Hi, I'm John Davis and this is MotorWeek !

We'll slide open the doors on one minivan that's still going strong, the Chrysler Pacifica... Dan Maffett handles common sense suspension upgrades on "Your Drive!"

Stephanie Hart spends time with fellow car enthusiast Cristy Lee... And we'll end with a round up of our favorite plug-in hybrids...

So, come drive with us, next!

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JOHN: Chrysler may not currently be at the forefront of the EV movement, but they were definitely ahead of the game when they installed a plug-in hybrid powertrain in their Pacifica minivan seven years ago.

Well, much has changed since then and it's been a while since we lived the van life.

So, let's get caught up with the Chrysler Pacifica.

♪ ♪ It's widely accepted that Chrysler invented the front-wheel-drive, car-based minivan as we know it, and even though that segment has shrunk over recent years, Chrysler, along with a few others, still sells a whole lot of them.

And with production of the 300 sedan now closed, the 2024 Pacifica is the only Chrysler-branded vehicle left.

This minivan version of the Pacifica debuted for 2017, taking over for the Town and Country.

Its most significant round of updates came for 2021 when it got revised styling inside and out, along with better tech, and higher levels of premium features.

The year prior, Chrysler added all-wheel-drive into the mix, which remains an option in non-PHEV versions.

Updates for 2024 mostly revolve around a reconfigured trim structure, as the plug-in hybrid now comes in its own unique Select trim level, along with the top Pinnacle trim which is shared by both versions.

But it's worth taking a second look, as the front-wheel-drive Pacifica Plug-In Hybrid remains the only PHEV in the minivan segment, and the most spacious PHEV you can buy period.

The Pacifica Plug-In Hybrid's standard Select trim level comes with a very comprehensive list of features.

Plus, there are multiple add-on packages including Road Tripper, S Appearance, and our test car's Premium S Appearance.

It gets an upgraded center console with dual-level storage and integrated wireless phone charging, Nappa leather seating, and hands-free power liftgate.

An available Uconnect Theater and Sound Group adds 20-speaker Harmon/Kardon audio, window shades, and seatback video screens with Amazon Fire TV.

All Pacifica's start with a Pentastar 3.6 liter, naturally-aspirated V6, but the PHEV version is a slightly detuned Atkinson cycle conversion.

Plug-Ins then get a unique eFlite electronic variable transmission with a pair of integrated electric motors.

All told, output comes in at 260 horsepower, 27 fewer than the non-hybrid.

With a full battery, the PHEV offers 32 miles of EV driving from its 16 kilowatt hour battery, which is of course, stored under the Pacifica's floor, negating Stow 'n Go fold in the floor 2nd row seating.

That's far from a deal breaker for many as you get more comfortable seats, though just seven in total.

There's no middle row bench option with the PHEV.

Front seats continue to offer more than enough comfort to keep mom and dad happy too.

Government Fuel Economy Ratings are 30 Combined for strictly gas engine, and 82 Combined for the MPGe.

Which makes for a great Energy Impact Score of 4.0 Barrels of Yearly Oil Consumption with 2.0 Tons of CO2 Emissions.

We put our Pacifica to week-long commute duty with a weekend road trip thrown in for a total of 665 miles, over half of which was on battery alone, giving us a great 52.6 miles per gallon average.

It easily charges up on 110 volts at home overnight.

Those are great numbers, but the Pacifica PHEV is no slouch in the acceleration department either, as we found out at our Mason Dixon Dragway test track.

There was good grip off the line, and while power won't throw you back in your seat, we were off and running to 60 in 7.3 seconds.

Even with the gas engine running at full throttle, the Pacifica remained very quiet inside, and it felt plenty smooth the whole way down the track.

We completed the quarter-mile in 15.8 seconds at 90 miles per hour.

Kept at a moderate pace, the Pacifica felt well-planted, aided by that extra battery weight keeping body roll to a minimum, but as speeds increased, so did understeer.

Steering was light and accurate, allowing us to easily stay on top of things, but we wouldn't complain if they engineered a little more feel into process.

Panic braking runs were smooth, straight, and fade free; and considering that extra battery weight, our 122 foot stopping average distance from 60 was most respectable.

Pacifica pricing starts at just $41,340, but the PHEV starts $52,750.

The only direct comparison that you can make is top Pinnacle trim, where the PHEV costs about five-grand more.

But, it's worth noting with full government incentives harder to come by these days, the Pacifica PHEV does still get the full $7,500 federal tax credit for now.

Without anything to compete against both in the PHEV minivan world and even in the Chrysler showroom, the 2024 Chrysler Pacifica Plug-In Hybrid truly stands out.

