Another year of Pacifica Hybrid ownership is flying by. Time to report on what’s happened in the past few months.
 
Our air-conditioning compressor had been noisy and largely ineffective for a while. As reported in the February update, we had booked the car into Crowfoot Dodge to investigate, but they reported “normal pump operation”. However, it didn’t sound right to us – definitely louder than when the car was new – and as we moved into summer and the temperature rose, the cabin was an increasingly unpleasant place to spend time. The A/C was clearly failing to cool the air.

After sweating it out on the three-hour drive each way to Waterton Lakes for the annual camping trip – still love the ability to charge up at the campsite and drive around the park on electric – we decided to get a second opinion. A mammoth road trip to Vancouver was looming and 2,000km (around 1,200 miles) seemed a lot more appealing in a cool cabin.

Our friends at OK Tire Northmount were unable to accommodate Baymax at short notice but we were recommended to KDF Imports in Calgary’s northeast. The service advisor asked all the right questions and suggested the car came in for an A/C leak test and recharge as a first step. If that didn’t help, then they’d look into it further.
 
For now, the recharge has done the trick. The blower is delivering much colder air than we’ve felt in quite a while and the system easily dealt with temperatures of 30°C+ (86°F+) on our drive through the BC interior. Initial impressions are that the compressor is quieter, too, but I need to spend more time running on electric to assess that properly.
 
KDF were great to deal with. They got the car through the workshop at short notice and within an exact time window to minimize the hanging around. It was fun to see Baymax among the BMWs and other premium vehicles that they typically service, too. Thanks very much – we’ll be back!

During the three-day trip west, we covered 1,980km, most of it on the highway, and with no plug-in battery charges after we left home. That still yielded average fuel economy of 6.54L/100km (36mpg), which is not bad at all, and well in line with what we recorded on a trip to BC that we undertook in 2021.

In other news… It’s been interesting to watch the blizzard of publicity emerging from Chrysler through the summer relating to its Century of Innovation events, which included the brand dusting off some of its great designs from the past.

It’s a shame that the Pacifica remains the only current car to carry such a storied name. The latest spin-off is the just-announced Grizzly Peak concept, a 4x4, overlanding-style Pacifica built for the 2025 Overland Expo.

I think it looks sharp, a testament to the Pacifica’s elegant form. Whether it foreshadows a similar, raised-height production version, or related accessories, I have no idea. But I would prefer to see some all-new models breathe new life into the Chrysler marque. Now, that would be worth celebrating.
 
More next time, thanks for reading!

Time to bring you up to date on the latest developments with Baymax, our 2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid.
 
It’s been a long time coming but it looks like the PHEV battery-fire recall has finally been put to bed. After months in limbo, we received a repair notice for recall 73B and were able to book the car into Crowfoot Dodge in late-January to receive a (hopefully permanent) remedy for this issue, which had reappeared in July 2024 (see previous post). The fix involved the battery pack control module (BPCM) software being updated to a new version. The service at the shop was painless, as usual, so our thanks to them for getting this done.
 
While Baymax was at Crowfoot we took the opportunity to get some new front wiper blades installed, as after more than four years of ownership and with 63,432km (39,415 miles) on the clock, the rubber had detached from the offside blade. I’m not crazy about the look or (un)aerodynamic properties of the aftermarket blades fitted, but I’ll get over it. The car also underwent an oil change and the usual maintenance checks.

This was the second service appointment since last August’s update as the PacHy had paid the shop a visit in November to get the winter tires fitted (both car and wheels are too heavy for me to swap them at home) and to investigate a buzzing noise from the A/C. An investigation revealed only “normal pump operation”. With the lack of A/C use through the winter, the buzz hasn’t been present, but I’m not convinced it’s gone away for good, nor that what I was hearing was “normal”. We’ll see what happens when the weather warms up again.

