7 seater advise

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Wed 14 Sep 2022 23:56
7 seater advise - Kippaxwales

Hi all,

I'm looking for advise on buying a 7 seater.

Budget is £8000

mpg/running costs is a main focus in deciding.

All the ones I seem to like the look of don't fit into that category though.

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Thu 15 Sep 2022 07:33
7 seater advise - Xileno

A good start is the Galaxy 2.0 diesel with manual gearbox. Your budget should get a nice one.

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Thu 15 Sep 2022 07:39
7 seater advise - dan86

Depending where they live there may be LEZ or ULEZ and an older diesel won't be compliant

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Thu 15 Sep 2022 08:34
7 seater advise - badbusdriver

A Galaxy/S Max diesel would be a good shout (ULEZ/LEZ dependant) if the OP needs to carry 7 adults. But if some or most of the occupants were children, a Vauxhall Zafira Tourer should be on your list. £8k is enough to get into a 2017 1.4 turbo petrol. Others of a similar size you could look at are the Toyota Verso, Mazda 5, Ford Grand C Max (go for the 1.6 petrol, not the 1.0 turbo), and Kia Carens.

If you ned to carry 7 adults, and are near or within an ULEZ/LEZ, you are going to struggle, because most choices will be diesel and will probably not meet the required emissions.

There is also the option of a Japanese import MPV, these are more or less all petrol, but they will also be more or less all auto. Also, bear in mind that at this price point, the centre rear seat will most likely just be a lap belt. Which may be doable for securing a child seat, but I wouldn't be comfortable using one for a person (child or adult).

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Thu 15 Sep 2022 09:15
7 seater advise - Kippaxwales

A good start is the Galaxy 2.0 diesel with manual gearbox. Your budget should get a nice one.

Thanks my father has a Cmax and I've used it a bit can't fault it apart from my dad's not having cruise, No issues with ulez or anything like that up here in Anglesey.

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Thu 15 Sep 2022 09:22
7 seater advise - Kippaxwales

Main use will be 25 mile run to work and home, and carrying the family.

With I'd roughly say a monthly motorway run to Manchester.

I'd like one that has a bit of boot space when all seats are in use.

I love the look of the chevrolet captiva and the orlando. But they don't seem to fit my needs

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Thu 15 Sep 2022 09:57
7 seater advise - badbusdriver

I'd like one that has a bit of boot space when all seats are in use.

Ah well, that pretty much rules out anything like a Zafira then!.

You really need a 'full sized' MPV or bigger. Full sized being the likes of the Ford Galaxy and S Max, Seat Alhambra, VW Sharan, Kia Sedona. Bigger would include Hyundai i800 (this would be my choice, though at this price its probably going to have more than 100k miles), Sangyong Turismo, Chrysler Grand Voyager.

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Thu 15 Sep 2022 13:15
7 seater advise - Crickleymal

I'd like one that has a bit of boot space when all seats are in use.

Ah well, that pretty much rules out anything like a Zafira then!.

You really need a 'full sized' MPV or bigger. Full sized being the likes of the Ford Galaxy and S Max, Seat Alhambra, VW Sharan, Kia Sedona. Bigger would include Hyundai i800 (this would be my choice, though at this price its probably going to have more than 100k miles), Sangyong Turismo, Chrysler Grand Voyager.

The Grand Voyager has one of the highest VED as does the Sedona (£585 or £535). I don't know whether that'll be a factor.

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Thu 15 Sep 2022 13:31
7 seater advise - dan86

Main use will be 25 mile run to work and home, and carrying the family.

With I'd roughly say a monthly motorway run to Manchester.

I'd like one that has a bit of boot space when all seats are in use.

I love the look of the chevrolet captiva and the orlando. But they don't seem to fit my needs

Just to mention that Manchester has a LEZ that is currently on hold but could come in soon

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Thu 15 Sep 2022 14:48
7 seater advise - badbusdriver

The Grand Voyager has one of the highest VED as does the Sedona (£585 or £535). I don't know whether that'll be a factor.

