Recent Articles
Popular Makes
Body Types
2018 Toyota Sienna vs. 2018 Chrysler Pacifica: Which Is Best?
2018 Chrysler Pacifica vs Toyota Sienna profile
With the ever growing popularity of three-row crossover SUVs, it’s become harder and harder to find a minivan. But despite its sliding popularity, the minivan is hardly obsolete. As a functional family-hauler, its interior space efficiency and power-operated sliding doors give it unparalleled utility.
Two of the most popular surviving minivans are the 2018 Chrysler Pacifica and the 2018 Toyota Sienna. The Pacifica was all-new for 2017, replacing the Town & Country and heir to the Chrysler minivan dynasty that goes back to the segment’s creation 1984. The Sienna was last redesigned in 2011, but it’s received numerous updates since then, most recently for 2018. Which of these two class leaders is right for your family?
Passenger Space and Comfort
Both the Pacifica and the Sienna can seat seven adults comfortably and squeeze in an eighth. The Chrysler’s seats, though, are on the hard, flat side — we’d still call them comfortable, but they don’t go the extra mile. The Toyota has softer yet supportive cushioning, and the seats are shaped to hold you in place nicely. Moreover, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety concluded that it’s easier to install a child safety seat in the Sienna than in the Pacifica.
The Pacifica’s flatter seats do make it easier for an adult to fit in the center position of the second row. The Sienna literally squeezes you in between the two outboard seats, rather than creating the feel of a single bench. But unless carrying eight adults is a priority, we’re more impressed with the Toyota’s comfort level.
Toyota Sienna
Photo by Toyota
Cargo Space and Versatility
The Pacifica has 32 cubic feet of cargo space behind its third-row seat, 88 cubic feet with the third-row folded, and a maximum of 141 cubic feet with only the front seats in use. Those are great numbers, but the Sienna’s are even better: 39, 87, and 150 cubic feet, respectively.
However, to get that maximum cargo capacity in the Sienna, you need to remove the second-row seats from the vehicle and find a space to store them until you’re ready to carry passengers again. The Pacifica uses Chrysler’s Stow ’n Go system, in which the second-row seats disappear into bins in the floor. (Both vans pull off that same trick for the third-row seat.) We think that’s a bigger advantage than a couple of extra cubic feet.
Chrysler Pacifica
Photo by FCA Media
Interior Ambiance and Technology
The Pacifica’s elegantly modern interior is a superb blend of premium styling, advanced technology, and everyday functionality. Its in-dash infotainment system supports Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone integration on the 7-inch base trim touchscreen and the 8.4-inch screen found in luxury models. And its available twin entertainment touchscreens are built into the front seatbacks like on an airplane, putting videos and apps within reach of second-row passengers.
Meanwhile, while the Pacifica's dashboard is gracefully curved, the Sienna's is angular and blocky. Toyota has recently upgraded its infotainment graphics, but it still lacks Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, and even the top-of-the-line model has just a 7-inch screen. The Sienna also leaves some dashboard controls awkwardly far away from the driver, and it has a maximum of five USB ports to the Pacifica’s six.
Chrysler Pacifica
Photo by Chrysler
Exterior Styling
While looks are subjective, we feel confident giving a win to the Pacifica. It’s hard to fault any aspect of its exterior styling, which is graceful and restrained without being dull. There are no garish details, and every line and angle works to create a classy vehicle that any family can be proud of.
The Sienna received some exterior styling tweaks for 2018, but it still looks more functional than graceful. And particularly on the front end, the headlights, grille, and bumper read more like a mix of elements than a single cohesive whole. The sport-oriented SE and SE Premium models have clear taillights that were trendy about 10 or 15 years ago.
Chrysler Pacifica
Photo by FCA Media
Safety
Both the Sienna and Pacifica did very well in crash tests from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — but the Chrysler did slightly better. The Pacifica is an IIHS Top Safety Pick and earned five stars in every frontal and side-impact NHTSA test. The Sienna earns only second-best marks in a couple of frontal-impact tests.