Fuel consumption is currently sitting around 9.0L/100km after weeks of temperatures in Calgary around the -20°C (-4°F) mark. Fortunately, the snowfall hasn’t been severe enough to beach the car so far this year, so it’s been in daily use through the winter. We took it down to Waterton Lakes National Park at New Year and out to the mountains earlier this month, and it gave us no cause for concern with either traction or braking on slippery roads with changeable surfaces.

Beyond that, there’s not much to report – Baymax just keeps on doing its thing. One piece of general Pacifica news to share is the launch for the 2025 model year of the Pacifica Family Adventure Vehicle (FAV) Edition, which is available with a PHEV or regular gas powertrain, and in FWD or AWD configurations. It’s mostly a cosmetic deal, with blacked-out accents and a standard, 453-litre Thule roof box.

The FAV comes on the back of 2024 Pacifica sales finishing at 5,486 in Canada, down 22% from 2023’s total of 6,994. However, it was also the first full year of the cheaper Grand Caravan model, which sold 4,643 units to take combined Chrysler minivan sales to 10,129, an increase from 9,007 in the previous year.
 
I’m sure Chrysler is happy to get more vans on the road, but selling a greater proportion of Grand Caravans won’t help its profitability. Total sales for the Stellantis brands were down 18% in Canada in 2024 (-15% in the US) and there has been a flurry of changes in executive positions, including the departure of CEO, Carlos Tavares. It’ll be interesting to see whether the new team can turn things around, but one look at the vehicles in the portfolio indicates, sadly, that Stellantis North America could struggle to compete with better-placed rivals for the foreseeable future.
 
More next time, thanks for reading!

Welcome back to the blog. Work and family commitments have delayed this update (what’s new?!) but I hope to catch you up with what’s been happening with the Pacifica this year. There’s been a lot, and not much of it good.
 
The spring saw a flurry of activity as we finally got a couple of niggling issues fixed. First on the list was the faulty GPS. As previously mentioned, an internal failure in the navigation unit was placing us permanently well away from our true position. While we mostly use Google Maps through the cabled Android Auto connection, it’s useful to have the car’s own navigation system functioning for the times when we need map support.
 
As for the second fault, we were reminded of it every time we pressed the button to open or close the power tailgate. I believe I may now be the only person in Canada to have the words “dying cat sound” printed on a dealer service invoice!
 
The need for a new chime was the solution confirmed by Crowfoot Dodge, including a switch to a newer part number, so perhaps other people have experienced the same issue. After a short wait for the arrival of this and a whole new Uconnect head unit (I know, it seems wasteful), the PacHy went in for both items to be remedied under our extended warranty, in exchange for the excess.
 
This was the first time accessing the SecureDrive policy that we took out when we purchased the car, and the process was seamless. Particular thanks go to our always-helpful service advisor Graeme Hansen for doing the legwork. The Y40 Customer Satisfaction Notice – a software update for the powertrain control module (PCM) and power inverter module (PIM) – was implemented during the same appointment.
 
Other owners will have noted that the factory warranty was also extended in the spring. The unlimited years/mileage extension applies only to a transmission fault that puts the car into limp mode. Thankfully that’s a problem we’ve yet to experience.

However, further expense in the past few months was incurred by a puncture. Big thanks to whoever left a bunch of nails in that Walmart parking lot… A pair of new Continental VikingContact 7s were ordered from the Mr Lube next door, or so we thought: various mistakes and miscommunications later, it was 10 days before the correct tires were on the car. In fairness, the shop owned up to the errors and offered a discount, but it was still a pain to lose the Pacifica for so long.
 
Normally we wouldn’t have still been on the Contis at that point, but winter seemed to drag on forever this year, and we finally got them off the car in mid-May.
 
The good news kept on coming with the arrival in late-July of our 73B recall notice. It feels like we’ve been here before, because we have – the new recall has been issued because the remedy to the earlier Z11 fault hasn’t done the job in every case.