Wasn't recommending the Grand Voyager as I'm sure I've read on the forum in the past that they aren't that reliable (not that I've looked into it). Just listing it as an example of something which has a big boot when all seats are in use. Having said that, going by the running costs listed on Autotrader, there is a small window where it would fall into the £615 tax bracket. That appears to be the early 5th gen car and seems to only affect 2008 and 2009 cars. Late 4th gen and 5th gen 2010 on are listed as being £360.

As for the Sedona, as far as I can see they fall into either the £290 or £330 bracket?

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Thu 15 Sep 2022 15:10
7 seater advise - Ian_SW

There's quite a price premium on the "full size" seven seaters, as they are quite popular with airport taxis and big families. This would mean you'd end up with an older and higher mileage Galaxy, Sharan etc. for example than you would a similarly priced Zafira, Touran, Verso etc.

Depending on how often you need the luggage space and all 7 seats, buying one of the smaller MPVs and a roof box might be a better option. The luggage space, even on a full size MPV like the Galaxy is still fairly small with all seats in place unless you get one of the van derived ones like a VW Shuttle bus, Renault Traffic, Hyundai i800 etc.

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Thu 15 Sep 2022 16:00
7 seater advise - Crickleymal

The Grand Voyager has one of the highest VED as does the Sedona (£585 or £535). I don't know whether that'll be a factor.

.

As for the Sedona, as far as I can see they fall into either the £290 or £330 bracket?

That might be the older generation cars that I was looking at.

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Thu 15 Sep 2022 19:10
7 seater advise - dan86

The grand voyager is an extremely comfortable car can easily carry 7 adults and all their luggage, I know as I had one in fact the most comfortable car I've ever owned was like driving your favourite arm chair. Also with all seats folded in to the floor it became a van. But would I recommend one? No simply because of the running costs, they like to drink fuel either petrol or diesel and they have a lot of stuff that can and will go wrong. The diesel engine is a VM unit that has been around since before the Romans and is prone to thermostat issues, the thermostat can only be bought with the housing and is in a stupid place making it a 3 hour job if it goes well. The radiator is prone to springing a leak and not an easy or cheap job the fuel pump is expensive when it will need replacing and the electrics can cause lots of small niggling issues. But great if you want to carry a big family and all their luggage

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Thu 15 Sep 2022 20:30
7 seater advise - Adampr

I think either a Ssangyong Turismo or Hyundai i800 is your best bet. The Ssangyong, in particular, is in serious 'no oil painting' territory but is massive inside. The Hyundai is a bit more sensible.

I have a neighbour with four kids. He drives a minibus.

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Sat 17 Sep 2022 11:24
7 seater advise - Heidfirst

Toyota Verso might be worth a look

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Sat 17 Sep 2022 16:24
7 seater advise - badbusdriver

Toyota Verso might be worth a look

The OP wants something with a bit of boot space while all seats in use. It hasn't been specified how much, but I'd guess more than 155 litres would be required.

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Sun 18 Sep 2022 08:34
7 seater advise - daveyK_UK
Would your budget get you a current shape Peugeot Rifter / Citroen Berlingo / Vauxhall Combo Life in the XL longer version?
That way you get 7 seats and some boot space

Do you need 7 seats or 6? If 6, once you remove one of the seats in the standard M size combo Life you have a huge boot area even with the other seat still in situ.
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Sun 18 Sep 2022 09:24
7 seater advise - badbusdriver
Would your budget get you a current shape Peugeot Rifter / Citroen Berlingo / Vauxhall Combo Life in the XL longer version? That way you get 7 seats and some boot space Do you need 7 seats or 6? If 6, once you remove one of the seats in the standard M size combo Life you have a huge boot area even with the other seat still in situ.

You wouldn't get into a current shape version of either wheelbase for £8k, add another £3k to the budget and the OP might just scrape into one!.

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