2016 Chrysler Pacifica:: Grand Voyager replacement appears in Detroit

In the US, where Chrysler’s people-mover was known instead as the Town & Country, the Pacifica will replace the now eight year-old fifth-generation model.

The Grand Voyager is no longer available in Australia, making its way out of the local range in 2015. Don’t expect to see the Pacifica replace it as Chrysler’s rival to the Honda Odyssey and Kia Carnival, however.

Speaking with CarAdvice today, Fiat Chrysler communications manager Andrew Chesterton confirmed that there are no plans to bring the Pacifica to local showrooms.

“While there's no immediate plan to introduce to the Pacifica to the Australian line-up, we never rule anything out completely, as our product mix is always driven by customer demand,” Chesterton said.

The eight-seat Pacifica draws its styling cues from the smaller Chrysler 200 sedan, also not offered in Australia, with long pointed headlights meeting a slender curved grille to form a wave-like styling effect at the front end.

Like Kia’s new Carnival, the Pacifica has swapped the cardigan for a leather jacket, debuting a boldly wide and muscular design for a new generation of parents and visiting rock acts.

The new Pacifica rides on a 3088mm wheelbase, out-stretching the Carnival’s 3060mm footprint, and its petrol V6 offers more power than the one offered with its Korean rival.

In the US, the Pacifica will be offered with Chrysler’s familiar 3.6-litre petrol V6 producing 214kW and 355Nm, along with a new hybrid version that pairs a detuned version of that engine with an electric motor to produce a combined system output of 185kW 311Nm.

Chrysler says that with the Pacifica Hybrid’s lithium-ion battery fully charged, it should be capable of driving up to 48 kilometres on electric power alone.

The petrol Pacifica goes on sale in the US around March, with the hybrid to follow later in the year.

Click the photos tab above for more photos of the new Pacifica.

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