Asking owners to refrain from charging the battery pack and to park away from buildings and other vehicles, again for an indefinite period with no fix yet confirmed, is very disappointing. I hope that buyers of new Stellantis PHEVs are feeling the benefit of the Pacifica Hybrid owners’ role as guinea pigs for plug-in tech, and that more recent vehicle development teams have plugged the holes in their test plans.
 
If you’re interested in reading more about how the recall system works in Canada, please take a look at my recent article for the CAA/AMA magazines, which is available online here.
 
Coincidentally, I recently had a message from the selling dealer, Derrick Dodge, asking whether we’d be interested in trading in for a new model. We’ve no wish to swap the car, we love it. But by being repeatedly asked to stop using the specific functionality that we bought it for in the first place, you feel your goodwill being pushed to the limit.
 
Perhaps fortunately for Chrysler, PHEV or full-EV alternatives to the Pacifica Hybrid remain thin on the ground. It was interesting to be given the opportunity to spend a week driving the new Kia EV9 earlier this summer. My thoughts on that car are on TractionLife.com, go check out the review if you're interested!
 
More next time, thanks for reading!

Time for a long-overdue update on Baymax. It’s been an eventful 2023. In the spring he was swiped by another vehicle in a parking lot, necessitating a debut trip to the bodyshop for work on the rear offside door and wheel arch (below left). Suffice to say, my opinion of the autobody repair industry didn’t go up. Everything took an inordinate amount of time and the Pacifica returned with a new scratch (clear-coated over, below right) that wasn’t there when we started. We couldn’t bring ourselves to be without the car for another week or two to get that fixed as well so for now it remains as a permanent battle scar.

In June, I was able to spend a few days in a new plug-in hybrid, the Mazda CX-90. It’s great to see another PHEV on the market, especially a three-row SUV. The CX-90 has a classy cabin and is good to drive for such a big car, with better powertrain refinement than the Pacifica. But at 42km (26 miles – claimed but not achieved) I thought the Mazda’s electric driving range was disappointingly small and the configuration of the drivetrain – which incorporates a traditional shifting automatic transmission – takes away the seamless feeling you get when the Pacifica Hybrid or a pure BEV accelerates.

Our main summer vacation involved flying not driving, so the PacHy didn’t rack up as many kilometres as in some years. We did however drive down to beautiful Waterton Lakes National Park for our annual camping trip and were glad to again charge the battery overnight at the site. An extra passenger this time meant we had to break out the Yakima roof box to accommodate more gear than normal, reminding me just how much I love those Stow ’n Place roof bars. We had recently had the garage floor resin-coated just beforehand, so the car returned to a shiny new home!

In August came a fix for the 03A Loss of Motive Power recall, which as you doubtless know by now involved software updates to the power inverter, instrument cluster and powertrain control module. If you’ve yet to have this done, allow for at least a full day. After our vehicle was initially booked in for one day, work on the car didn’t start until the afternoon, leaving insufficient time to complete the software update before close of business. We needed the car back that night so everything was rolled back to the initial state and Baymax returned to Crowfoot Dodge a few weeks later to have the new software uploaded. We’ve had no side effects since, so that appears to have been taken care of.

After averaging 5.3L/100km for the summer months, comprising 4,000km on electric and 1,600km of gas running, the winter tires went on as normal come October, on the same day that we had an oil change and brake service performed. It was around this time that we first noticed a couple of new issues with the car. One is that the tailgate-closing warning chime now wails like an alley cat. Definitely going to need a new part! The other is that our GPS unit has permanently lost our true position. Apparently, we’re now living in Vulcan County, about an hour south of Calgary. A quick look at the forums suggests we’re far from alone in this issue. Whether the solution proves to be a reset, a new chip or a whole new Uconnect head unit, remains to be seen.

Finally, we performed some cosmetic surgery on Baymax during the summer, adding a bunch of extra stickers to the tailgate in honour of places we have visited as a family. I know some owners prefer an uncluttered look but, just like our tacky fridge magnets, I think the stickers somehow make the Pacifica more ‘ours’!

Thanks for reading and Happy Holidays!

