# I want a 6-7 seater



## mike_bailey (May 7, 2002)

New baby plus the in-laws flying over to stay for a few of months in May so we're looking to get a 6-7 seater to replace Mrs B's beloved RAV4 (not the TT although that's got to go soon I guess).

Anybody have any thoughts on a good diesel 6 or 7 seater and best places to buy? Doesn't have to be new - a couple of years old max would be fine. I imported our current cars but from researching on the web it's probably not worth bothering nowadays?

Thanks, I'm sure nobody's going to take the p*** out of me on this


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## trevor (May 6, 2002)

In -laws !!! how about a trailor!


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## robokn (Feb 21, 2006)

I have Zafira Gsi quick looks ok not too big but still seats 7


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## BAMTT (Feb 22, 2004)

Ford S-Max with the focus ST engine 8) looks far nicer than the Vauxhall IMO


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## R6B TT (Feb 25, 2003)

Honda FRV - 6 seats, think someone on here (Carlos ?) has one

Or a Pug 307SW (think they fall to bits tho...)

In keeping with Mrs B's love of the RAV, how about a second hand Discovery 3 ?


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## clived (May 6, 2002)

V12 diesel Q7?


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## steveh (Jan 14, 2004)

How about a Q7? Very subtle and surprisingly cheap. :wink: :lol:

Alternatively, if you want some luggage space for your six or seven people, then how about a Chrysler Grand Voyager. They seem to be quite good value second hand and often seem to come with lots of toys. I know it hasn't got the best diesel engine (the Yanks don't do diesels) but as an overall package it might be worth looking at.

The thing that worries me about Zafiras, Galaxys, etc is that, with all the seats occupied, the rearmost passengers (usually your kids - as they fit) are right up against the rear screen so if you get rear-ended they will bear the brunt of the impact - not good.


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## steveh (Jan 14, 2004)

Damn you Clive - must type faster. :wink:


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## ahaydock (Sep 19, 2006)

Q7


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## BreTT (Oct 30, 2002)

We replaced our beloved RAV4 with a 7-seater VW Touran 2.0 Diesel earlier this year. Not as much character as the RAV, bland bland bland to look at, but decent pulling power and good packaging. We've regularly travelled with five adults and two kids and it has proven comfortable for everyone. Clearly in this configuration you need to have a roof box if you have any significant amount of luggage, but with the third row of seats collapsed into the floor the boot space is huge compared with the RAV. No awkward side opening door either! Oh and long life servicing too provided you use the right kind of oil - 2 years or 30k miles! 

Good luck with your search.


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## ag (Sep 12, 2002)

If all you are going to do is short trips then a Touran or Zafira is fine. If you want any sort of comfort _and_ the ability to carry prams, cots, pushchairs etc then I would go for a Sharan or one of its clones. If the 6/7 seater part is likely to be of infrequent use then the compact MPVs are fine (The S-Max appears the most roomy of this ilk). Otherwise a true MPV makes far more sense. For example if you are carrying four adults, one young child and a baby then there will be two adults in the front, two adults in the middle row, along with a baby in a car seat and a young child in the back with booster or child seat. This leaves good space for luggage in the rear. Try this with a Touran, Zafira or S-Max and you will no-longer be a favourite son in-law!

I owned a Sharan from new and did 85k miles in it. Apart from tyres and servicing the only work done on it was to replace the front brake pads! I replaced it with the TT and gave the Sharan to my wife. She loved it, but found it rather large and we replaced it with an A4 Avant a couple of years later. Better round town but we really miss the space, especially now that we have a dog. As it happens, a friend of ours had a Chrysler Voyager at the same time as we had the Sharan. It was the most unsophisticated lump of jelly it has ever been my misfortune to travel in. Even my wife hated it and she only normally notices the colour and how well it rides up kerbs.

So Sharan Tdi it is. Get a good spec. and you'll never want to sell it.


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## BreTT (Oct 30, 2002)

ag - very good post.

Personally, we only need occasional 6/7 seat capability and with a decent roof box, carrying everything is no issue. We decided that the Sharan was bigger than we really needed and settled on the Touran, but clearly Mr Bailey may be in a different position.