But it's much more than just a spacious, practical, and very efficient family hauler, it's a quiet and comfortable machine that can add some peace and quiet into the chaotic world of being a parent on the go-- and save you some real dollars and cents in the process.

♪ ♪ Famed car enthusiast Cristy Lee is best known for her work on popular automotive series on the MotorTrend network, as well as her HGTV home renovation shows.

However, these days, she's starting a new chapter after triumphing over two rare diseases.

Well, our Stephanie Hart caught up with her at her new shop in Detroit where she shares her inspiring story.

♪ ♪ CRISTY LEE: The MotorCity Built shop space.

Lots of stuff going on in here, as you can see.

Uh, the biggest project, uh, right now is my 1998 BMW M3 which I'm building into a track car.

I'm going to do a couple track days this season and maybe a few drop-in races, uh, since I have my SCC race license now.

STEPHANIE HART: When Cristy Lee is not under the hood of one of her cars or fixing her motorcycles, she's competing in HGTV's "100 Day Hotel Challenge."

And earlier this year, she hosted the home renovation show "Battle on the Mountain" on HGTV.

She also re-launched her company MotorCity Built, which puts all her passions, fixing cars and motorcycles, renovating homes, and real estate under one umbrella.

By her side every step of the way, her shop dogs.

Can you tell I instantly fell in love with this puppy?

She named him Diesel.

Which couldn't be more perfect.

I asked Cristy, if I could give him a treat and as soon as he heard me open the treat bag he jumped right into my lap.

I could not stop laughing!

Diesel is now six months old and Zoey is 7-years-old.

The puppy was one of four dogs she fostered earlier this year.

And understandably she couldn't give this little guy up.

Cristy Lee's cars and motorcycles are nice, but her fur babies stole the spotlight while we were recording this video.

And we were more than happy to give it to them!

Cars and motorcycles have always been a huge part of Cristy Lee's life.

Her dad was a BMW master technician and a shop owner for more than 30 years, ultimately, inspiring her automotive career.

She gained notoriety on MotorTrend Network, on popular shows like "All Girls Garage" and "Garage Squad."

Over the years, Cristy Lee has inspired countless women to pursue their dreams in the automotive arena.

CRISTY: I think the best way to empower other women is to just get out there and do it, and I think that women see that and that's what really, truly inspires them to do the same thing; like, "Hey, I saw her working on this car.

Well, I want to learn how to do that.

I'm going to go out and do it."

Uh, And that's what's really awesome about this industry and being a part of that.

STEPHANIE: But in 2023, life as she knew it was turned upside down.

CRISTY: Basically, I got sick overnight and it was, like, life changing.

Um, being diagnosed with Graves' disease and thyroid eye disease, um, without any symptoms or being pre-symptomatic in any way shape or form; basically just waking up one morning and have-- having pain and eye swelling, and then within a week I was in the emergency room.

STEPHANIE: Since then, she's had her thyroid removed, and back to back surgeries and procedures.

She's now learning to live with two autoimmune disorders while taking on projects in a new way.

CRISTY: Maybe I have to do a little bit better of a job listening (laughs) to my body, to what's going on externally, to the people that love me that say, "Slow down, you're doing too much."

Um...so that was a big life lesson for me.

STEPHANIE: About a year after her rare diagnosis, a silver lining.

She tied the knot with her partner of 10 years.

JOHN HAWKINS: The funny thing is...is that, uh, I actually proposed before she got sick and then she fell apart on me (laugher).

But, ah, no it was, uh, it was the right time before she got sick, um, but even after she got sick, you know what, it just meant a lot more to us.

CRISTY: Sharing my journey is my way of passing on that strength.

If it affects even one person in a positive way that has Graves' disease or thyroid eye disease or is going through anything medically, that is a huge plus for me.

Um, and that's kind of what keeps me going and keeps me talking about these things, and helps continue to drive me, and preserve through these challenges in my life.

♪ ♪ JOHN: When it comes to major international racing events, no other race pushes the limits of man and machine like the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which has played a major role in the world of automotive development since 1923.

You can get up to speed on those 100 years of racing in no time in this Must Read; "100 Years of Legends: The Official Celebration of the Le Mans 24 Hours" by Denis Bernard, Basile Davoine, Julien Holtz, and Gerard Holtz.

No matter if you're a fan of the drivers or the cars they drove, you'll find a wealth of information among these 300 plus pages of facts, figures, and photography.

JOHN: You love your car, but maybe it's not perfect.

You know, it doesn't corner the way you think it should and it's just the way it sits on the road, it could look better.

Well, lets turn to our Dan Maffett for some cost-effective ways to upgrade your car's suspension on MotorWeek's "Your Drive!"

♪ ♪ DAN MAFFETT: Suspension upgrades on a car are one of the most important things you can do.

