It’s only been a little over a month, but we’ve already seen a lot of scenery in our 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Limited minivan. The odometer rolled past 2,900 miles during our annual winter testing trek to Savannah, Georgia. Naturally, there’s plenty of room for a road trip, and stow-and-go seating makes changing from people to cargo a breeze.
The rear seat entertainment system came in handy while traveling down I-95. But, after 10 hours one staffer longed for a little more front passenger seat comfort.
The 287-horsepower 3.6-liter V6 has great power for passing. And, we averaged 22.7 miles-per-gallon.
The Chrysler Pacifica has won numerous awards, including our own. Now, we’ll see if the accolades continue as we spend the rest of 20-17 behind the wheel.
Date: March 2017 Mileage: 5,000
We’ve put another 23-hundred miles on our 2017 Chrysler Pacifica minivan, over 5000 total. And, it’s a comfy ride, no matter where you sit. Second and third row seat support are greatly improved over the last Town & Country we drove.
Just about everything about the Pacifica works like a premium vehicle; the stow-n-go seats, the power sliding doors and hatch, the Uconnect system, and radar cruise control. It’s pretty quiet inside too, until you drive on coarse asphalt. Then it’s like a boom box.
We wish the heated steering wheel warmed up all of the rim’s surfaces. The outer fabric gets toasty… but the hard inner ring stays ice cold.
A third row power seat did get stuck. An errant floor mat in the storage well triggered a sensor. As that could have been a child, this safety feature worked great.
Mileage from the 287-horsepower 3.6-liter V6 stands at 22.9 miles per gallon, although we saw over 28 during interstate cruising.
Date: May 2017 Mileage: 8,000
We’ve put another 28-hundred miles on our 2017 Chrysler Pacifica minivan. That’s over 8,000 total in just three months, with consistently high marks for comfort, roominess, and versatility. 3 crew members, their luggage, camera and lighting equipment packed into the Pacifica for a-thousand mile road trip… no problem.
This time around mileage from the 287-horsepower 3.6-liter V6 was 20.7 miles per gallon, although our overall average is a solid 22.1.
Date: June 2017 Mileage: 10,820
We’ve reached the halfway mark in our year with the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. The wheels have rolled 10,820 miles since it arrived. We continue to be impressed with the chassis and powertrain. They’re easily the smoothest combination of any minivan we’ve tested yet.
The Uconnect system remains a strong point. The ride is confident and comfortable. Stow and Go seats are easy to use, but when they’re all out of the way…we notice more road noise… which is to be expected with such a big open space.
This time around mileage from the 287-horsepower V6 was 22.9 miles per gallon… which is our best so far. Overall we’re seeing 22.3.
Date: August 2017 Mileage: 13,000
Our 2017 Chrysler Pacifica sure is handy for summer road trips. We’ve put over 13-thousand miles on the odometer in just 7 months.
The 287-horsepower V6 9-speed combo continues to provide plenty of power with smooth shifts. Front row seat comfort is great, with a good rating for 2nd and 3rd rows.
Chrysler’s unique second and third row stow-and-go seating feature turns out to a bigger plus with every trip, with numerous cubby holes for the odds and ends that accumulate on every vacation.
And, with our mercury hitting 100, the A/C handles the heat in just a few minutes.
Fuel economy touched 28 miles-per-gallon on interstates, with our overall average of 23-point-2 miles-per-gallon.
Date: October 2017 Mileage: 20,000
Now that the weather is cooling, we have a lot of memories and another 66-hundred miles of summer road trips behind us in the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. The odometer has rolled more than 20-thousand miles since it arrived..
No matter how much we use it… the seats remain comfortable for long trips… and it’s easy to find the perfect driving position.
Hauling big loads is a breeze too… and both the second the third row stow and go seats add a level of convenience no other minivan comes close to. But that big empty space can get noisy.
We love the impressive power from the 287-horsepower V6 9-speed combo.
We’ve raved about the Uconnect infotainment too, but lately we’re noticing some glitches. It freezes up now and again. However, the camera system, especially the 360-degree Surround View, works great.
We averaged 24-point-3 miles per regular gallon this time, our best so far. Overall we’re seeing 23-point-5.
Date: December 2017 Mileage: 23,000
Almost 23-thousand miles have rolled by for this 2017 Chrysler Pacifica minivan. It’s still proving very comfortable, and this big box on wheels maneuvers with confidence through traffic.