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## mike_bailey (May 7, 2002)

Thanks for the feedback and especially ag who's got me thinking about the likely length of journey's with 2 kids and the in-laws and I was hoping to keep them all as short as possible :? The roofbox option might be best as once they leave we'll rarely have luggage and 6 passengers at the same time.

I popped into a local Honda dealer earlier and took a look at the FRV but it didn't quite hit the spot for me (the 3 in the front config. reminded me too much of of my dad's Zephyr from when I was a kid!). Admittedly I didn't drive it but they've offered to lend it to me for 24 hours.

I've narrowed it down (although not a lot!) to:

1. Vauxhall Zafira - as mentioned her and a friend with 2 kids has an older model and loves his.

2. Toyota Verso - we like Toyota lots and best looking of the lot IMHO. Highly rated in What Car? as well.

3. VW Touran - from BreTT's comments

4. VW Sharan - after ag's post, we'll take a look and discuss like adults although Mrs B won't be keen on the size (story of her life!). Mind you it's her parents we've got to please :?

5. Ford SMax - highly rated by many and probably worth a look although I'm not keen on owning a Ford again this lifetime TBH.

6. CitroÃ«n C4 Picasso - well built, highly rated, very safe and stylish in a French kind of way (although it's a French car - yuk).

We want a diesel but I haven't figured out the engine to go for - I suspect that 2.0i minimum should be a minimum for power delivery but any advice on this would be appreciated (e.g some state TDCi, other HDi etc.).

Cheers


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## BorderFox (Jun 21, 2003)

How about a Landcruiser or Shogun, both come with seven seats and are alot nicer than anything mentioned previously.


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## genocidalduck (May 19, 2005)

Had a look at an S-max the otherday....Very nice car from what i saw off it. Not driven it thogh.


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## cuTTsy (Jan 31, 2003)

Landrover Discovery?


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## NaughTTy (Jul 9, 2003)

Grand Scenic?

Barring a couple of small electrical niggles ours has been great - gizmos aplenty, comfy ride, handles well enough for what it is. 1.9D is a cracking engine (Although we have the 1.6 petrol :roll: ). Rear seats really are only useful for kids but there's still *some* luggage space left and the seats aren't right up against the rear window. Also has loads of storage - under the seats, in the floor, in the doors, in between the front seats...

We had 3 adults & 2 kids plus all our luggage for a 4 day trip to Disneyland Paris. Managed to get all in including my daughter's wheelchair and medical supplies and still had the luggage cover pulled over. Cruised down the A1 through France at 85/90 and averaged 32 to the gallon.


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## Kell (May 28, 2002)

One other thing to keep the Chrysler off the list is the NCAP rating.

Very, very poor.

It's true that with most of these things you tend to get 7 people OR 5 people and luggage, but not both.

Best are the Grand Espace, and Grand Voyager (but from the comments above, I wouldn't).

Really does depend on how much space you need and how often you're going to be travelling 7-up + luggage. (I nearly said + bags, but if the in-laws are coming then you'll always be driving with an old bag. arf arf).


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## mike_bailey (May 7, 2002)

Kell said:


> Really does depend on how much space you need and how often you're going to be travelling 7-up + luggage. (I nearly said + bags, but if the in-laws are coming then you'll always be driving with an old bag. arf arf).


I bet you wouldn't say that to her face Kell (particularly if you were me) :lol:

TBH we're probably going to be travelling with 6 of us most of the time and usually without much luggage (probably up and down the M1 with a subset of the in-laws luggage). After they've gone we'll probably have 6 passengers occasionally and Mrs B's got to be able to park it easily along the often congested road where she works [smiley=dizzy2.gif]

Also, probably looking to spend Â£16k-Â£18k max which, I think, excludes the Q7 and Discovery options somewhat!


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## jampott (Sep 6, 2003)

Buy another 2 TT Roadsters.


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## mike_bailey (May 7, 2002)

jampott said:


> Buy another 2 TT Roadsters.


I was eying up the S2000 in the Toyota garage and was pondering on getting three of these with matching roof racks


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## jampott (Sep 6, 2003)

I hope Honda are taking Toyota to court for nicking their trademark!