In October 2022 our PacHy received its Z11 recall fix. Like other owners of 2017-18 Hybrids, we’d received the interim notice in February, notifying us of a fire risk in the area of the high-voltage battery and advising us not to plug the car in, and to park it away from buildings.
 
This was a hopeless state of affairs for a car whose USP is its ability to recharge from a home socket and use the resulting electric power every day. With no immediate remedy in place, we elected to fit a smoke detector to the garage and carry on regardless. I am not suggesting that recall notices be ignored; we just balanced the perceived risk with practical considerations and, at a time of especially high gas prices, cost.
 
No change in behaviour from the car was experienced in the intervening eight months. Finally, notice arrived that the fix was available, so I booked the car into Crowfoot Dodge for the update to be implemented. If you’ve not had it done yet, the remedy is a reprogramming of the drive battery’s control module to avoid the conditions that potentially precede fire, bookended by a draining and charging of the pack, which is also inspected and, if deemed necessary in rare cases, replaced.

If you’ve yet to read the Recall Z11 Resource Guide lodged by Stellantis with NHTSA in the USA, I’d suggest doing so before you book your recall appointment. It contains a number of dealer best practices and suggestions; I’ve reproduced some of them here:

• Set proper expectations with the customer for the expected repair time
• This repair will necessitate the vehicle be kept at the dealership overnight – it is important to ensure all service & parts staff understand the length of time involved in this recall repair
• Scheduling will need to be based upon the number of chargers you have available / repair time needed (Example: 3 Chargers = 3 Repairs per day)
• Due to the time required for this repair, the customer will likely need alternate transportation. Work to accommodate customer requests for loaner / pickup & delivery / shuttle service / rideshare
  
• Follow-up with customer within 72 hrs after repair completion to ensure customer satisfaction

 
Perhaps US customer service standards don’t apply in Canada, but it will perhaps come as no surprise to anyone that I didn’t experience many of the best practices on this list. In particular, the car was booked in on a day when another recall fix was taking place – and thereby occupying the only available charging socket – leading to a two-night stay instead of the advertised one (in fact when I made the appointment, there was no mention of an overnight stay at all). The document even goes on to state that, “It’s critical that appointments adhere to the estimated repair timeline (1 car per EV charger per day), to ensure Z11 customer appointments do not overlap.” D’oh! I wasn’t offered a loan or rental vehicle to bridge the gap.
 
A further section of the guide talks about the Chrysler Commitment Checklist, which notes that vehicles should be returned with a full charge (yes), full tank of fuel (no) and that customers should be offered a complimentary exterior wash (also no). Lucky US Pacifica Hybrid owners also receive a two-year oil change/filter and tire rotation package as a goodwill gesture.
 
Again, I don’t expect to receive a level of service to which I’m not entitled. I’m just highlighting that there seems to be a gap between what’s deemed appropriate for US customers and how those north of the border are treated. In my case, I’d coincided the switch to winter tires with my recall appointment (I find the winter wheels too heavy to fit myself), but still had to pay for them to be swapped. In the circumstances, failing to wave that measly $40 feels like missing a customer-goodwill open goal.

A week after the control module was updated, we returned to the car one evening to be greeted with a ‘Service Charging System’ message on the driver’s display. The car wasn’t plugged in at the time and had been fine when we parked it up a couple of hours earlier. Baymax summoned his inner tortoise and kicked into limp-home mode for the first time since we’d owned the vehicle. It may have been a coincidence, but it was odd that this happened so close to the recall fix.
 
We drove slowly home and left the car unplugged overnight after checking the charge port for damage or debris (none that I could see). The following morning, the tortoise had disappeared from the display and the car accepted a charge without issue. I spoke to the dealer who advised coming directly in for service if the problem recurred (they’d need to run diagnostics while the check-engine light was still on) but I’m writing four months after the event, and it’s been fine ever since. If anyone else has experienced a similar warning after the Z11 recall fix, I’d be interested to hear from you. Thanks for reading!

