WHAT WE'RE DRIVING

Don't know how I overlooked the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid for so long, but it gets my personal award for most pleasant- and pleasingly surprising-vehicle I'll drive in 2018. I expected an underwhelming, underpowered groaner of a hybrid and instead I got a super-efficient and fabulously smooth do-anything limousine.

The Pacifica Hybrid owes most of its agreeable nature to the “eFlite” 2-motor electrically-variable transmission that works with virtually no noise, fuss or even gear-shifting sensation, freeing you from the blaring groan of the continuously variable transmission (CVT) typical to most hybrids. Its two integral motors, 84 hp and 114 hp each, channel the power from 16 kWh lithium-ion battery pack alone or in collaboration with the Atkinson-optimized 3.6-L V6.