2005 Pacifica visibility

All SUV's are bad though I think one Acura has a camera system now. Also camera systems can be added after market. How about a Dodge Magnum. Still not great but not as bad as the Pacifica. I assume you are talking about the rear view.

Whether or not you continue to notice how poor it is, the visibility will not improve.

Try a top-spec Subaru Outback wagon instead.

DS

I heard the folks at the dealer talking about the poor view in the Magnum.

Perhaps the will install the reverse sensing system like some SUVs have.

Ken

AWD Magnum and 300 are supposed to be coming.

I'm trying to decide between an Acura TL and a 300C. What is it that you don't like about the Acura, is it just the size or are there other characteristics that you don't like?

I own a Pacifica and drive it in a city/suburban envirorment. I am aware of the rearward visibility handicap but have no problem with it. I use the mirrors constantly. I MAKE SURE nothing/no person is behind me, BEFORE I get into the PARKED vehicle (which should be done with ANY/ALL vehicles). I have had no problems or close calls because of visibility. Just being aware of what is around you, the same as with ANY vehicle. Please don't let this PERCEIVED problem keep you from enjoying the Pacifica. I don't.

The Acura TL-3.2 is a great car..The size of the vehicle is my only issue. It is a 1998 with 50K and we have invested little over normal maintenance. One other thing to consider...the sticker in '98 was $33K, Acura offered me $7k as a trade-in..said they might be able to get up to around 7.5/8..but since the car was 2 body styles old that was the best. KBB shows a trade-in of $9,300

It's not a "perceived" problem, it's an actual problem. You've found workarounds for the handicap, and they've been effective for you -- so far. That's nice, but it doesn't mean the problem isn't real.

Since I first saw them and realised their actual size, I had been thinking of the Pacifica more like a van than a regular sedan / station wagon.

Is the rearward visibility worse than a typical van or station wagon? If so, what is the cause? Is it the relationship between the "eye line" of the driver and the lower extent of the rear window?

My opinion comes from only rather brief experience, but I believe the answer is "Yes", rearward visibility is worse than a typical van or station wagon.

Yes; more generically, it's due to the interrelationships between the body/glass line placement, the vehicle height and placement of the driver within the vehicle. Station wagons work OK because the body/glass line is low. Vans work OK because while the body/glass line is high, the driver is also placed high. The Pacifica has an unfortunate combination of low driver placement and high body/glass line, which gives poor rearward visibility.

DS

I don't own a Pacifica, but I agree with you, Richard. I do own a '99 Concorde, which also has very limited rearward visibility - it used to bother me a great deal when I first got it. But by overcompensating (doublechecking rear and side mirrors, being aware of blind spots and allowing time for things to move within the field of vision, etc.), it is second nature to me now. I've even gotten pretty good at backing into head-in/back-in type parking places and judging how close I am to low dead-end barriers (still some guess work involved, but I'm now good for ±1 foot instead of the ±3 feet for the first few months after I bought it.

The only concern now is when/if other family members have to use/borrow my car, it is bothersome to them and they are still *way* down on the learning curve for the visibility peculiarities of the vehicle that are now second nature to me (like when my wife wiped out the drivers door and side mirror against a 6" diameter concrete filled pipe post beside the car in a parking deck because she was so focused and paranoid on not hitting anything immediately behind her as she backed out of a spot.

Bill Putney (to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with "x")

I don't have problems with my 300M but with my 94 LHS, occassionally I had to get out of the darn thing to check my rear end. Better safe than sorry. I imagine the Pacifica would be the same way.

We bought ours at the end of last August. Yes, you do get used to it. After

RP

To some the problem is "perceived". To others it isn't. To you, who doesn't own one, you say it is actual (though without owning one you cannot say actual, you can only say perceived). After almost a year and 18,000+ miles there is no problem to us. But, of course, I have never had a problem with the headlights on my '96 T&C, but that's another subject..............!!

RP

Thanks Dan

Thank you for all of the replies...picked our '05 up on Sat., and so far, my wife is very happy with it.

The more she drives it, the more she will like it. Last night when my wife was driving home from dinner (I rarely get to drive it) she said she really likes the quiet and smooth ride. My wife rarely makes comments about a vehicle just out of the blue so that means she is very impressed and happy.

RP

Then DON'T BUY ONE.