Climbing into the Pacifica is easy because it sits relatively low to the ground. Once ensconced, our first impression was one of spaciousness. The cloth upholstery in the new five-passenger model is nice and looks more expensive than expected. Stepping up to the Touring and then the Limited incrementally adds appointments approaching luxury level. Wood, brushed aluminum and quality soft-touch materials create an attractive ambiance.
The bucket seats are thick and deep and supportive with enormous side bolsters that may not be comfortable for some larger frames, but fit even 6-foot, 4-inch statures like the proverbial glove. Between them is a center console trimmed in a soft-touch material that gives it a quality feel. There's a pair of cup holders conveniently located immediately aft of the shifter and they work well; fortunately, the German influence only goes where it's beneficial. All four doors feature map pockets and cup holders. The high-waisted design means the window sills are too high for comfortable arm resting.
The leather-wrapped steering wheel is thick and chunky, a small-diameter interface with the car giving the impression you're directing the movement of something substantial. Redundant controls for the cruise control and sound system are conveniently integrated into the steering wheel spokes.
The instrument panel is done as one swooping enclosure that goes from the back of the left door around to the back of the right front door. The dash features a major hood and a minor hood to keep the sun off the instrument faces. Under the sweeping hood, there's an interesting-looking set of instruments and controls; when the optional navigation system is ordered, the display is positioned right in the center of the speedometer, exactly where it should be for safest use. The DVD-based navigation system is set up and run by a circular switch panel to the right of the steering wheel.
Heating and air conditioning controls seemed fussy at first, but we loved having the Auto Hi and Auto Lo switches for those times when we don't want the climate control blasting away at full fan speed. All power windows can be lowered at once by pressing one button. There's a nice analog clock for quickly telling time. And you can program convenience functions such as auto locking, lock notification (horn, lights, nothing), lighting when doors are opened and so on to tailor the car the way you want it to operate.
The second-row seats in Touring and Limited models are as handsome as the front seats. They're not quite as cushy as the front-row seats, but we found them roomy and comfortable. Between them is a center console similar to the one in front, with a similarly elegant center console with cup holders as the one in front. Fan controls and vents, a power plug and a tray for a bag are provided to keep back-seat passengers content. The second-row seats are split 50/50 in Touring and Limited models so one can be folded over to handle lengthy cargo while the other accommodates a third occupant. The five-passenger model's second-row seat is a bench-type and splits 65/35. We found it easy to fold the second-row seats down the first time out. The seatback tips down then the seat tumbles forward. This is accomplished by moving levers that are numbered to tell you the proper sequence. This increases cargo capacity, but it's not a perfectly flat cargo floor and, of course, there's a gap between the second-row bucket seats.
Third-row seats fold down 50/50 and disappear to create a flat floor for large cargoes. That's the best configuration because the third row is not a comfortable place to sit, particularly for adults. There's no headroom, no hip room, no shoulder room, no knee room. Access to the third-row seats, while not requiring extreme contortions, was best attempted by small-stature frames.
