My sister bought a used Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid a few months ago and loves it, despite the fact it has spent almost as much time in the shop as on the road. It ranks at the bottom of all the consumer reports type reliability ratings. Chrysler has responded by rebranding the non hybrid version the Voyager.
Pros:
Drives extremely well and has a very refined quasi luxurious initial feel.
Plug-in hybrid has ~30 mile range on electric plus another ~450 on gasoline.
Electricity costs less than $30/month for her ~500 commute miles
30+ mpg on gasoline only
Saves 30/min each way thanks to the carpool sticker
Jumped to the front of the line of those waiting for a parking spot in the state parking structure.
Can leave the car & A/C running on electric while you run into the store/bank, leaving kids/dogs behind.
Cons:
Reliability & durability!
The small 12v battery failed while driving and left the car stalled in the road, unable to move out of drive, and bizarrely unable to turn the car off (it kept turning itself back on). Dealer says a software update fixed this particular bug, but it had been at the dealership 2 weeks prior without getting that update?
Dash pad bubbles when driving above 8000' elevation
Steering wheel trim is delaminating
Back seat infotainment system crashes constantly
Frequent coolant leaks (and there are 3 separate cooling systems)
Powered rear liftgate likes to freeze for no reason
Electric parking brake is buggy
Dealerships are horrendous. Takes ~2 weeks to get a service appointment and at least another week for them to diagnose & get parts (which are never in stock). All 3 dealers in the area are similarly bad.
And this may be more normal for today's cars, but the coolant temperature routinely hits over 230°F climbing grades without any sort of warning (you have to cycle pretty far through the digital dash's customization to even show coolant temp). Is this normal for modern cars @
JRB ?