Unless I misunderstood, the 2018 Chrysler Pacificas only have 5.5 inches of ground clearance! That little? I was told that ordering the vehicle with 20-inch wheels would not raise the minivan any higher. Why get 20-inch wheels then? Thanks.
larger wheels and lower profile tires, and you have the same overall diameter. Better "style’ but other major disadvantages.
3 Likes
Is 15 inches the going ground clearance nowadays? My driveway has bigger bumps than that! I’d bottom out every time I entered or left it.
You can look at the manufactures web sites since you are looking at new and see the specifications . Also you seem to have a bumpy driveway so you do not want 20 inch wheels. 18 inch at the most… That ground clearance figure is the lowest point , not the entire vehicle.
I looked at the Chrysler site, and they quote approach angle, breakover angle, and departure angle, but no ground clearance in inches.
Edmunds spec for the 2018 Pacifica is 5.1 inches. Take a Pacifica to a parking lot that you know has a nasty traffic calming bump and see if it scrapes bottom. If not, it might work out for you. If you don’t live too far from a dealer, you could drive home and test it against the mountains in your driveway. If the salesman asks where you are going, tell him. Also tell him you won’t buy one unless it passes the driveway test.
No, I didn’t mean a lower profile (distance from hub to outer edge of tire). I’m wanting to get the car bottom higher up off the ground by getting a larger diameter tire. Not doable? How do I get a greater ground clearance, short of buying a different vehicle?
Look for a different vehicle , you could pay to have the Pacifica raised like they do Jeeps but it would be expensive , destroy future resale and could effect the drive line warranty.
What are you driving now?
Edit: The amount of money it would take to raise a Pacifica ( If it could be done ) would go a long way toward driveway repair.
OK, thanks. Is 5 1/2 inches a usual ground clearance? Seems awfully low. I go to an annual convention on a grassy hillside in Vermont every summer and the mowed straw heights must be higher than that, not to mention the dirt road’s drainage ruts and bumps.
Rent a Jeep for that and you won’t have to worry about clearance.
Good idea, but I’ve spent the last year narrowing down my choice to a Pacifica. When my mother was alive she always parked in roughly the same spot in the asphalt driveway, which made the depressions and the hump in the middle. Time for a new driveway, too, or some new grading.
If you want a vehicle to drive on dirt roads, don’t get a Pacifica. For that, you need a truck or SUV. Crossovers are too much like a car to have the ground clearance you want. Another way to attend the event is to ride with someone else. Then you can have the van if you want it.
Your choice , but personally I don’t have much faith in the Fiat ownership lasting much longer. Will Chrysler survive , who knows.
I now have most of a 2004 Pontiac Montana minivan, or what’s left after the rust. Guess I’ll just get the asphalt driveway replaced or at least leveled.
Actually I did think of that, and I may just do that.
That summer trip is the only dirt road I ever drive on. They do post a sign warning vehicles with a low ground clearance, so I just to go around the bumps and dips a bit, or at an angle. I may rent a vehicle just for the trip. Ordinary automobiles seem to negotiate the terrain satisfactorily, and my current 2004 Montana does scrape the ground a bit there if I’m not careful.
Pontiac stopped the Montana minivan and then GM stopped Pontiac. I’d buy another Montana in a flash. Chrysler/Dodge had bad reviews about their minivans, but the reviews I’ve read about the Pacifica all seem to be good or great. The only ding Consumer Reports gives it is poor expected reliability based on the the Town and Country and Grand Caravan. Other than that it is right up with the Honda Odyssey, which is what I was going to get until the Pacifica came out with good reviews. (I like to buy American as much as I can. I know Fiat/Chrysler is part European [20%?], and that the Odyssey is 85% American-made, tied with the Buick Enclave as the most-American-made vehicle.)
Ron
Very few vehicles have 15 inches of ground clearance. The Ford Raptor for example has 11 inches of ground clearance
While reliability for FCA products is lower than for Toyota or Honda, it usually isn’t a great deal lower. The best ones have 1% or less failure rate and the worst have 4% or more. Any vehicle with less than 4 failure rate should provide good service, and some with the worst rating may too. You just don’t know if it is 4% or 10%. I’ve bought cars with average overall ratings and they performed very well for me.
1 Like
Sorry, I meant is 5.1 inches the typical ground clearance nowadays? The Pacifica only has 5.1 inches. I’d be bottoming out on every dip in the road! That sounds crazy to me.
Your Montana has 6.5 inch ground clearance . You are obsessing about a non issue. The Pacifica is not meant to drive cow trails and neither is your Montana.