Exhibit B: Second-row seats can be tilted and flipped forward even with a child seat installed, allowing older siblings or even adults to sneak by into the generous third row that is, in fact, reasonable for adult to sit. Nissan was first to market with this feature on their Pathfinder, followed by Honda in their Odyssey, but the Pacifica embraces it and executes it as well as anyone.

Of course, the advantage of the minivan over pretty much any SUV or crossover is the generous cargo space with the seats in place or stowed. With three rows of seating in place, the Pacifica offers 915 litres in a deep trunk, with enough space for bulky items and a pretty serious Costco run. If you only need two rows for passengers, 2,478 litres are available for cargo, with a maximum of 3,979 litres for moving day, and the exact interior dimensions to accommodate 4×8 sheets of plywood or drywall for that basement project you keep meaning to do.

Another convenience that messy families will appreciate is the built-in Stow ’n Vac (on Limited trim models) integrated vacuum powered by Ridgid, with a bagless canister. It’s mounted just aft of the side door opening, so it’s easier to reach the most used and messiest real estate – the second row seats. Chrysler will also offer a hands-free power liftgate and dual sliding doors shortly after launch, and a 360-degree parking monitor will also be available the Limited trim’s arsenal of conveniences.

As with any recent launch, active safety joins the arsenal of selling features, and the Pacifica now offers Forward Collision Warning with Active Braking, Lane Departure Warning with Lane Keep Assist, while Parallel and Perpendicular Park Assist and adaptive Cruise Control with Stop and Go are at the forefront of modern driving conveniences. While we did not have the opportunity to test the self-parking tech, the adaptive cruise worked well in stop-and-go LA traffic. Also look for blind-spot monitoring to keep you safe during lane changes and Park-Sense rear park assist with active braking and rear cross-path detection make parking safely a less worrisome affair.

Beyond the three basic trims (whose feature content I’ve listed after the pricing), Chrysler also offers a few standalone packages and options, like eight-passenger seating, 8.4-inch Uconnect screen and triple sunroof on lower trims, audio upgrades, those advanced driver safety features, and Uconnect Theatre, dual 10-inch headrest-mounted touchscreens for second-row passengers. Uconnect Theatre can play DVDs or hook up to game consoles, and even has its own array of games and activities. I think the cleverest one was “Are We There Yet?” – a navigation extension that provides pesky little brats with reports on your progress to the destination entered in the route guidance. We found the headrest-mounted screen was too much of a reach for little ones between 2-5, so a tablet hooked up to the available onboard wifi might still be the best tool to quiet restless kids on long (and sometimes not-so-long) trips.

If your kids are a bit older and have their learner’s permits or licenses, Pacifica has a nifty feature I like to call the ‘teenager key’ (my term, not Chrysler’s). It is a programmable fob that lets you limit speed and audio volume, make certain features un-turn-off-able (like Forward Collision Warning and Rear Park Assist), plus you can limit selection of SiriusXM satellite radio channels.

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