The 287-horsepower V6 and smooth 9-speed automatic make a great combo for long trips. With cooler weather, the stow and go seats make it easy to load up supplies for home improvement projects. While the Surround View camera takes the guess work out of parking in tight spots. The leather interior is holding up better than a lot of other long terms. One of our taller staffers did say that he’d like more legroom, and there’s certainly plenty of space for it.
This time around mileage is our best so far: 26.2 miles per gallon, bringing our overall average up to 23.8.
Date: February 2018 Mileage: 26,677
It’s hard to believe our time is up with our stylish 2017 Chrysler Pacifica. It’s a fantastic minivan, delivering all the practicality we hoped it would, along with premium comfort.
With our top of the line Limited’s odometer at 26,677-miles, we averaged 23.7 miles-per-gallon from its 287-horsepower V6 and smooth 9-speed automatic powertrain.
Issues were few; the U-Connect screen locked up a few times, and seats folded it can be like a boom box inside. But no other minivan comes close to the convenience of the second row Stow-and-Go seating.
In a world awash with SUV’s and crossovers, the Chrysler Pacifica is an enjoyable, reliable, and highly versatile choice.
If we’ve learned anything over the last 42-years here at MotorWeek, it’s that numbers on spec sheets don’t make great cars.
Vehicles like this 2023 Acura Integra A-Spec, which we’ve had the pleasure of driving for the last 2-months, may not boast big numbers of any kind, but the high revving 200-horsepower turbo-4 and the short-shifting 6-speed manual transmission help make this car much greater than the sum of its parts.
There is a little turbo lag from this tiny 1.5-liter, but that just seems to make it even more fun. It really is just a blast to drive; and don’t say we didn’t warn you; this car does make you want to drive fast.
That’s mostly due to this 6-speed manual transmission, which raises the question, why would anyone settle for an Integra A-Spec Tech with CVT? Rhetorical questions aside, I’m liking this car more and more. Now that I’ve got the high engagement point of the clutch figured out, I’m really starting to appreciate how dialed in the suspension is. At this rate, on the next update I might upgrade my “likes” to “loves.”
All this and great fuel economy too, with our current average sitting at 33.6 miles-per-gallon over 5,500-miles. Plus, the Integra’s hatchback practicality delivers storage space that rivals many small crossovers.
While it may not boast quite the refinement as most of the Acura lineup, everything inside looks and feels sporty too, and hey, that’s why they call it entry level.
Date: July 2023Mileage: 6,000
Summer is speeding by quickly, but we’re getting our money’s worth of summertime driving fun in this 2023 Acura Integra.
We’ve racked up over 6,000-miles in just 3-months’ time, averaging a great 33.8 miles-per-gallon from the tiny but mighty 200-horsepower 1.5-liter turbo-4.
We were thrilled that Acura brought the Integra name back and have been even more excited to discover it delivers a driving experience worthy of the name; easily winning a MotorWeek Drivers’ Choice Award earlier this year.
“200 horsepower coming from the Integra’s 1.5-liter four-cylinder doesn’t sound like much, but trust us…it is. We’ve mentioned the turbo before and how there’s a bit of lag at low rpm. Yeah, you wouldn’t get that in a naturally aspirated engine, but you also wouldn’t get as much low-end torque, and torque is what brings a smile to your face.”
We mostly love the functionality and looks of its sporty interior, but do wish they would have poured just a tad more Acura into it, as in certain places, its Civic roots are a little too obvious.
Date: August 2023Mileage: 6,700
We are 4-months into our extended drive time with this 2023 Acura Integra sport luxury sedan. But after a host of early road trips it mostly seems to have settled into commuter duty, adding only about 700-miles since we last checked in.
On that score, the 200-horsepower turbo-4 and 6-speed manual makes for one highly entertaining commute, and most logbook comments agree the Integra feels more fun than luxury. And that’s just fine by us.
Since our last update, we have driven the high-performance Integra Type S, and while we really like that car, it doesn’t feel like we’re giving up all that much in this Integra. Sure, it doesn’t have as much power as the Type S, but it still feels quick and the suspension is more than capable of keeping momentum in tight corners.
We probably haven’t talked enough about how aggressively sporty it appears outside; our tester’s Liquid Carbon paint job looks fantastic, without being too flashy.
Despite a heavy foot or two, economy is very consistent, with our average hovering at 33.9 miles-per-gallon. And while the summer sun may be setting in the rear view, we’ve still got many miles to cover in this Acura Integra.
