Sips gas, hauls @$$: We drove the plug-in hybrid Chrysler Pacifica Limited, and the results are staggering.

From those who've been in the mini-van game longer than anyone else, the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid Limited is a vehicle for true logisticians. We were lucky enough to spend a week with one, and by the end of our test, one thing became increasingly clear: the fact that everyone (who can afford one) doesn't own one confirms that Adam Smith was amiss in assuming that people act out of rational self-interest. This might just be the most practical and efficient family-oriented vehicle to ever be produced. 

To compare, let's look at a Toyota Highlander, one of the more popular family movers on the road. With the second and third-row seats folded down, the Highlander offers 83.7 cubic feet of room. The Pacifica, on the other hand, offers 87.5 cubic feet of cargo space with only the third row folded down. Should you need more space, you can remove the second row for 140.5 cubic feet of room, which is more than a Chevy Suburban.

Not to mention, the Pacifica's large sliding key-fob-controlled doors and slightly lower ride height make ingress, egress, and loading cargo about as easy as it gets. 

Then there's the fuel efficiency. The Pacifica Hybrid is a plug-in hybrid that allows for 32 miles of electric-only driving, which if you charge/use every day for a year totals 11,680 miles. Once the batteries are low, a 3.6-liter gas-powered V6 seamlessly saves the day. In our testing, we let the batteries run as low as the car would allow and kept our foot on it, but as much as we tried to decimate the fuel economy we still recorded an average 28.2 MPG—that's more than the Highlander's 27 MPG highway rating, miles ahead of the Suburban's 18 combined MPG, and isn't far off from the average MPG of small crossovers like the RAV4 or CR-V. 

We imagine that the parents and grandparents out there would have better self-control than we did and be able to achieve closer to 30 MPG combined, then again, the Pacifica's driving dynamic and throw-you-back-in-your-seat-factor is addicting. The electric motors provide that instant torque that makes EVs fun to drive and the suspension is well-sorted. Considering the added weight of the hybrid system, and the fact that minivans aren't necessarily known for being light and nimble, the Pacifica handles like a much smaller and nimbler vehicle making it much more inspiring to drive than many of the other three-row crossovers out there. 

If there's any fault to the Pacifica Hybrid, it's that it's not all-wheel-drive, towing isn't recommended, and the shifter dial—while fixed in other FCA products—still lags when gears are too swiftly selected. But as we've preached before, all-wheel-drive isn't necessary, just get a great set of winter tires and enjoy your heated steering wheel and all of the other techy amenities like its 8.4-inch Uconnect touch screen, Apple CarPlay, Andriod Auto, and more. 

At a base price of $45,795, the Pacifica Hybrid (our Pacifica Hybrid Limited came in at $50,255) before any tax incentives. It seems like a lot, but when you consider that this van is one part EV, one part family hauler, and one part luxury car, it all makes sense. And if most of your daily chores require less than 32 miles on the odometer, it's a no-brainer. 

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