VW Transporter might seem like an obvious choice, but their desirability means that your budget won't go as far with one of those, especially as you want auto. Volvo SUV?, maybe, assuming we are talking about an XC90 rather than anything smaller. Even then, the load capacity, while impressive, will be some way short of a Transporter.

To be honest, I'd be looking at something a little less obvious which will give you more for your money. A couple which spring to mind are the Hyundai i800 and Ssangyong Turismo. Both of these are 7/8 seaters, but with rear row removed or folded would give you all the space you should need. Your budget should get you into a 2019 i800 or 2018 Turismo without excessive miles.

Something a bit small and (much) cheaper to run would be the LWB version of the Vauxhall Combo Life and its PSA/Stellantis siblings, the Peugeot Rifter and Citroen Berlingo. Trouble is, there aren't than many available, still less as an auto. However, one of them with 3rd row seats folded offers up 850 litres of space (to the window line), which is more than an XC90. Had a look on Autotrader and there is only one (though you could also look under vans)

You could also be looking at a big Japanese MPV, a JDM import. Something like a Toyota Alphard/Vellfire, Estima, Grand Hiace, or a Nissan Elgrand. Very reliable and very impressive levels of standard equipment. Just make sure you buy from a reputable specialist (Japan doesn't salt their roads, so any purchase needs to be properly undersealed for the UK), ideally one within a reasonable distance so they can also service it.

To give you an idea of VW Transporter values, I recently sold my eight year old (56 plate) owned from new Kombi DSG (5 seats), for a smidge under £24K.

Full VW service history / 73,000 miles.

Dealer offered me less than £15K, so when you consider I sold it privately with no warranty, they're making an absolute fortune on second-hand vans.

Edited by nick62 on 17/01/2024 at 10:56