nearly the exact same face… I wouldn’t be shocked to learn they shared parts) that got stung by a pack of bees and left its epi-pen at home.
2021 was an improvement. It was an iteration of the blob face but got rid of most of the blob. The Pacifica finally grew up and grew into its face, much like a puppy has to grow into its giant disproportional paws and ears.
This though? WAYYY too busy and shares zero design language with the rest of the vehicle. There’s 3 or 4 different grille textures. 3 different size/shapes of lines. Dimples like a golf ball. Goofy shaped blanks under the headlights. It’s like a drunk monkey threw up a Rorschach test.
I haven’t seen a comment who likes it yet. I wonder if this will go down like the 2019 to 2020 Camaro front fascia quick redesign, where they got rid of the predator face. With the Camaro, all they had to do was paint the bumper beam. This Pacifica? No idea what they could do quickly.
As a 23MY Pacifica owner, I wouldn’t consider this in my top 5 out of the 4 minivans on the market.
Just 6 or 7 comments above mine, somebody wrote:
“These new designs look infinitely better than the ever increasingly large grills from about 10-15 years ago. These new designs de-emphasize the headlights, while adding a ton of extra attention to the daytime running lights and any other accent lighting they can think of.”
For the 2021 Pacifica (which is what we got, in Ocean Blue, with the blacked out “S” Package), one of the main upgrades they made was simply making the grille bigger. Not obscenely bigger, like most pickups, but enough to make it look more grown up.
So, there ARE people who like this new look… just not many. And, yeah… I’d get a Carnival before I got one of these redesigned Pacificas.
The reboot of “braking bad” should have Walter. White having an autonomous Neo Aztech.
Yikes, another set of really expensive replacement light. This is becoming a trend that I’m not a fan of. Replacement cost should be a higher priority consideration for the OEM’s, especially in accident prone locations on a vehicle.
It is a priority. They more they can charge for parts, the more money they make.
Correct FndrStrat06, and unfortunately that then is reflected in cost of ownership, cost of repair, insurance rates, etc. Man it is getting bad in the industry and auto market so I do like your comment as it speaks the truth.
Maybe the “how can we make an even higher margin on spare/replacement parts” meeting is the same one where the executives green-light the “make that feature subscription based…”.
Busy design does not equal Fancy design.
Cars are becoming less anthropomorphic and more machine-like.
Our Rich vs. the Rest of us “Democracy” is transitioning to Techno-facism.
There is a correlation of lack of bright and colorful cars and vehicles that are not aggressive looking in style and size to the state of our consumer thinking.
We need to push back with kindness and love, since machines of oppression rule with fear. Cars need fewer angry faces and more happy ones.
I think LED headlights look souless and as such such are making cars less interesting and appealing to me. Anthropomorphizing (our however that word is meant to be spelled) whilst perhaps a childish way to regard what is a machine, to me gives a car character. Without character, I care less. So we are left with the vehicle now purely being there for its function. But, working in a service admin role and seeing the consistently outrageous cost of LED headlight unit replacements, as well as their vulnerability to moisture and rocks makes me wary of even purchasing such a cold unloveable item even more. I’m ranting . Basically they look less likeable to me and I suspect they are going to be economic hand grenades to 2nd owners and insurance companies based on the quotes I see or have seen so we are all doomed.
I think next overhaul chrysler needs to keep the same interior functionality but make the front end less “egg” and slightly more truck similer to the kia carnival. Also raise the ride height slightly.
This is a great take, because the last time I saw a new Tahoe on the road, I thought it looked a lot like a slightly squared off, slightly lifted minivan.
I would love the minivans and Mom SUV to accidentally recombine into the same segment
If that is what you want, there are many three row crossovers and SUVs. LEAVE THE VANS ALONE.
it could still be a van … as long as you have a completely flat floor and a lower hood and a relatively flat roof it would still LOOK like a van just give it a little more chisel/muscle and less bubble/egg soft edges.
Here’s a secret the carmakers don’t want parents to know. 3 row SUVs are vans. They’re just boxier, more expensive and worse at basically everything.
If you want a van that’s boxier and less van-like, you are spoiled with options. Get a grand highlander, a sequoia, a traverse, a pilot, a telluride, a Santa Fe, an ascent, an explorer, a grand Cherokee, a wagoneer, a Tahoe, an Atlas, a palisade, whatever garbage Nissan is pedaling. The list is endless.
Asking to make the few vans that are left (Pacifica, sienna, Odyssey, carnival, that’s it)more SUV like will just make real vans extinct. See: what happened to wagons (hint you can’t buy one unless you’re spending at least $80k)
Edit to fix dumb typo
i was mostly talking about the windshield forward design the hood and the fenders and more ground clearance and taller tires. In my opinion the Grand caravan’s overall shape was better and more masculine than the pacifica (or voyager) the grand caravan just needed something to bring the exterior into this era as the exterior had been the exact same from the 2008 model all the way to the 2020 model. I could even see bringing back the grand caravan as a more macho masculine design and the town and country can be the more oppulant, sophisticated design for comfort.
sell the 2017 as the voyager, the 2021 as the town & country, and the 2027 as the pacifica
now chrysler sells 3 cars
consultant money, please
Time to roll out Voyager SRT and Pacifica Hellcat. Where’s my cut?
Caravan “America” with bench seats, cloth, crank windows, plastic hubcabs, double-DIN audio with cassette, and a “classic” 2.2.
When I saw the facelift, I immediately got Peugeot vibes. Also Stellantis. I’m curious if that means anything. I haven’t done any looking at other Peugeot models but I had a 2008 rental this past fall and to me this has some similarities.