The well documented backlogs in processing travel documents during the summer of 2022 led to a last-minute change of plan for our main vacation. Goodbye four economy tickets on WestJet, hello four international seats in Pacifica Hybrid Limited class and a new plan to drive from Calgary to San Diego.

Our previous BC adventure had been the furthest we’d taken the PacHy to date, but Baymax would now face a journey of more than double that length – and its first trip over the border into the States. A prior commitment meant no sightseeing stops on the way down, just long days of 10 or more hours on the road, plus stops for fuel and food.

After an early start from Calgary, we descended through Montana to break the journey in Pocatello, Idaho. From there we stayed on the I-15 into Utah, cut the corner of Arizona, waved to Vegas as we traversed Nevada and motored on into California. We paused for a second time in Barstow before completing the final few hours into San Diego, just 20 miles (32km) short of a full, top-to-bottom navigation of the western USA.
 
Coming home, we strayed from the ever-present I-15 to see the Grand Canyon’s North Rim and meander through Utah’s spectacular canyon country, including the incredible Scenic Byway 12. We can’t recommend that road enough, regardless of what you’re driving.

Along the way, the fully laden Pacifica shrugged off steep grades in Montana and sweated in 42+°C (108°F) as we skirted Death Valley. Long days in hot sunshine pushed the AC to the edge of its effectiveness, but the only lasting damage was to a front wheel when I carelessly clipped a curb while turning.
 
The frequent fill-ups and differing state fuel standards gave me the chance to experiment with different grades of gasoline, but with accompanying changes in temperature and terrain, I couldn’t prove conclusively that one delivered better economy than the next. We recorded 7.1L/100km (33mpg) overall, which is what we’ve come to expect from hybrid-running on the highway – very welcome during a period of unusually high gas prices and even more impressive considering the car cruised for thousands of miles at 70mph/113km/h or above, full of people and gear. I’m sure there are other vehicles out there that could do the same job just as efficiently, but not many.

We didn’t go out of our way to find hotels with chargers every night, mostly because with such long distances involved – we racked up 4,063 miles (6,539km) over the course of the near three-week trip – 30 gas-free miles here and there didn’t make a lot of difference. However, the short runs and lower-speed driving around San Diego and Oceanside were perfectly suited to electric running and a couple of strategic charges from the area’s comprehensive public network gave the ICE a well-deserved break.

In Southern California especially, it was great to again spend time in a region where plug-ins and pure-EVs are much more prevalent and better supported than here in Calgary. In other ways too, Baymax seemed right at home on US roads: a quick switch in the settings to imperial units set us up for the local traffic signs while the navigation system switched more frequently than usual to the colourful, detailed view of upcoming highway intersections.

A couple of weeks after our return, we booked the PacHy in for an oil change, brake service (always good to keep the underused friction braking system clean), new air and cabin filters and a general once-over. It seemed the least it deserved for facilitating such a memorable trip. More next time!

Welcome to spring! After what seemed like the longest of winters – here in Calgary we were still getting snow in early-May – it feels great to have warm air at last, leaves on the trees and, of course, uninterrupted electric running for the Pacifica Hybrid.
 
Baymax recently checked into Crowfoot Dodge for an oil change and a switch back to the alloy rims and Nexen all-seasons. As usual, I then reset the trip. Despite the prolonged cold weather, we still managed to average 5.5L/100km (43mpg US) through the winter and early spring. Overall average fuel consumption since we took ownership nearly two years ago now stands at a very respectable 4.6L/100km (51mpg US).
 
With no issues to report with the car, I thought I’d use this post to talk about another electrified vehicle with which we recently spent time.

On a trip back to the UK I was able to borrow a BMW iX xDrive50 for two weeks of driving around the country visiting family and friends. It’s a two-row SUV, about 235mm shorter than a Pacifica Hybrid but with about twice the power and a huge, 106.3kWh underfloor battery pack that provides up to 507km (315 miles) of range – a figure we can corroborate.
 
