MPV Advice

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Wed 12 Mar 2025 20:46
MPV Advice - KJah

Hi all, total novice here. I'm in the market for a used compact MPV with a budget of around £8000, looking for an automatic to accommodate both me and wife (never had to buy automatic before) and prefer one with 3 full size seats in middle row. Been looking for weeks and now stuck on Ford S-Max, Peugeot 5008, VW Touran maybe Citroën Grand C4 Picasso. Anyone have any experience with these or have any other suggestions. My main fear being making the right choice regarding gearbox etc as I've never driven auto and was put off by reviews of the Ford S-Max Powershift transmission. Any opinions helpful cheers ??

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Thu 13 Mar 2025 06:07
MPV Advice - badbusdriver

Not much good news here I'm afraid.

With regards to the 5008/Grand C4 Picasso (same car under the skin), earlier cars will have the awful ETG (single clutch) automated manual which are best avoided. Later cars will have the EAT torque converter auto which is much better, but engine choices will either be early 1.2 Puretech which is best avoided due to the "wet belt" problems, or diesel, also best avoided due to the potential for very expensive DPF problems if the car has been used for short journeys.

VW Touran uses the potentially fragile DSG/DCT (dual clutch) automated manual. These don't tolerate abuse well, so reliability is down to luck really, how has the previous owner driven it?. You also have more potential concerns with the engines depending on age of the car, petrol could be early chain drive TSI which isn't good news (belt drive versions fine). And the 1.6 diesel?, apart from the same concerns about previous usage, there is also the fact that this engine was at the epicentre of VAG's "Dieselgate" scandal.

The S Max?, as you mention, uses the Powershift (DCT) auto, which isn't good news at all.

I'll look more when I get home from work but initial thoughts are to forget the full sized seat issue if you really must have auto and focus instead on getting an MPV with better likelihood of being reliable:

Toyota Verso

Mazda 5

Vauxhall Zafira Tourer

(all with petrol engine)

Edited by badbusdriver on 13/03/2025 at 06:08

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Thu 13 Mar 2025 08:26
MPV Advice - KJah

The Vauxhall Zafira Tourer was on the shortlist initially actually and I do have room for compromise on the middle row as the Tourer still has individual seats. I've had just a quick search and the Vauxhall is certainly more readily available than others suggested so may well be worth looking at, do you know anything of the gearboxes in the Tourers?

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Thu 13 Mar 2025 09:17
MPV Advice - Adampr

The Zafira gearbox is a GM 6T. It's an old school torque converter used around the world and made in Korea. It's not going to be mega efficient but it also won't be too flakey.

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Thu 13 Mar 2025 10:57
MPV Advice - movilogo

MPVs are now rare breeds as manufacturers have abandoned them in favor of SUVs :(

You can look for JDM or Japanese Domestic Market imports like Toyota Estima, Alphard, Honda Stepwagon etc.

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Fri 14 Mar 2025 10:48
MPV Advice - SLO76
The requirement for an automatic severely limits your choice here. Give me a rough search area and I’ll take a look for viable options.
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Fri 14 Mar 2025 13:01
MPV Advice - pd

The DPFs on the Pug/Citroen are not particularly troublesome but the older ones do need a fluid top up every 80k or so.

You will struggle to find the ideal well priced auto as demand is high and supply low.

I wouldn't rule out the diesel option on some of the cars you suggest and in fact in the case of the Peugeot, Citroen and Ford the diesels are probably more reliable than the petrols (very much so in the case of the French duo).

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Fri 14 Mar 2025 13:47
MPV Advice - Ian_SW

One more option to look at would be the Kia Carens. They weren't particularly popular but sold until about 2019 I think so should be some fairly decent ones in budget.

The automatics in those will be a dual clutch gearbox, but there doesn't seem to be as much noise about problems with the Kia/Hyundai DCT as there is with the Volkswagen group DSG equivalent.

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Fri 14 Mar 2025 14:37
MPV Advice - KJah

Firstly thank you everyone for your input, it may just be that getting a manual transmission is now a possibility thankfully. That being the case what mpv should I really be considering now for reliability, running/repair cost etc. Cheers

Edited by KJah on 14/03/2025 at 18:20

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Fri 14 Mar 2025 19:33
MPV Advice - badbusdriver

Firstly thank you everyone for your input, it may just be that getting a manual transmission is now a possibility thankfully. That being the case what mpv should I really be considering now for reliability, running/repair cost etc. Cheers

Some more info re usage and size* of car needed would be helpful

*You said in first post you were looking for a compact MPV then listed an S Max as one that you were keen on(?!)

Also, SLO has already offered, but just to repeat, if you let us know roughly where you re in the country, we can have a look for potential cars in your area.

Edited by badbusdriver on 14/03/2025 at 19:35

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Fri 14 Mar 2025 20:11
MPV Advice - KJah

Sure, to be honest this car is going to be used more likely for weekends and maybe some short journeys during the week as I have a separate car for commuting and work in construction so not the best environment for my young growing family. As regards to size, s-max, 5008 etc would suit, I just mean I'm not looking at the likes of a Galaxy, Alhambra or Sharan for example. I'm situated between Hereford and Worcester but willing to travel an hour or so. Cheers

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Sat 15 Mar 2025 06:25
MPV Advice - badbusdriver

As regards to size, s-max, 5008 etc would suit, I just mean I'm not looking at the likes of a Galaxy, Alhambra or Sharan for example.

The Grand C Max is Ford's equivalent to the C4 Grand Picasso, 5008 and Touran, all of which are based on Focus sized cars. The S Max is based on the Mondeo (as is the Galaxy) and is quite a bit bigger, much closer in size to a Galaxy, Alhambra or Sharan, so it makes no sense to me ruling them out.

I'm also wondering about how many seats you need?. You made a point of mentioning you wanted three full size seats in the middle row, but all the cars you mentioned are seven seaters. So does this mean you need more than five seats in total?

Edited by badbusdriver on 15/03/2025 at 06:29

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Sat 15 Mar 2025 07:41
MPV Advice - SLO76
If you don’t need 7 seats how about a Honda CRV? These are vast inside, and there’s little to fear from a well cared for petrol Honda. These don’t have a turbocharger, there’s no DPF, no timing belt and they use a long lived conventional torque converter gearbox. It’ll do 32-35mpg at best, but if this is a weekend use/family wagon that’s not going on your daily commute then economy is less of a concern.

www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202411246680444
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