Chrysler’s Pulling the Plug on the Pacifica Plug-In. What’s Next?

https://www.motortrend.com ^ | Jan 20, 2026 | Alisa Priddle

[Jonty30]

Chrysler, long the minivan king, has a refreshed version of its Chrysler Pacifica coming in the second quarter of this year, and a next-generation version of the family hauler remains in the works. But until an all-new Pacifica arrives, questions abound about how the sole model in the Chrysler lineup will hold down the fort in the meantime.

The main question swirling around the Pacifica in the short and longer term is what exactly will power it. Parent company Stellantis recently announced a new powertrain strategy in which it’s phasing out plug-in hybrids in North America and phasing in extended-range electric vehicles where a gas engine acts as a generator for the battery and electric motor powering the vehicle. The first of these new EREVs are due later this year with the launch of the Ram 1500 REV full-size pickup truck and the Jeep Grand Wagoneer three-row SUV.

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TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Government; Politics/Elections
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[Jonty30]

So, while the Volt is dead, they concept of using gasoline to generate electricity lives on. I'm happy to see that, because I think it's a good evolution.

However, the fact that it has been 15 years and they still haven't gotten beyond the 32 mile range on battery alone suggests to me that may be the natural limit of lithium-ion batteries.

[Responsibility2nd]

Chrysler needs to pull the plug on the Pacifica.

Leaving them with NOTHING.

I wouldn’t own a Stellantis product if you gave it to me.

[calico_thompson]

A small diesel generator running at a constant rpm would be the most fuel-efficient combo.

[packagingguy]

Aren’t Sterling Cycle engines good for running at a constant RPM? Not a rhetorical question.

[Tell It Right]

My two cents' worth:

IMHO, a BEV, even with a gas generator extension, isn't a good idea as an only car. An only car is best to be a gas car, or maybe a hybrid. And I'm not sold on a hybrid (HEV or PHEV) as being a good only car.

My wife and I like our BEV as our main car and save tons of gas in it. We share it equally (we no longer say "her car" and "his truck"). But it suits our purposes in part because we also have a gas pickup as our 2nd car (in case we decide to go on a long trip that doesn't have good fast road side chargers, or if we go up north during the winter).

In other words, if someone wants to incorporate EV tech into a home's driving habits, it may be best for a married couple who needs two cars anyway to have one Fully electric car (BEV) and one gas car. That way neither car has the complexity of two styles to maintain (i.e. a hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or EV with gas generator all might break down on either the EV tech or the gas tech). Keeping our gas pickup running means just keeping the gas tech in it running. And keeping our BEV running means just keeping the EV tech in it running.

It also means that each car can excel at what it does best. In other words, our BEV gets tons of miles on one charge and, thus, a day of local driving going across town a lot is within range of what the battery will hold without having to fast charge or gas fill-up before coming home to charge when we're done. Which is great if you can charge at home and also drive tons of miles per day but make it home that day (the gas savings is in home charged miles, not in road-side fast charging miles). A BEV will get over 200 miles on an 80% charge: more than enough for even my wife and me for a day of our local driving (18K miles last year on home-charged miles alone). If it was a PHEV there would have been a significant amount of gasoline bought (because we'd exceed the 40 or so miles a PHEV will get on battery alone one one charge for the day). Because our EV is a BEV it saved us a ton on gasoline. (Forgetting for a moment that I have tons of solar to usually charge the BEV for free.) 18K miles per year of home charged miles is a lot of gas savings even if all of the power to charge had to be pulled from the grid. (At least with our power being 14 cents per kWh at night, and each kWh getting 3.5 miles in our EV for our local driving habits and running our AC or heat, etc.)

While the gas pickup does best what it does. Dependable on any trip, even in cold weather. Can carry a heavy load a long distance without having to stop and fill up (at least not more frequently that my bladder needs a pit stop). Since we bought the EV 3 and a half years ago, we've taken the EV on every trip that didn't involve pickup chores. But at the same time we know there could be a trip in the future that an EV wouldn't be good for. The gas pickup will work for any trip that the roads are passable (i.e. not in an ice storm).

[butlerweave]

The hybrids have a bunch of problems and the more they make the worst they’ll get

[jerod]

Hybrid’s are the answer... But the question is why bother?

The reason why they are the answer? It’s the gas engine which can be engaged at all times, or engaged based on driving conditions... The key factor being... Gas.

So while the electrically run engine does save some gas... It doesn’t save enough for the climate lunatics. In Europe they are already complaining that the hybrid vehicles aren’t doing enough to save the planet.

[PAR35]

I have said that I *might* get a hybrid, but I never plan to get a plug in electric.

[enraged]

We had the old school Pacifica when they partnered with Daimler. super nice car. 3rd row seating that folded down, rear seat DVD screen, really comfortable and built well. Lux version, you could sense the Mercedes influence. took many road trips in it. The current version looks like any other minivan. sad. Hybrid ok. Full ev? No thanks.

[enraged]

We get 600 miles on 10 gals with our Toyota signa. No complaints here. f the euro wennies.

