Minivan makeover

BURLINGTON, Ont. — The mighty minivan — relegated to the scrap heap by the rush to crossovers and SUVs — is making a comeback, and Chrysler hopes to lead the way with its top-selling, Canadian-made Grand Caravan and Pacifica models.

While many manufacturers — Mazda, Ford, GM, Hyundai and Nissan — abandoned the once-popular family hauler, Chrysler has continued to play in the segment since it was launched by Lee Iacocca in 1983.

For 2027, the Pacifica gets a cosmetic refresh and the Grand Caravan is a holdover, but new this year are price savings of up to $7,200, Chrysler product planner Mike Szymkiewicz told journalists assembled here for the launch of the two vehicles.

“It’s primarily that we’re taking less margin, but we’re also adding content,” he said. “So less margin but we hope more volume.”

If the current trend continues, those hopes will come true. Since 2010, the minivan hit a peak in 2016 with 641,000 vehicles sold in North America (87,000 in Canada), according to data presented by Chrysler. The segment hit a low of 258,000 (22,000 in Canada) in 2022.

Since then, the segment has climbed to 437,000 (43,000 in Canada) in 2025, the Chrysler graphic shows. That’s still a far cry from the more than 1.5 million sold in 2020, but the trend is that sales are increasing.

Demographics are playing a significant role in the minivan’s comeback, said Sam Fiorani, vice-president, global vehicle forecasting, for AutoForecast Solutions.

“A generational battle has been going on for decades where children want to make their own way in the world, and part of that is driving something different than their parents,” Fiorani, whose portfolio includes monitoring the Canadian market, said.

Where that once drove children of minivan buyers into SUVs, it’s now driving the current generation away from SUVs and towards minivans, he said.

“The practicality of a minivan has always been core to its design, and that appeals to young families looking to break out of their parents’ shadows.”

Chrysler, competing with the Toyota Sienna, Honda Odyssey and Kia Carnival, said it’s the largest seller of minivans in North America, with 40 per cent of the market. Szymkiewicz said the Caravan/Pacifica price adjustments improve its competitiveness, including a $4,200 drop in the price of entry to all-wheel drive models.

“We’re the only van to offer all-wheel drive with Stow ’n Go seating for second and third rows,” he said. “It’s fully automatic and the only AWD system in the segment capable of transferring all available torque to the rear wheels.”

The Grand Caravan, sold exclusively in Canada, stays at its $49,995 price (incl. $2,195 destination fee and $100 air conditioning tax) for 2027. In Canada, Stellantis kept the Grand Caravan in the lineup as a front-drive entry-level model, while in the U.S., Stellantis is only selling the Pacifica.

Pacifica pricing starts with the Select trim level at $52,995 for front-drive and $57,995 for all-wheel drive. Limited and Pinnacle offered with all-wheel-drive only, at $64,995 for Limited and $72,995 for the topline Pinnacle. All pricing includes $2,195 destination fee and $100 air conditioning tax. For 2027, the Pinnacle and Limited are both $7,200 less expensive than 2026 and earlier models. The Select, in both all-wheel and front-wheel drive, is $4,200 less than the 2026 models.

All models use the same engine and transmission combination: the Pentastar 3.6-litre V-6 and nine-speed automatic. Power is rated at 287 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque. Fuel economy is rated at (l/100km, city/highway/combined) 12.4/8.4/10.6 for front-drive and 14.1/9.4/12.0 for all-wheel drive.

With the price of entry to all-wheel drive cut by $4,200, from $62,195 in 2026 and earlier models to $57,995 for 2027 — and $1,895 lower than the only all-wheel-drive competitor Toyota Sienna XSE AWD — Szymkiewicz said Pacifica is well-positioned to compete.

Chrysler launched the minivan in 1983 promising the ability to haul a four-by-eight sheet of plywood or drywall, a promise that holds today. With Stow ’N Go, first introduced in 2005, drivers can haul that plywood without removing seats. Alternatively, when the seats are up, their stowage spaces become in-floor storage.

How does it drive? It’s a minivan, with all that entails. Its engine is powerful enough, its brakes strong enough, its handling is sufficiently predictable. Very few, if any, buy a minivan to carve up racetracks; they buy them for stable, predictable driving dynamics with the ability to carry more volume than even some of the largest SUVs. In all those demands, the Pacifica/Caravan does not disappoint.

Will the rise of the minivan be enough to lure other players back in? Unlikely. The SUV/crossover remains a cash cow of the industry, so only a significant leakage from that segment into minivans is likely to spur action.

What it should mean, however, is that combined with the return of the Jeep Cherokee, a perennial Stellantis sales leader inexplicably discontinued in 2023, along with a planned introduction of more than 60 new models through 2030, is a turnaround in faltering Stellantis sales.

kelly.taylor@freepress.mb.ca