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.
Our long-term fleet just got a whole lot more exciting thanks to this 2023 Volkswagen Jetta GLI.
This sportiest of Jettas now comes in fully-loaded Autobahn trim only, which means for about the price of an entry-level crossover, you get a legit sports sedan with sunroof, 18-inch wheels, leather seats, and 10-inch Digital Cockpit display.
Not to mention abundant power from a 228-horsepower 2.0-liter turbo-4 and ultimate engagement with a 6-speed manual transmission.
No all-wheel-drive, but the GLI does have VW’s XDS Differential System, which uses selective braking to largely negate understeer and boost handling above and beyond the front-drive Jetta’s already notable abilities.
Put in the context of the absurd power some sport sedans are putting out these days, the GLI’s 228 horsepower rating sounds rather tame, but I can assure you it’s anything but. Although more precisely, it’s the torque that excites here. It comes in very early on with just a hint of turbo lag; although to be honest, for me that just kind of adds to the whole sporty experience, especially when you’re swiftly working the clutch and shifter.
With us for just a month, we’ve already racked up 3,500-miles, averaging a great 31.2 miles-per-gallon. And we’re looking forward and to an end of winter weather so we can get our spring fling on in earnest.
Date: March 2023Mileage: 4,500
This 2023 Volkswagen Jetta GLI has been significantly upgraded over the ‘21 GLI that we had in our fleet a while back, but sliding behind the wheel has been just like getting reacquainted with an old friend.
Just like in the last GLI we had, we’re rowing our own gears and loving every second of it and that’s not necessarily a given these days with how good automatic transmissions have gotten. But this setup is well-suited for daily driving. The shifter precisely glides into its gates and the light clutch pedal keeps our left legs from getting tired in stop and go traffic. But just to keep from getting too fatigued, we tend to stick to the back roads in this thing.
Mostly commuting duty these last few weeks, means only about 1,000-miles added to our total, which now sits at 4,500-miles in just 2-months’ time. With 228-horsepower on tap, and that tight 6-speed manual transmission to manage it; the GLI is fun from the moment you hit the start button, with a great 30.8 miles-per-gallon average along for the ride.
There’s a raspy exhaust note too, which sounds great running through the gears, but can get tiresome when steady cruising for extended periods of time.
Date: April 2023Mileage: 6,000
We like driving here at MotorWeek. That explains how we’ve been able to accumulate 6,000-miles in this 2023 Volkswagen Jetta GLI in a bit less than 3-months.
It’s a true joy managing all of its 228-horsepower with the smooth and steady 6-speed manual transmission. And we even managed to improve our MPGs this go-around, bumping our average up to 31.9 miles-per-gallon.
The fuel economy we’re seeing in this GLI is due in-part, of course, to the engine, but I would argue it’s also because of things that have nothing to do with how much gasoline we’re using. Things like the suspension and seat comfort. My point being, is that this car is such a great cruiser that we’re taking it on longer highway trips, which is boosting our fuel economy despite our less eco-minded back road escapades. Regardless, it’s a real “have your cake and eat it too” scenario.
While not overly flashy, the interior of this latest Jetta is well laid out, controls are logically placed, and the infotainment system is easy to use. All things that help you focus on driving, which is something we plan on doing as much as possible with our remaining time with the GLI.
