On the fifth day of Christmas!

A minivan on a Christmas wish list?

I would have found that hard to believe myself a few years ago. But perhaps because of my age or the fact the vehicles are getting better, I wouldn’t say no to having the keys for one show up under the tree.

And my minivan of choice would be the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica hybrid, a seven-seater that made a summer family road trip an absolute joy.

The plug-in hybrid version of the Chrysler minivan has all the creature comforts to keep the driver happy, while also keeping the all-important rear passengers occupied and entertained. That’s thanks to the seatback TV screen and wireless headphones for the passengers in the middle row. For that reason alone, I think my son would also like this Christmas present.

Power wise, the Pacifica Hybrid has a 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 hybrid system, which delivers a net of 248 horsepower and 230 lb-ft of torque. It comes with an electronically variable transmission.
And I think Santa would approve of the 6.7 L/100 km of fuel economy I achieved in over 1,800 km on the road. When you give the Pacifica a full charge, it can travel up to 60 kilometres on electricity alone.

Perhaps the man in the red suit could also find use for the enormous cargo space in the Pacifica, too. There’s 87.5 cubic feet of space when you lower the back bench, and a maximum of 140.5 cubic feet of space with the middle seats stowed.

He would benefit from the heated (and cooled) seats and a heated steering wheel while travelling across the globe delivering all those present.

So, Santa, I was a pretty good boy this year if you feel like dropping the $58,390 on my present this year. Of course, he would also benefit from some provincial rebates depending on where you are in Canada.

Those rebates make it less expensive up front than its gasoline-only sibling and the Pacifica Hybrid is friendlier to the environment, which surely should earn some extra points with the big guy, right.