Moving up toward the finals.
This entire piece walks through why minivans are the most useful family tool you can possibly buy and also that today's well designed minivans aren't total shit to drive. The Pacifica takes it.
I do take some issue with this though.
Yeah that's all fine but let's look at the actual performance.Real streets only reinforced the test results. The Pacifica rides as well as the Blazer, handles nearly as well, charges onto the freeway as well, carries equivalent driver assistance and safety systems, is just as quiet inside, and is easier to see out of. In the past, owning a minivan was a capitulatory purchase, a choice made under duress because you had kids and this is what you do. Automakers like Chrysler were smart to recognize this and have designed vans that look and drive like the vehicles you wanted to buy while offering more practicality and convenience than any other segment.
Speaking of, it's worth mentioning that no mainstream two-row crossover offers a rear-seat entertainment system.
As a refresher, Blazer does 14.7 sec @ 95.5 mph and 0-60 in 6.1.
The Pacifica which we had been lead to believe is about the same weight (it's heavier) and about the same power (it's a little less), is nowhere near as fast. 15.9 sec @ 89.9 mph and 0-60 in 7.6. I'm sorry, that is not close.
Overall though I do support the minivan (in theory) even though I do not want to purchase one.
That is pretty true.A final factor in our championship battle is the experience of our peers. Among us we have friends also in their 20s and 30s—some on them on their first kid, some on their fourth—most of whom tried to make a go of it with two- and three-row crossovers but were finally tempted by the practicality of the minivan. Not a single defector regrets their decision; in fact, they wish they'd chosen a minivan from the start.