It was our first time as a family relying on an EV as our only car (previously we’ve always had a gas-powered car in the house at the same time) and it was an instructive experience. This’ll be news to no one, but the recharging infrastructure is crucial. The large battery capacity saw us through a week on the Isle of Wight, where the three fast-chargers were all out of action simultaneously (and with a battery that large and no home base, you really want a fast-charge option). Back on the mainland however, there were plenty of chargers when we needed them, and an excellent in-car navigation system to guide us to them.
 
The iX itself is supremely well developed, with the most futuristic interior of anything I’ve driven and outstanding ride quality that belies its 2,566kg (5,657 lb) mass and 22in rims. At around C$115k/US$100k, it’s out of most people’s reach and won’t save the planet on its own, but as a showcase for how accomplished an EV can be, it takes some beating. It’s worth mentioning, too, that BMW’s record on sustainability and ethics in supply chain and production is something to which all auto makers should aspire. Head to TractionLife for my full review.

For the time being, large SUVs like the iX are as close as we can get to an EV minivan, Pacifica or otherwise (note that Vietnamese newcomer, VinFast is bringing the three-row VF-9 SUV, shown below left, to Canada later this year). Stellantis hasn’t said whether an all-electric Pacifica is in the product plan but with the investment finally flowing, has made a number of announcements recently regarding its EV production plans for Canada. In the past month, Chrysler’s parent company has committed to modernizing the plants in Brampton and Windsor to build EVs, as well as to a battery manufacturing joint-venture with LG and two new R&D centres in Windsor.
 
These developments aren’t before time. When I was at the New York Auto Show in April, pretty much all the major new cars on display were EVs, yet Stellantis’ offerings were a new colour on the Airflow Concept (below right; something similar could be on sale by 2025) and the Grand Cherokee 4xe plug-in. I’m sure there are plenty of PacHy owners out there, not to mention van customers from other brands, who’d consider a three-row Chrysler EV if it were offered. Let’s hope for the best! Until next time.

Hello and Happy New Year! It’s been an eventful winter so far for our Pacifica Hybrid. Back in October the Check Engine light came on and we noticed that we weren’t getting cabin heat when running on electric.
 
Even when pre-heating in the garage before departure, we tend to keep the cabin heater fairly low to minimize the need for engine intervention in cold weather (the heated seats seem to have a lower power draw). But we found we were getting no heat at all. It’s an issue that had been experienced by several other members of the excellent Canadian Pacifica e-Hybrid Owners group on Facebook.
 
After the always-helpful Crowfoot Dodge did the diagnostics, we were initially told that a new battery pack would be needed, under warranty, and would take a few weeks to source from the US. This was unexpected news and to be honest, pretty concerning, given our PacHy’s low mileage (around 17,000km at the time the fault first emerged).
 
Fortunately, there had been a miscommunication and the final verdict wasn’t so drastic. A faulty battery heater was causing the problem (also covered under the 10-year high-voltage battery warranty, I believe) and after a four-week wait for parts, was replaced without further issue at the end of November.

Above is a photo of the faulty part that the dealer removed. It was apparently returned to Chrysler – whether for analysis, refurbishment or managed disposal, I don't know. Warranty or not, I don't think the battery heater should be failing so early in the vehicle’s life.
 
The car had been spending more time than usual with the engine running but this changed noticeably after the switch, presumably because the motor wasn’t required as often to generate heat. Average fuel consumption quickly dropped as a result.

Unfortunately, we then had an extremely cold spell through late-December and into the start of January. With the temperature outside consistently at or below -25°C, our unheated garage was never going to be warm enough to keep the battery conditioned for electric running right out of the blocks. A few short journeys around town (it was too cold to go further afield!) quickly pushed the average consumption up to 10L/100km (23.5mpg), a figure that fell rapidly again when the cold spell passed.
 
