I've had a 2006 HH for more than 90,000 miles that I picked up used years back for $27,500. Frankly, it's the best car I've ever owned and, I've owned more than 25 in my life. It even beats the luxury marques I've owned - Cad & MB in so many ways. I could write a book about it.
It's a hauler and I have even towed small trailers with it. It consistently gets 23 MPG which while not great, is fantastic for a vehicle of this size. It's quiet and frankly pretty luxurious. It has a spacious back seat. The third row seat is O.K. for small children and there is no luggage capacity when that seat is up. But, there is always the roof rack, a small trailer or a hitch rack, all of which I also have.
I'd be buying another instead of perusing this forum if it wasn't for the price escalation. When I see the MSRP of the new HH Limiteds north of $50,000 it takes my breath away. That's just too rich for my blood.
We bought the HH after looking at many other options and paid what I estimated to be a $5 to $6,000 premium for the hybrid system. I wasn't planning to save it all back in gas costs, although I'm sure I did vs the non-hybrid, as much as I wanted insurance against escalating fuel prices after having faced almost $5/gal gasoline here in CA a few years back.
Rather than rave about it, I'll give you my negatives:
1) Leather and plastic interior isn't quite tough enough an scratch and stain resistant enough for the abuse that an SUV takes. Even though we were careful, there are a lot of scratches & stains.
2) The i-drive isn't really 4WD equivalent if you are needing that. In fact, in the early models like mine it will leave you stranded in a no traction situation.
3) The timing belt. Dealer cost of replacement (along with water pump of course) and 90,000 mile service was about $1,500 IIRC. Timing chains - like the 3.5l in the non-hybrid Lexus 350 RX usually last the lifetime of the vehicle. That can save $3,000 over a 200,000 mile life, enough to completely obliterate any hybrid fuel consumption savings. (Although I don't like the sloped rear hatch on the RX Lexus' because it cuts down on the capacity for tall items significantly.
4) The rear seats don't fold flat. In fact, a few years back when the newer and better HHs came out, if the seats had folded flat, I might have been enticed to buy one!
5) A few nits related to design/feature flaws like: The thing "drums" when you have the sunroof open and travel above 35 MPH; there is no memory seat adjustments which means my wife and I have to readjust whenever we change drivers; that stupid little watch stem like knob you have to use to adjust the dash lighting and, you will be adjusting it because it doesn't automatically adjust up or down with the headlight switch. (These things have likely changed on the newer models).
Did I mention it's the best car we've ever owned!
Finally, no matter how much I might like the Pacifica, I just can't trust a Chrysler product. There is a reason you never see top reliability ratings for Chrysler products.
Because of the cost of repairs, reliability is key. I've always done my own work until this Highlander. I have several "hobby cars". But a semi-major repair say, transmission replacement (or battery pack on an EV) can blow away any fun and reasonableness of even a car you love. When I hear of $6,000 transmission replacements, I know the world has changed and, not for the better.