Now, if you have a classic vehicle, chances are your control arms look something like this.

Now, this is a stamped steel control arm.

These have been around since cars have been invented, so they're tried and true, they work, but they're limited.

Even if you upgrade all these bushings, and all these ball joints and you get them optimal, it's still an inferior product because of the stamped technology here; it's going to always want to flex, it's going to always want to move.

So, if you put big power behind your car and you're driving on modern roads, you're going to notice a little bit of wiggle and wobble out of the suspension.

So, one of the things I like to do is jump up to something like this.

Now, this is kind of middle of the road.

This is a tubular fabricated suspension.

So, it replaces these fabricated, these stamped a-arms with fabricated arms, and it gives you new shocks, new springs, and it even can give you dropped spindles for the wheels, so that you can lower the car without having to do a whole bunch of work to the geometry.

Now, this is kind of middle of the road because you can actually adjust the suspension and the type of shocks for towing, for long driving, for autocross, pro touring, even drag racing.

Or if you just have a daily cruiser you want to ride nice, this is a good setup.

Now, air ride technology is something that's been around since the '50s.

But, it's come a long way.

You can now take this shock and spring out of the center, and replace it with something like this, which is a flexible airbag that you can adjust on the fly.

Now, the vehicle behind me is a '57 Caddy.

It's one of the first vehicles to be equipped with a factory air ride setup.

This setup didn't hold up over time, so we've replaced it with something like this, and it's a full airbag with a control module which allows you to go from a nice ride height like this all the way down to sitting on the ground.

So, as you can see, the Caddy is where it should be, sitting on the ground, and that's the benefit of an air ride suspension.

You're able to get these presets in a program and tell it: I want this position for ride height, I want this position for going through a parking lot with speed bumps, and then I need this position where it's laid out to look cool at a show.

So, as you can tell, if you do any kind of driving on your classic car, and you're serious about it, suspension upgrades should be really high up on your list.

And as always, if you have any questions or comments, hit us up right here, at MotorWeek .

♪ ♪ GREG CARLOSS: We've driven this 2024 Honda Accord Hybrid for exactly one month so far, and have been impressed with the solid, composed, and smooth ride it's provided over the first 1,000 miles that we've added to its odometer.

It's a good thing there's an "EV" indicator in the gauge display to let you know when you're driving on battery power, because unless you're full-throttling it, you really have no idea if the 2.0 liter I4 engine is actually running or not.

Fuel economy from the 204 horsepower setup is off to a good start at 45.1 miles per gallon.

If you are a skeptic like me, you're probably thinking there has to be some major trade-off with this Accord Hybrid's fuel efficiency.

But so far, we haven't found ourselves making any notable sacrifices for it.

There's plenty of power.

It's delivered smoothly.

And the extra weight does seemingly nothing to hurt the ride and handling in daily driving scenarios.

These light-colored leather seats may be a challenge to keep clean, but they're plenty comfortable.

Some people love the truss-style dash trim that integrates the vents, finding it's architectural-inspired design both modern and appealing; others think it doesn't quite fit in with the overall upscale feel of the space.

But perhaps this new Accord has impressed us most just by sitting still, as its low profile and dynamic lines easily make it the best-looking Accord sedan ever.

And speaking of sleek-looking 4-doors, we actually have another sedan joining the fleet, this 2024 Nissan Sentra.

Stay tuned for updates in the coming months.

But first, we'll get a progress report from our all-electric Cadillac LYRIQ on the next MotorWeek Long-Term Road Test Update!

♪ ♪ JESSICA RAY: Did you know... electric vehicles have some of the best factory warranties in the business?

Federal law requires automakers to cover both EV and hybrid batteries for up to 8.0 years or 100,000 miles.

California takes it to another level, requiring up to 10 years or 150,000 miles.

But not all warranties are created equal.

Some automakers will replace a battery pack only if it's a total failure, while others will replace it-- if it falls under a certain capacity percentage, like 60 to 75 percent, during the warranty.

So, be smart and informed and always read the fine print.

JOHN: You've heard us say many times that PHEVs-- plug-in hybrid electrics-- rather than BEVs-- pure battery electrics-- are a sound choice for many folks thinking about owning an electric vehicle.

Well, buyers do seem to have gotten the message, as while recent sales of all-electric BEVs are down, PHEVs are suddenly skyrocketing.

So, we thought we'd give you a close look at the range of PHEVs that are available today.

♪ ♪ An EV when you want it, a fuel-efficient hybrid when you don't; that's the reason that PHEVs are so appealing, and why we feel they're the perfect starter vehicle for this time of transition from internal combustion to all-electric.