A further side effect of the extreme cold was that the tire pressures were showing consistently to be below the recommended minimum. Short trips were insufficient to generate enough heat to raise the pressure, but again, the warning cleared as soon as the outside temperature rose.
 
Otherwise, there’s not much else to report. The car is running fine again now. The Continental VikingContact 7 winter tires were refitted at the end of October and have kept us mobile in the snow, ice and slush. The WeatherTech mats, which we leave in year-round, are keeping the floor clear of salt and grit. Until next time!

I’m fortunate to be able to test cars as part of my work. A few months ago this intersected nicely with the Pacifica Hybrid Blog when I spent a week with the 2021 Pacifica Pinnacle AWD.

Chrysler has shaken up its minivan offering for the 2021 model year. The venerable Dodge Grand Caravan reached the end of the line after 12 years of service and has been replaced by a new Chrysler Grand Caravan based on the Pacifica that was first launched in 2016 – the same shape as mine. Meanwhile the 2021 Pacifica gets an appealing new front end, new lights, some interior tweaks and an AWD option for the first time.

The latter development is a great weapon in the armory when trying to convince people that an SUV isn’t always the answer. Unfortunately, the drive battery’s underfloor packaging means that there’s no AWD Hybrid available, but on the plus side this was a chance for me to compare regular and Hybrid Pacificas back-to-back for the first time.

Some of you reading this will already be Pinnacle owners but this was also my first time with this trim level (Baymax is a Limited). Chrysler has certainly gone all-out for the “living room on wheels” aesthetic. The result for me was a mixed bag. Personally, I wasn’t sold on the caramel leather, but others will doubtless prefer it to the black seats in my own car. The loose passenger lumbar cushions look great but are a bit gimmicky. The Stow ‘n’ Vac is a handy addition and the combination of Uconnect 5 and Type-C USB ports definitely brings the connectivity right up to date. I prefer the older instrument binnacle though – maybe it was unfamiliarity but the Pinnacle’s dials seemed harder to read.

It might seem trivial but the biggest step up over my car is the new Ultra centre console. What I would perceive as the wasted area in and below the lower dashboard in the older models is transformed in the Pinnacle with the new two-tier setup. I’ve always felt that my car’s combination of stowage slots and drawers in the lower-central dash, plus the low-sided floor stowage bin out of which items regularly fall (not great when it’s that close to the pedals), was an area ripe for a redesign. The new Ultra console rectifies this by integrating with the lower dash and providing a higher flat area on which to place your phone, keys, whatever, while retaining a lower pass-through storage area. It’s not necessarily a much bigger space, just a more usable one.

The kids noticed a change in the second row, too, where the central stowage drawer now pulls out by an additional 64mm (2.5in). We found that especially handy when it came to them reaching for drinks. There are new apps on the Uconnect Theater screens – chess was a particular favourite – and parents of younger kids will appreciate the FamCAM rear-seat monitor.

It was interesting to spend a week with the gas-only AWD powertrain, whose installation appears to come with no obvious penalty to the car’s practicality. I immediately missed the electric’s instant response and torque, and somehow the on-centre steering feel wasn’t as good, either. Official figures show the AWD drivetrain uses around 14% more fuel than the FWD gas model and more than twice as much as I average with the Pacifica Hybrid. I got overall consumption of 11.5L/100km in a week of mostly city driving in the Pinnacle AWD, which is lower than the 14.1L/100km official combined figure. I certainly didn’t relish having to fill the tank again at the end of the week!

I’m sure AWD will be attractive to some buyers though, especially if you live down an unpaved road or near steep hills that prove problematic on snow or ice, even with winter tires fitted. The Pacifica AWD is not a serious off-roader but the 20mm (0.78in) of extra ride height over the FWD car, which is just about visible in the comparison photos I took, combined with AWD traction, should prove useful in the right conditions.

Would I swap my PHEV for the Pinnacle AWD? I think you know the answer to that, but I recognize that it’ll be a good solution for others. I’d absolutely look at an AWD PHEV though, providing there wasn’t a major compromise to the load space. As it is, Toyota’s Sienna Hybrid is the only AWD minivan in the market right now that doesn’t guzzle the gas. Until next time!

