Jonathan swung the door open and threw his hands up. “No work this weekend!”
For real? I rarely hear those words from my husband. I checked the family calendars. No girl scout meetings. No birthday parties. No project deadlines for me either. We were free to hit the open road!
Lucky me, Chrysler had a brand new 2018 Pacifica for me to review.
Minivans have always seemed like overkill to me. I mean, we’re just a family of four- do we really need a car that big? What about the environment? Wouldn’t we spend a fortune on gas? But then I met the Chrysler Pacifica at the LA auto show…and fell in love.
For starters, it’s pretty. It’s also roomy, but not gigantic. It has excellent gas mileage and even comes in a hybrid. AND it’s tricked out with all the good stuff— motion sensors, parking assist, infotainment galore, and… trunk space. You know me. DIY girl and flea market junkie. I need my trunk space.
We decided to escape to Palm Springs- a 2 hour drive from Los Angeles. Not only could I fit our bags, 2 kids, 1 husband, myself and all of our personalities in this car, I also had plenty of room for my mom… in the back row. Who puts their mom in the back row? Me! Yes, it was a risk- and Amah is a harsh critic- but she found it remarkably comfortable. She said there was plenty of legroom and the sunroof, side windows, air vents and usb outlets made it a “first class experience”.
I love to travel, but with kids? Not so much. They get bored. They whine. They fight. It can be overwhelming. And frankly, not safe. One feature I love on the Pacifica is that if you get distracted by something like, say, loud, “punch-bugging” children, and start to veer out of your lane, the Pacifica has “lane-keeping assist” to pull you back on track. But I’m not the only one who feels super safe in this car- the Pacifica gets the highest ratings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
But the kids were too busy having fun to cause any commotion and kept their hands to themselves and their games. Notice the distance between the seats? That is the distance of sweet serenity right there, folks.
An hour into our drive, I looked at Jonathan and I realized we’d been having a conversation, just the two of us, uninterrupted. The kids were quiet- were they even in the car? It felt like we were out on a date! Could this minivan be good for marriages too?
The desert is filled with mysteries that the kids just had to explore.
I took the opportunity to clean up with the built in vacuum cleaner. Honestly, I’d been dying to use this thing since we got in the car. I was grateful for the mess!
At the hotel the girls played The Game of Life by the pool. Apparently, in order to win at The Game of Life you have to reach retirement.
We’re far from retirement. Why does it feel like we’ve already WON LIFE?
Hiking through Indian Canyons blew our minds. The kids loved climbing huge boulders and seeing natural oases in the middle of the desert. “This place is so cool!” the little one yelled. “Thank you for taking us here, Mommy and Daddy!” *Heart explode*
When we got back to LA we took our Pacifica to the beach and watched the sunset.
The family trip is a rare and special occasion. When it does happen, there’s always pressure that we have to get it right. With the Pacifica, we got EVERYTHING right.
Click here to learn more about the Chrysler Pacifica.
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