So, buckle up for an alphabetical rundown of all the mainstream PHEVs that are currently available.

BMW has many plug-in options, starting around $46,000 with the 2.0 liter I4 based 330e sedan and its 22 miles of EV range.

There's also, a 750e sedan with more than 30 miles of EV range, and an xDrive50e X5 utility with closer to 40 miles of EV range, plus, a high-performance XM with 738 horsepower.

For partner Mini, a small 1.5 liter I4 based setup is available in the Cooper SE Countryman ALL4 utility with 18 miles of EV range, going for around $42,000.

Ford has been in the plug-in game for some time, and currently gets a great 37 miles of EV range out of their 2.5 liter I4 based setup which is available in both the Escape for about $36,000, and in its upscale Lincoln Corsair counterpart which goes for around $55,000.

Hyundai offers a pair of plug-in SUVs, the Santa Fe priced at around $43,000 and the Tucson which goes for about $40,000; both use a 1.6 liter I4 turbo engine.

It shares with their corporate cousins over at Kia.

The Sorento, which starts around $51,000, and the Sportage, beginning at $40,000, along with Kia's Niro at $35,000.

All get more than 30 miles of EV Range.

For the high-rollers, Land Rover has a 6-cylinder P550e plug-in option for both the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport with 51 miles of range, starting around $119,000.

Mazda is very new to the plug-in game, with their inline-4 based setup just recently becoming available in the new CX-30 and CX-90 SUVs, both with 26 miles of electric-only range, starting at $41,000.

Mercedes-Benz has offered quite a few PHEVs over the years, though currently their lineup only consists of the $70,000 GLE450e SUV with a 2.0 liter I4 and 48 miles of EV range; and a $128,000 3.0 liter I6 S580e sedan with 46 miles of range.

Though, a high-performance 671 horsepower AMG C 63 S E Performance will be blasting onto the scene soon.

We're very familiar with this 2nd gen Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, having had both generations as part of our long-term fleet.

The current Outlander PHEV goes for $41,000 and gets 38 miles of EV range from its 2.4 liter I4 based setup.

Stellantis has a wide array of PHEVs available across their many brands, starting with the 3.6 liter V6 Pentastar-packing Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid.

It arrived way back in 2017 and currently delivers 32 miles of EV range for $40,000.

More recently, they've added the technology to the Jeep brand with 4Xe versions of the Jeep Wrangler for $52,000 and the Grand Cherokee at $61,000.

And their most recent setup has just arrived in the compact crossover segment with 33 miles of battery in both the $45,000 Alfa Romeo Tonale and the $42,000 Dodge Hornet R/T.

All of this started with the Toyota Prius of course, which you can now get a Prime version of for $34,000 with a 2.0 liter I4 and 40 miles of range.

The RAV4 Prime goes for $45,000 getting 42 miles.

Plus, there's a trio of Lexus PHEV's rolling with bigger batteries on board, the NX450h+, the RX450h+, and the TX550h+, starting around $58,000.

Bentley adds electric-motor assistance to a 2.9 liter twin-turbo V6 for both the $206,000 Bentayga SUV, which gets 18 miles of EV range, and the $217,000 Flying Spur sedan, which stretches it to 21 miles.

That same setup is available at Porsche in E-hybrid versions of both the $93,000 Cayenne SUV and $110,000 Panamera sedan, getting up to 19 miles on battery power.

Finally, Volvo has had a plug-in version of their turbocharged 2.0 liter I4 since the T8 arrived with the XC90 back in 2016.

Now, with a Recharge label, an updated version is available in just about every vehicle in their lineup; the S60 and S90 sedans, XC60 and XC90 SUVs, and yes...even in the V60 wagon, starting around $53,000 with up to 40 EV miles.

So, there you have it, the Bs-to-Vs of PHEVs.

They really are an easy way to live the EV lifestyle today, without going all the way.

Well, that's our show, I hope you enjoyed it.

Now, for more MotorWeek , including daily news updates, podcasts, and even complete episodes, cruise on over to PBS.ORG/MOTORWEEK.

And I hope you'll join us next time!

We'll jumpstart our 44th season with the awesome Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray, then take it a little easier in the luxurious Genesis GV80.

Until then, I'm John Davis.

We'll see you right here on MotorWeek !

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MotorWeek is proudly sponsored by Auto Value and Bumper to Bumper, a nationwide network of stores and shops providing major brand auto and truck parts, and service from coast to coast, and in your local community.

Learn more at AutoValue.Com and BumperToBumper.Com.

TireRack.Com is proud to support MotorWeek !

First, there was the wheel.

Then, the tire.

"We'll call it TireRack."

Forty years later, we're not slowing down.

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(engine revving) ♪ ♪ You're watching PBS.