[FlatulusMaximus]

We own a ‘17 Pacifica LX, gas only. It’s a great vehicle. Lately we’ve been having to do a 250 mile round trip drive every week. We got 28.7 mpg on a recent trip. That, with almost 300 hp and all the room and comfort you could want. I’m not sure I like the direction they’re going as described in the article. I’d NEVER own a strictly electric vehicle. I will say that last year we rented a ‘25 Camry hybrid, and it was amazing. 48 mpg in local driving, and it switched seamlessly between gas and electric. No plug-in needed. That might be where I’d go if we give up the Chrysler.

[T.B. Yoits]

A small diesel generator running at a constant rpm would be the most fuel-efficient combo.

Fuel-efficient maybe but diesel fuel does not do well in cold weather.

[Myrddin]

I owned a 2008 Mercury Marine Hybrid. It had a small ICE engine, battery and electric motors driving the wheels. It employed regenerative braking. I can only recall two times that I ever heard it operate in electric only mode. Once was in a parking lot on a pleasant Spring afternoon. The 2nd time was on a long downhill on SR-52 approaching the Santee area of San Diego county. Otherwise, the ICE was always in operation. It was needed to heat the interior on cold Winter days and cool the interior on hot Summer days. The idyllic weather days where you need neither heating nor cooling occur for about 1 week in the Spring and one week in the Fall.

When I purchased the vehicle (new), I was promised a $3200 rebate along with promises of 32 MPG. At tax time the actual rebate was $1200. In Winter months, the ICE delivered 21 MPG. In Summer months, 26 MPG. The elusive 32 MPG claim occurred only once in the 7 years of ownership. I was driving from San Diego to Pocatello in Spring. No air conditioning. ECO mode engaged. Cruise control. No traffic on northbound I-15. The computer had been completely reset because the battery was pulled while installing a towing package at U-Haul, so all the statistics were reset. The fuel stops in Primm, NV and St George, UT both yielded 32 MPG. The trip north from that point is uphill climbing from near sea level to over 6,000 ft, so the fuel economy dropped.

The Toyota Prius probably has the best hybrid implementation today. I traded the Mariner Hybrid for a 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew with EcoBoost engine. The F150 fuel economy is just slightly less than the Mariner Hybrid delivered. Hybrids are going to have to deliver more like the Prius to see wide adoption.

[roadcat]

In other words, if someone wants to incorporate EV tech into a home's driving habits, it may be best for a married couple who needs two cars anyway to have one Fully electric car (BEV) and one gas car.

That's what my wife and I own, an EV and a gas truck. The EV is great as a daily driver. The truck is for hauling and long distance drives, which are rare. Unfortunately, gas vehicles are expensive to maintain. We've had the EV for almost 7 years with no problems; bi-annual dealer service is about $30 to $35, except the last visit where an in-cablin filter cost $90. Dealers are greedy, because the EV needs little service, they recommended various services which we declined. Windshield protectant for $100 (basically RainX poured in the windshield wiper bottle). Brake fluid fill for $230 (a $10 store item), gear oil fill for $400 (a $20 store item). Declined that crap I can do myself. Gas vehicles get expensive when stuff breaks, and expensive for smog checks and fees. That's why I use the EV daily.

[Myrddin]

I see a lot more Tesla cars around Pocatello/Chubbuck in the last year. They have local (1B prefix) license plates, so they aren't visitors.

I have a 2015 F150 SuperCrew and 1999 F150 SuperCab. We do most of our driving with my wife driving the 2015 truck. My 1999 gets so little use that I have to recharge the battery a day before I plan to use it. It has 68,000 original miles on the odometer. I fill the tank once or twice per year. I used it primarily to tow my motorcycle trailer to San Diego and back. Since retiring last June, that is no longer a valid use.

We could probably employ a BEV as the 2nd vehicle now if it could manage a trip to Idaho Falls and back plus local mileage. Roughly 150 miles on a charge. We make the trip today in the 2015 F150 and routinely get 29 MPG cruising at no faster than 55 MPH on US91.

My only reticence in pursing this approach is that I'm retired and 19 months post-Whipple surgery for ampullary cancer. I really don't want to saddle our debt free household with a car payment. Statistically, I will be room temperature before it gets paid off.

[SPDSHDW]

Diesel is 1-2 dollars a gallon cheaper where they intend to sell these Cars AKA California, not America....

a EV car with a ICE motor gets worse MPG then a straight ICE car does. It’s a runaround to avoid California’s ban on ICE cars.

[Dr. Sivana]

A small diesel generator running at a constant rpm would be the most fuel-efficient combo.

Mazda is working on a rotary engine setup like that.

[wjcsux]

“I wouldn’t own a Stellantis product if you gave it to me.”

Amen. A good friend of mine owns a garage. He shudders when one pulls into his shop for repairs.

[Disambiguator]

A rotary diesel? That would be something.

We had a Mazda RX-3 wagon back in the 70s. My parents bought it to save on gas, but it only got 16 mpg on the highway. We never had issues with the rotor seals, but we went through a couple of clutches. I think my leadfoot older sister might have had something to do with that. I never got to drive it, as it was traded off for a ‘77 Impala wagon (that got 18 mpg).
I got my license in ‘78.

[Jonty30]

I love the style of the Pacifica and wish I could own it.

I’m told the 2nd generation Volt was the most reliable hybrid on the market at the time. The Pacifica extended range is at least 2 generations beyond the Volt, so a lot of refinements have been made since then.