Welcome to the latest update, hope you’ve had a great summer! With overseas travel still restricted, we took the opportunity to hit the road in Baymax for our main summer vacation. In mid-July we left Calgary on the long drive through the Rockies to the Pacific coast, breaking the journey overnight in Golden, British Columbia and thankfully avoiding any wildfire-related road closures along the way.

This was the type of trip we had in mind when we bought a car with generous space to travel long distances in comfort and without much restriction on the cargo we could take along for the ride. As such, we were able to load up with our tent and other camping gear for use once we reached Vancouver Island after a few days in downtown Vancouver.

Almost from the moment we left Calgary, the trip underlined how Alberta lags behind EV adoption and infrastructure development in some other parts of Canada. There were far more Teslas on the roads of metropolitan Vancouver than you’ll see in Calgary, with plenty of Hyundai Kona EVs, Nissan Leafs and others too. That’s no doubt related in part to the BC provincial purchase incentives that have not been replicated in Alberta, with the result that auto makers have hitherto concentrated their limited Canadian stocks of EVs and PHEVs in incentivized markets.

We didn’t go out of our way to keep the battery charged – the Pacifica Hybrid isn’t fast-charge capable and in our rush to pack for the last-minute trip, we left our charging cable at home! But as you can see below, we were able to use the free Parks Canada EV parking/recharging spots in the centre of Banff for a quick top-up while we had dinner, and recharge overnight in the basement parking lot of our Vancouver hotel. It all helps.

The long highway stretches offered plenty of time to monitor the PacHy’s fuel consumption. Over 3,000km of mostly city driving through the spring and early summer, we’d averaged 4.4L/100km (53mpg US), but I reset the gauge on departure. For the just under 1,000km (621 miles) from Calgary to Vancouver, the car managed 6.4L/100km (37mpg US), spending more than a third of its time on electric power (descending those long mountain passes is great for regen!). Consumption increased slightly over the course of the two weeks, running almost exclusively in hybrid mode, but I still thought that a trip average of 6.9L/100km (34mpg US) over 2,957km (1,837 miles) was a great return for a big car, fully loaded.

Incidentally, I correlated the in-car consumption gauge with a calculation from our actual quantity of gas bought (202L/53 gallons US), and the figure was spot-on.

Safe to say that fuel savings aside, the Pacifica Hybrid made for a fantastic companion on our trip. This was by far the furthest we’d ever driven it – after a year of going nowhere much, we increased the car’s overall mileage by about 25% – and it was flawless. The quietness and comfort on those long highway stretches was very welcome and the kids were kept entertained by the Uconnect Theater screens. Meanwhile the trunk swallowed everything we threw at it while still leaving decent rear visibility.

We were in and out of the car a lot during our time camping in Chemainus, BC, not least because the food had to be kept out of reach of the wildlife. In a bid to avoid disturbing our neighbours, I discovered that the warning chime from the closing tailgate can be disabled through the Settings app. While in that menu I also realized that the remote door unlocking can be switched to a single press of the fob for all doors, which is handier than multiple presses in my opinion. It was a reminder that I still have lots to learn about this car.

The mileage accumulated on the BC trip took us into range for the 12-month service, so on our return to Calgary the Pacifica was booked into Crowfoot Dodge. The standard service included the usual oil and filter change and tire rotation, as well as a refill of the fuel injector cleaner and moisture-removing chemical in the fuel tank. I agreed with the dealer’s recommendation of an alignment check and I also requested a cabin vent filter change and a brake service. The latter cleans away debris and corrosion and lubricates the calipers and sliders. For an extra C$130, I think it’s money well spent, given the potential for problems arising from the Hybrid’s less frequent friction brake usage.

Please look out for my next blog soon, where I’ll be taking a closer look at the new Pacifica AWD. Thanks for reading!