Mon, Mar 24, 2003 page11

• Chrysler changes gears with Pacifica

  CAR CRAZIES The 2004 model sits lower than either a minivan or SUV and has a 3.5-liter V6 engine. But with its considerable mass, it will not be winning any races

  • By Michelle Krebs / NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE
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  Long road trips tend to generate inane conversations. One such discussion, which ensued on my family's recent spring break trip to the Florida Keys, reminded me of the scene in Stand by Me in which the film's coming-of-age characters pondered what sort of animal Goofy, the Disney character, was supposed to be.

  As we drove south in a 2004 Chrysler Pacifica, I started the debate by asking, "What kind of vehicle is this?"

  

  The 2004 Chrysler Pacifica is intended to be a sport utility substitute and an alternative to the minivan. On the dashboard of the Pacifica, maps for the optional navigation system appear right in front of the driver.

  PHOTO: NY TIMES

  "It's a sport utility," my mother insisted. To which I countered, "No, it's a station wagon." My daughter was emphatic that the Pacifica is not a wagon, so I argued that it is a minivan, which is how she categorizes another hard-to-place Chrysler, the PT Cruiser.

  If our fellow travelers had included the DaimlerChrysler engineers or designers who developed the Pacifica -- they were asked to come up with the Next Big Thing, beyond the minivan and the SUV -- they would have insisted it is a "sport tourer." That is a label the company also applies to two other soon-to-come vehicles -- the sporty Dodge Magnum and luxurious Mercedes-Benz GST.

  It is certainly safe to call the Pacifica a crossover, for lack of a better term, one of the new wave of vehicles that mix characteristics of -- take your pick -- sedans, wagons, vans, SUVs, sports cars and pickups. The Acura MDX, BMW X5 and Lexus RX 330 are conceptually similar, as are the Infiniti FX45 and the Cadillac SRX that will arrive this summer.

  Chrysler marketing executives estimate that 2.7 million buyers shift in or out of sport-utility vehicles, minivans and sedans every year. It is among this group, they say, that the Pacifica will find its buyers.

  So the important question is not what the Pacifica is, but how well it fulfills its purpose: to be a cool alternative to the minivan that can also substitute for a sport utility. Our Florida trip -- with two adults, two children and eight bags of varying size -- put the new Chrysler to the test.

  We began our road trip at the Fort Lauderdale airport, which was the only place all week where the silver test car received the slightest bit of attention. Having read about the Pacifica, a group of car-savvy older men gathered around. They found it attractive and were dazzled by the power liftgate. But they thought the price (US$37,510 as tested) was a little steep.

  I agree that the Pacifica is attractive and classy. I thought so when it was shown as a design study two years ago at the Detroit auto show.

  Safe and secure

  The Pacifica's design inspires alliteration: to me, it seems solid, substantial and secure, with a strong presence. And it is surprisingly large: 25cm longer than Chrysler's short-wheelbase minivans. The safe-and-secure message is driven home by the expanse of metal along its sides -- in profile, the car is one-third glass and two-thirds sheet metal.

  Chrysler expects the Pacifica to perform well on government crash tests. The body structure is solid, and the track is wide for stability. Safety features, in addition to dual-stage front air bags, include a knee bag for the driver and a curtain bag that runs the length of the cabin.

  The Pacifica sits lower than either a minivan or SUV, making it easy to get in or out. Yet the seats are rather high, providing the Road Commander feel that many people like in SUVs. The Pacifica has three rows of two seats each; the front two rows are divided by consoles.

  Spread over all three rows, everyone was comfortable on the trip to Key West and back. We didn't need the optional heated seats, part of the US$500 cold-weather option package, but I surely appreciated the power-adjustable pedals, which are standard.

  The power liftgate (US$400) proved handy as we loaded and unloaded luggage along our route. My son occupied half the third-row seat, behind which we tucked a garment bag; that's about all that would fit there.

  We folded the other half of the third seat and put our small wheeled suitcases there. My daughter took up one of the second-row seats, and the other one held baggage. Those second-row seats also fold and tumble forward for access to the third row.

  With all the seats folded, the floor is flat -- ideal for carrying large purchases from the warehouse store. Still, we concluded that a minivan remains the ideal vehicle for family vacations and car-pooling duties that include a lot of sports equipment. The Pacifica works better to transport people who don't carry quite so much stuff.

  There are a lot of useful storage units inside, including a large center console, the requisite cup holders and nooks and crannies for pocket change and cellphones.

  The interior is attractive and comfortable with luxury touches like a leather-wrapped shift knob with chrome trim, silver accents on the doors and instrument panel and wood-look trim (it is actually aluminum subjected to a lithographic process) that sweeps from the instrument panel along the doors into the second row. Still, the minute I slid into the driver's seat, my eyes were drawn to shiny plastic trim that screamed "cheap" on the test car, which was an early production model.

  Although the Pacifica is large and roomy, it feels relatively small and nimble. The smooth ride was first-rate.

  In with Mercedes-Benz

  The Pacifica is the first Chrysler developed in cooperation with Mercedes-Benz. A key engineer, Mike Donoughe, who is vice president of Chrysler's family vehicle product team, spent three years studying Mercedes processes in Germany, and he took advantage of that company's sophisticated driving-simulation computers.

  While he insists that the Pacifica shares no parts with any Mercedes, it rides on an architecture and rear suspension borrowed in concept, though not in specific components, from the E-Class.

  As our Pacifica cruised alongside the Atlantic Ocean, my son volunteered that the ride in the back was very smooth. The cabin was so quiet at cruising speeds that we could converse in normal tones from front to back.

  The Pacifica's engine is the same 3.5-liter V6 used in the Chrysler 300M sedan, rated at 250hp and 250 foot/pounds of torque. Although noisy under hard acceleration, the V6 was more than adequate on our trip, though Florida's flat, straight roads didn't pose much of a challenge. Given the Pacifica's considerable weight -- 2,121kg -- I wondered if the wagon might need more power in the mountains.

  Fuel economy is better than that of most sport utilities, at 17 mpg in town and 22 on the highway, but still not great. Chrysler suggests the use of midgrade (89 octane) gasoline. A 23-gallon tank makes fueling stops infrequent but expensive.

  The engine is paired with a four-speed automatic transmission that has an AutoStick feature, which permits the driver to shift manually. Most crossovers in this class offer five-speed automatics.

  The Pacifica comes with either front drive or all-wheel drive, with equipment specific to each version. My all-wheel-drive test model faced few challenges beyond the sand on the roadside as we pulled away from the International House of Pancakes. But the brakes, which have a standard antilock feature, got a workout in the unpredictable stop-and-go traffic through the Keys, and they performed competently.

  Quality has long been a concern with Chrysler's cars and trucks, but the company has clearly made big improvements since the takeover by Daimler-Benz. The test car seemed fine, aside from the plastic trim that I disliked, and management has worked hard to improve the quality at the Pacifica assembly plant in Windsor, Ontario, where minivans are also made.

  The Pacifica starts at US$31,239 with front-wheel drive; a loaded version hits US$42,000. Chrysler plans an entry-level Pacifica later this year that will have a base price below US$30,000.
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