Pacifica vs. Sienna: Which Minivan Is Right For You?
The Chrysler Pacifica and Toyota Sienna aren’t just two of the most desirable minivans on the market, they’re also two of the top-selling vehicles in the class. While the Chrysler is just a few years into its product run, the current generation Sienna is due for a redesign.
Both of the models have changed little in the last few years. The 2019 Chrysler Pacifica has not had any major changes since 2018, when its trim levels and standard features were shuffled. Toyota has left the Sienna mostly unchanged from the 2018 model year, but has added standard Apple CarPlay and Amazon Alexa for 2019.
Read on to learn more about the similarities and differences between the two minivans.
Price
Winner: 2019 Chrysler Pacifica
The Chrysler Pacifica is more budget-friendly than the Toyota Sienna, giving it the win in this category. It starts at $26,995, which is thousands of dollars lower than the Sienna and rival Honda Odyssey. Getting a top-tier Pacifica will cost you $44,445.
The Toyota Sienna is one of the most expensive minivans you can buy. It has a base price of $31,115 and soars up to $48,890 when fully loaded.
Reliability
Winner: To Be Determined
The Toyota Sienna has not been evaluated for its reliability, but the Chrysler Pacifica has. Because of that, it wouldn’t be fair to choose either one as the winner.
The 2019 Pacifica has average predicted reliability and has been the subject of one recall for a voltage regulator issue. It comes with a three-year/36,000-mile basic warranty and a five-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty.
The 2019 Sienna is mechanically the same as the 2018 Sienna. The 2018 model received a low 2.5 out of five reliability score. Toyota covers every new Sienna with a three-year/36,000-mile warranty and a five-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty. The 2019 Sienna has not been the subject of any recalls.
Seat Comfort
Winner: Tie
The Chrysler Pacifica and Toyota Sienna both have comfortable seats and can fit eight. There is plenty of room in both of the minivans’ first rows, though the space gets tighter as you move back to each third row. Most adults will feel squished if they try to ride in the third-row seats of these minivans.
The Pacifica (pictured above) comes standard with cloth upholstery. Upgrades include leather upholstery, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, eight-way power-adjustable front seats, heated and ventilated front seats, heated second-row seats, a heated steering wheel, and a power-folding third row.
Like the Pacifica, the Sienna comes standard with cloth upholstery and a Split & Stow third-row. The minivan’s list of available features isn’t as long as the Pacifica’s, though it does include power-adjustable front seats, heated front seats, leather upholstery, a heated steering wheel, and second-row captain’s chairs that recline and have footrests.
Cargo Space
Winner: Tie
The 2019 Toyota Sienna has more cargo space than the 2019 Chrysler Pacifica by several measurements. The Sienna has 39.1 cubic feet of space behind the third-row seats, compared to 32.3 in the Pacifica. There's 150 cubic feet of overall cargo space in the Sienna, compared to 140.5 in the Pacifica.
However, you have to completely remove the second row to use all of the Sienna's space. The Pacifica's second row folds flat into the floor, thanks to Chrysler's optional Stow 'n Go system, making it much easier to use all of the space available. The Pacifica also has 87.5 cubic feet with the third row folded, which is slightly more than the Sienna's 87.1 cubic feet.
We're calling this one a tie
Interior Features
Winner: 2019 Chrysler Pacifica
The Chrysler Pacifica has an impressive list of standard and available features. Although the Sienna has some, it can’t match the Chrysler, giving the Pacifica the win in this category. Both minivans come standard with remote keyless entry, a 7-inch touch screen, voice recognition, Bluetooth, and Apple CarPlay. The Pacifica also comes standard with Android Auto, dual-zone climate control, power second-row windows, a USB port, and remote app integration. The Sienna has Amazon Alexa, tri-zone climate control, a Wi-Fi hot spot, and five USB ports standard.
Available equipment on both models includes rain-sensing wipers, push-button start, satellite radio, HD radio, navigation, and a rear-seat entertainment system.
The real difference between the two offerings is in higher grades. Toyota offers the Sienna with a single or dual-pane moonroof while the Pacifica comes with a tri-pane panoramic sunroof. Buyers can get the Sienna with a 10-speaker JBL audio system, but the Pacifica has an available 13-speaker Alpine sound system and a 20-speaker Harman Kardon audio system.
Pacifica buyers can upgrade to 8.4-inch infotainment screen and a larger driver information screen. Neither is available in the Sienna. A built-in vacuum cleaner and tri-zone climate control are also available in the Pacifica.
Toyota sells the Sienna with Driver Easy Speak, a similar system to Honda’s CabinTalk, which projects voices from the front row into the rear seats.
Interior Quality
Winner: 2019 Chrysler Pacifica
The interior of the Chrysler Pacifica is nicer than the interior of the Toyota Sienna, giving the Michigan-based automaker the win in this category. Though the interior of the Sienna is made of quality materials and has good fit and finish, it’s not as modern nor as upscale as the Pacifica’s.
Acceleration
Winner: 2019 Toyota Sienna
The 2019 Chrysler Pacifica and 2019 Toyota Sienna are both adequately powered. The Pacifica has a 3.6-liter V6 engine that produces 287 horsepower, though you have to press hard on the accelerator to get it up to speed. The Sienna is powered by a 296-horsepower 3.5-liter V6 engine that isn’t shy about showing off its muscle, giving Toyota the win in this category.
Fuel Economy
Winner: 2019 Chrysler Pacifica
The 2019 Pacifica achieves better fuel economy than most of its rivals, including the Toyota Sienna, giving it the win in this category. It gets 18 mpg in the city and 28 mpg on the highway. With engine stop-start technology, city fuel economy raises to 19 mpg.
The Sienna comes standard with front-wheel drive and is available with all-wheel drive. The front-wheel drive Sienna achieves 19 mpg in the city and 27 mpg on the highway. All-wheel drive models are less fuel efficient, getting 18 mpg in the city and 24 mpg on the highway.
Ride and Handling
Winner: 2019 Chrysler Pacifica
The Toyota Sienna and Chrysler Pacifica prioritize comfort in their ride design, but the Pacifica is more engaging to drive and handles itself better on the road, giving it the win in this category. The Sienna has much more body roll than the Pacifica and has a firmer ride than most minivans when in its Sport trim.
Safety
Winner: 2019 Chrysler Pacifica
The Toyota Sienna is longer into its current model run than the Chrysler Pacifica, so it’s not a surprise that the Sienna has lower safety scores from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). However, that doesn’t mean the Toyota minivan is unsafe. The Sienna comes standard with a rearview camera, automatic high beams, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control, and forward collision warning with automatic braking and pedestrian detection. The Sienna has two complete sets of LATCH car-seat connections in the second-row and two more in the third row.
The Pacifica has received excellent safety scores, including mostly five-star ratings from the NHTSA, helping it get the win in this category. While it doesn’t have as many standard safety features as the Sienna, it does come standard with a rearview camera, blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, and rear parking sensors.
The Chrysler comes standard with two full sets of LATCH connectors in the second row. Its third row has one full set of LATCH connectors on the passenger side, while the other two seats share lower anchors but have their own tether anchors. In eight-passenger Pacifica models, all three seats in the second row have a full set of LATCH connections.
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