Chrysler marketed the Pacifica as a "sports-tourer,"[3] building the vehicle at the Windsor Assembly Plant, alongside the long-wheelbase minivans from January 2003[2] through November 2007.

In January 2016, the Pacifica name was revived for a 2017 model year minivan, which debuted at the North American International Auto Show as a replacement for the Chrysler Town & Country.

The Pacifica's exterior was slightly restyled for 2007, including its headlights, hood, fenders, grille, front fascia and wheels.

Reviewers faulted the gruff engine, which was barely up to the task of battling the Pacifica's formidable mass, especially on fully loaded all-wheel-drive models.

All trims featured power windows and door locks, remote keyless entry, and a full array of safety equipment.

[12] DaimlerChrysler heavily touted the Pacifica as the next "big thing" in the fledgling crossover market, forecasting sales of 100,000 per year.

Despite the Mercedes-like interior and other Mercedes-derived technologies, however, the Pacifica may have been overpriced for its marque, as general public perception did not consider Chrysler a luxury brand like BMW, Lexus, and Mercedes-Benz.

[10] A three-year, multimillion-dollar contract was signed with singer Celine Dion in 2003, with advertisements designed to reposition Chrysler as a premium marque.

[13] Ending up, however, DaimlerChrysler lost money on every Pacifica sold, as it used a modified minivan platform, but it didn’t have any interior commonality with other Chrysler, Dodge or Jeep vehicles.

[15] Compared to traditional (light truck-based) luxury sport utility vehicles such as the Lincoln Navigator, the Pacifica had less heavy cargo-hauling and towing capacity but otherwise it was superior in handling, comfort, interior, and amenities.

However other luxury automakers have no minivans in most of their lineups which avoids cannibalization of the sales of their large crossovers, so it didn't help that the Pacifica inevitably drew comparisons to the Town & Country.

[16] Furthermore, DaimlerChrysler was unable to convince the public that the Pacifica was a pioneer of new category of vehicle, as consumers preferred more traditional SUV-style crossovers, and they faced the same problem with the release of the 2006 Mercedes-Benz R-Class in 2005.

[18] The Pacifica was widely praised for its carlike ride and handling, as its sophisticated suspension soaked up the bumps well, while the steering was fairly crisp and linear.

[10] The initial production models of the Pacifica gave the nameplate a bad reputation, due to poor mechanical reliability of the transmission and engine, liner and interior flaws, electrical glitches, and low build quality.