A Helluva Surprise

[Baneblade]

I recently drove a few of my European friends, who are in Vegas for the summer, to the Grand Canyon...well that and the surrounding area.

Anyway, it was decided to rent a vehicle since my Grand Marquis ('85 5.0L) was 'in the shop'. Originally we were going to rent a minivan (I wasnt paying for it lol), but the rental agency only had one (thanks to the US Air Force Red Flag exercise at Nellis) and it turned out to have a broken seatbelt (which = unrentable). So instead we got this thing I had only heard about casually called a Chrysler Pacifica. It was rather nice looking, well put together, and had the typical Chrysler feel.

I thought the interior was pretty nice, and it wasnt hard to find a comfortable driving position with the seat. While pulling out of the rental place's parking lot I barely hit the gas to turn left and the tires chirped and this thing literally took off, I mean this was the kind of acceleration you expect from something half its weight, or something with a HEMI. It took less than 1 mile of driving it to realize I was going to enjoy all 600 or so miles we had planned to go.

This particular model was the 2007 FWD Touring with the 4.0L V6 and a 6 speed automatic with a clutchless manual mode. By the time we got on the Interstate up to Utah, I was tempted to stop at the Las Vegas Speedway and see just how fast I could do a lap. The speedo went up to 160 mph (or kph with the imperial/metric toggle). I might have tried to go that fast if I hadnt of had 5 other people and about 250 lbs of stuff onboard.

As it was I had no trouble taking a 55 mph turn at 80-90, there wasnt even excessive body roll, I mean this thing was tight...yet the ride was smooth. I could easily hit 60 mph without even getting out of 3rd gear.

The whole trip I was testing this things limits...yet trying not to be too obvious about it since I did have more than just myself with me. This thing felt as smooth at 115 mph as it does at 20 mph.

I dont think I went the speed limit more than 30 total minutes of the hours I was driving total. And that was because of rain or the local ticket bearing bacon.

When we got back to Vegas, we still had 6 total ppl in the car with our stuff. We were stopped at a red light in the right lane. A truck was in the left lane and a black Dodge Stealth was in the middle lane. The guy driving the stealth was revving his engine and trying to get the truck to race him.

The light turned green and I smoked both of them , imagine yourself in a Stealth being smoked by this and the best part seeing this Romanian dude (who looks more than a little bit like Tom Cruise) leaning out the left rear window laughing at you.

I fell in love with this hardly impressive looking machine...and now I want one lol. I already know what I want to do to it to fit it more to my personality, mainly tires/wheels/and some aftermarket parts. I also want to get vanity plates: SLEEPER or something similar.

In conclusion, I felt like I was driving a Porsche (the engine noise at 4000+ rpm) or a BMW (the handling), not a Chrysler. Now to convince my bank Im going to pay back the loan Im going to ask for.

[Mag-Mower]

Yea, I have been in a few pacificas, and they actually really nice. I was expecting an unenjoyable ride, but Iw as really surprised. Just a nice ride, comfortable, really surprising actually.

[Baneblade]

I can get a 2007 for less than $20 grand at Carmax...apparently their market value nose dives ($25-38 grand brand new). But all the 2007s they have are not at a Carmax close to me.

[Hamma]

I've always liked the look of the pacifica, never got a chance to drive one tho

[Kyonye]

My aunt used to have a pacifica. She only had it for about a year and it fell apart. Maybe she just had a defective model but it ended up being about $3000 in work, so she just bought a nissan murano instead of fixing the pacifica. I'm hoping she just had a defective model.

[OneManArmy]

Chrysler

no.

[Rbstr]

Amen OMA.

A DCX V6 sounding like a Porsche boxer 6?
The Porsche engine is one of the most distinctive automotive sounds out there.

[Baneblade]

Originally Posted by OneManArmy

no.

Is this the PreDaimler Chrysler, the DaimlerChrysler, or PostDaimler Chrysler you refer to?

[Baneblade]

Originally Posted by Rbstr

Amen OMA.

A DCX V6 sounding like a Porsche boxer 6?
The Porsche engine is one of the most distinctive automotive sounds out there.

Perhaps the mufflers might have something to do with it...

In any case Im not exactly a Porsche enthusiast, that was just the impression I got from the sound.

[Kam]

You want something that can move for a decent price buy a SAAB. Not many people realize they are listed with Porsche and Ferrari on the track times.

[Baneblade]

But a Saab isn't good for...the rougher side of my life, not so much space to work with.