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## mike_bailey (May 7, 2002)

jampott said:


> I hope Honda are taking Toyota to court for nicking their trademark!


You know what I meant :? :lol:


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## BreTT (Oct 30, 2002)

We got an 3 month old Touran ex-demonstrator for less than your budget of Â£16k to Â£18k. At that price you'll get a lot for your money, especially if you are thinking of up to 2 years old.


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## nutts (May 8, 2002)

We've run our Touran for 90k miles and done a long trip around Europe/Alps (2 adults and 5 kids), etc with a roof box.

We've had zero problems with it and around 600 miles from a tank of diesel.


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## Antwerpman (Nov 4, 2002)

We have a C4 picasso on order. Having looked around it was the one that ticked all the boxes best for us. My parents had an S max as a rental when they came over to visit and I didnt like the interior and it didnt seem as well thought out as the citroen, but having said that it was still a very nice car.

Luckily here the citroens dont suffer from the same depreciation or image problems that they have in the UK so that was less of an issue for us that it would have been if we had been buying in old blighty. I would certainly recommend a look at it


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## deckard (Apr 4, 2005)

We've been considering the same type of vehicle too and there's another that we'd contemplated and hasn't been mentioned yet and that's the Mazda 5.

Access in our drive is very tight and the sliding doors would be a boon. I'd probably prefer an S-Max myself but SWMBO has got her sights set on the Mazda. It is considerably cheaper than the Ford though - Â£18,150 for the well specced 2.0D Sport with the base 2.0D TS model coming in at Â£16,000.


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## thejepster (Mar 29, 2005)

Volvo XC90. Very child friendly, seats 7, solid residuals. For Â£18.5k you can get a 2.5/3yr old DSE.

Gets the thumbs up from a number of friends of mine who have them. [smiley=thumbsup.gif]


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## mike_bailey (May 7, 2002)

I started reading next month's Which? last night and it covered MPVs!

With scores based on driving 33.33%, comfort 33.33% and practicality 33.33%, the best buys were:

1. Honda FR-V 77%
2. VW Touran 77%
3. Mazda 5 76%
4. Ford S-Max 75%
5. Renault Grand Scenic 75%
6. Toyota Verso 75%
7. Citreon C4 Picasso 72%
8. Vauxhall Zafira 72%

The Mazda 5 sounds good with the main negative being the cabin that's described as "feels solid but a bit cheap compared with some rivals" which I'd read on another review website and had decided to exclude. However, the sliding door design really appeals so I might arrange to test drive and see for myself.

I might test drive the FR-V as well as Mrs B sat down to read the brochure last night and she loves it!

The Touran is recommended "Best for families" - interestingly it has a note against it saying "A 'self-parking' version arrives in June which claims to parallel-park for you". Sounds interesting, I must check how that works (presumably the wheels flip 90 degrees sideways or am I getting it wrong?).

Incidentally, Clarkson raves about his top of the range diesel Volvo XC90 and strongly recommends it "for the school run". I might take a look at this although I didn't think I'd ever choose to drive a Volvo in my lifetime :?


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## octagonmike (Oct 15, 2006)

Go for it and get a Q7 3.0 TDI

should be able to pick one up for around Â£ 45k :lol:


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## mike_bailey (May 7, 2002)

I found a movie link showing how the self-parking Touran works. Not available until July with extra cost of around Â£500. Interesting!

http://www.whatcar.com/popups/pop_news_ ... v&vtype=WM


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## thejepster (Mar 29, 2005)

mike_bailey said:


> Incidentally, Clarkson raves about his top of the range diesel Volvo XC90 and strongly recommends it "for the school run". I might take a look at this although I didn't think I'd ever choose to drive a Volvo in my lifetime :?


It's definitely one for consideration Mike, but it may be a little unsuitable for London esp if Red Ken keeps the congestion charge zone growing like an American kid in Maccy D's :x


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## IanWest (May 7, 2002)

Mike,

I sent you a PM but have had no reply regarding desks! Not sure if you got it.

Ian


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