SUV - Family 7 Seater

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Tue 16 Mar 2021 16:45
SUV - Family 7 Seater - Gary Kelly

Hi all,

with 4th Kid on the way I need a second car with 7 seats for the occasions where we all need to travel together (including the lesser spotted teenager in my family). Have £18k budget. will sometimes be driving as far as France so basically the more comfortable/roomy the 3rd row seats the better. Would like something honest practical and reliable. prefer SUV as live in semi rural location that can sometimes fall foul to bad weather during the winter months.

Any suggestions please?

Am hearing the Hyundai Santa Fe has great 3rd row seats? anyone have experience with them please?

Thanks!

Gaz

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Tue 16 Mar 2021 18:40
SUV - Family 7 Seater - badbusdriver

No personal experience of the Santa Fe's rear seats, but if space is the priority, I think I'd be looking at a different Hyundai, specifically, the i800. This has seating for 8 (adults) and a huge amount of luggage space.

£18k is enough to get into a 2019 car with under 30k miles.

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Tue 16 Mar 2021 18:44
SUV - Family 7 Seater - RT

Remember that most 7-seaters have tiny luggage space when all 3 rows are in use

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Tue 16 Mar 2021 19:20
SUV - Family 7 Seater - bazza

Similarly to the Hyundai, a Citroen spacetourer or equivalent Peugeot would give you the space you need, and these van based mpvs will probably be a bit nicer to live with than a huge SUV. Motorpoint currently have a load of i800s.

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Tue 16 Mar 2021 20:28
SUV - Family 7 Seater - Ian D
I know you said you prefer an SUV but a Ford S-Max or Galaxy with All-Season tyres could do the job.... I have a S-Max fitted with Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons tyres and it is a great all round package

Edited by Ian D on 16/03/2021 at 20:32

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Tue 16 Mar 2021 21:33
SUV - Family 7 Seater - Will deBeast

>> Am hearing the Hyundai Santa Fe has great 3rd row seats? anyone have experience with them please?

I have a Kia Sorento - same engine, very similar design. It's been 100% reliable. Owned from new in 2016. Quite sprightly even towing the caravan. The second row seats slide, so the third row don't feel cramped - I've had adults in there (though you don't have much boot left if you do. On the Kia, the third row of seats even gets aircon (with it's own controller) - great when I have the dog in the boot (third row folded).

The Kias from 2015 even have android auto/apple car play. Don't know about the hyundai.

The only niggle has been a little corrosion on the diamond cut alloys.

If you can, buy an automatic - it's a good box. There have been some reports of clutch problems on the Kia (and I assume the Hyundai). I get 35-37mpg, with a 45-mile cross country commute.

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Wed 17 Mar 2021 07:33
SUV - Family 7 Seater - Will deBeast

Just remembered - not all sorentos from 2015 got apple carplay/android auto - it was only the kx3 and kx4. The head unit on the early kx1 and kx2 models couldn't support it. All models got it in about 2018.

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Wed 17 Mar 2021 17:24
SUV - Family 7 Seater - Bripat

Have a look at the Kodiaq 7 seater too.

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Choosing a child seat can be a quite baffling experience – there are so many sizes, types, brands and price points available that you might not know where to start.

How to choose the right child seat