A 9-speed automatic transmission headed a long list of standard equipment on a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Touring minivan driven recently. Tied to a 287-horsepower, 3.6-liter V-6 engine, the Pacifica carried an EPA estimate of 18/28 miles per gallon.

The Pacifica showed up reasonably priced at $33,475. Its only options included eight-passenger seating, power liftgate and blind spot/cross path detection.

The Pacifica, introduced three months ago to replace the long-popular Town & Country minivan, is gaining sales enough to keep Chrysler/Dodge vans atop the sales category.

As crossovers continue to grow in market strength, some feared minivans might be phased out. “Not so,” said Rick Deneau of FiatChryslerAutomobiles. . “We are seeking a fresh approach with a new name with the Pacifica to maintain our market share domination.”

Of 313,556 minivans sold thus far this year by Honda, Toyota and Chrysler/Dodge, 50.2 percent have carried the Chrysler/Dodge emblems. Dodge Grand Caravan has sold 84,140, Toyota Sienna 79,959, Honda Odyssey 75,889, Chrysler Town & Country 54,826 and Chrysler Pacifica (introduced three months ago) 18,742.

The Pacifica is longer and taller than the Town & Country and its track is 68.3 inches, compared with 65.6 for the T&C. A rotarydial shifter has replaced the dash-placed shifter of the past. As for step-in height into the middle-seating area, the Pacifica is of lower step-in than the Toyota Sienna by an inch or a bit more.

Kids, with the push of a button, can trigger the sliding side doors of the Pacifica, and the van offers a vacuum in a rear corner which, with its hose, can reach all areas of the interior.

This is my second drive the new minivan. We drove 1,300 miles five months ago toNewport Beach, Calif., at the luxurious Pelican Hill Resort for unveiling of the Pacifica. While there, we were given opportunity to drive the van from San Diego to Newport Beach.