On the other hand, the Toyota comes standard with a broader suite of accident-avoidance technologies that are only available on certain Pacifica trims. Chrysler counters with standard blind-spot monitoring, but we find the Sienna’s advanced features to be more impressive, and enough to overcome its slight disadvantage in a collision.
Toyota Sienna
Photo by Toyota
Pricing
The 2018 Pacifica starts at $26,995. Its generous standard equipment includes a 7-inch in-dash touchscreen; Bluetooth connectivity; a blind-spot monitoring system with a rear cross-traffic alert; and a dual-zone manual climate control system. The 2018 Sienna is priced from $30,850, also with Bluetooth and a 7-inch touchscreen. Toyota also adds three-zone automatic climate control and the aforementioned advanced safety features: a forward-collision warning with automatic emergency braking, radar cruise control; and a lane-departure warning with automatic steering assistance.
The Pacifica also offers those features, but only on higher-range models. But given the Pacifica’s lower sticker prices — and, as of this writing, bigger discounts off the sticker price — the Chrysler remains the value leader.
Chrysler Pacifica
Photo by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
Options
The Pacifica and Sienna can both be equipped with a multitude of luxury and family-friendly features — plush leather upholstery, high-resolution rear entertainment systems, rain-sensing windshield wipers, and more. The Toyota is the only minivan with an all-wheel drive option and a neat “Easy Speak” system that projects the driver’s voice through the rear speakers.
However, the Chrysler offers the only gas-electric hybrid powertrain in today’s minivan class. It also can be equipped with a useful built-in vacuum cleaner, a surround-view camera system, and hands-free gesture-based operation for the power sliding doors and liftgate. In short, each van has desirable options that aren’t offered on the other. You’ll have to choose for yourself which are the most important.
Tie
Photo by Toyota
Driving Dynamics
Every Pacifica model has a nice balance of a smooth ride with decently responsive handling, and serenely quiet cabin noise helps it feel upscale. You wouldn’t consider it especially sporty, even for a minivan, but the Chrysler remains appropriately composed either in a straight line or on a twisty road. A 39.7-foot turning circle is on the wide side, though.
The Sienna offers a choice of driving experiences: a comfort-focused setup that’s found on most trims, or a sportier one in the SE and SE Premium. The latter has heavier steering — which provides more confidence if you’re hustling your van, though it's less convenient while navigating a parking lot — and trades some ride smoothness for superior handling responses. While the Pacifica should appeal to any type of driver, we like that Toyota gives buyers a choice. The Sienna also has a tighter turning circle: 37.5 feet.
Photo by Toyota
Power and Fuel Economy
Every Sienna uses a 3.5-liter V6 with a class-leading 296 horsepower, mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission. The throttle is tuned to let you accelerate smoothly and gently unless you put your foot down, at which point the van zips forward nicely. EPA fuel economy ratings are 19 mpg in the city, 27 mpg on the highway, and 22 mpg combined. Picking the optional all-wheel drive drops the Sienna to 18 mpg city, 24 mpg highway, 20 mpg combined.
The Pacifica has slightly less power from its standard 3.6-liter 287-horsepower V6 and nine-speed automatic transmission, but it does pick up an extra mile per gallon on the highway compared to the Toyota. And if your top priority is fuel economy, you want the Pacifica Hybrid. You can plug it into the wall to receive up to 33 miles of all-electric range, after which point it averages 32 mpg combined. A $7,500 federal tax credit offsets the hybrid's higher sticker price.
Photo by FCA Media
Overall
The 2018 Toyota Sienna is a spacious, comfortable minivan with plenty of desirable features and lots of high-end safety technology. That's a pretty appealing combination for a big family car. Even so, we think the 2018 Chrysler Pacifica is even better.
The Pacifica is not only more luxurious and more functional than the Sienna, but it’s also more affordable and more fuel-efficient. It has more sophisticated, more user-friendly interior technology features. The Sienna is the right choice if you want all-wheel drive or one of its other class-exclusive features, and its cushier seats are another bonus. But overall, our pick is the Pacifica.
Photo by FCA Media