Wifey needs a 7 Seater car for work (child minding).
Needs to be diesel, and about £3000. Obviously as new as possible and reliable.
Estates with rear facing seats aren't allowed unfortunately.....
Whats peoples views?
Thanks
Spooky, I've been thinking about this today as well.
Most of the 7 seaters are pretty compromised and access to the 3rd row seriously restricted.
My current favouties are a Merc V class or, strange choice as it may appear, Scudo Combi.
Vauxhall Zafira may fit the bill, family car size, cheap enough, reliable , if not that exciting....
Calling that a Limousine is too much of a stretch.
LWB Isuzu Trooper 3.1TD although I may be bias.
Na, she doesnt like your "thing" LOL
I like the zafira... there is one in the family already (although a tatty one) so she could try that before wasting my time lol
i hired a zafira last year. it was pretty good. back 2 seats are very tight though
it'll be for children, so i dont think tight seats are too much of a problem
^ i was thinking that, drives nice though.
Plus she's already ruled out anything french....
Mention citroen, peugoet, renault and it's NO.. but i know where she's coming from.
Recently bought a Diesel Galaxy.
Seems OK so far. It's basically all VW underneath (Sharan & Alhambra), engine, switchgear, etc. so hopefully should last a while.
Does 40+ mpg so pretty good on fuel too so far.
HTH
Martin
Second the Galaxy comment. Parents bought a SEAT Alhambra in 1998 when it was cheaper than the Galaxy or Sharan, even though the exact same vehicle.
Very happy with it.
Not sure if pricing is much different nowadays since SEAT is more well-known.
Missed out,sold my excellent Mazda MPV a couple of months back a full size MPV not like the newer Mazda 5 which is a stretched Ford Cmax.
Zaffira's Ok if you want to carry 7 kids and nowt else plus dubious build quality I'd personally never buy another Vauxhall.
As said above Galaxy/sharan/alhambra are all good or even Kia Sedona if you want to carry kids plus push chairs and baby stuff.
Cheers,
Bob
we had a Zafira, but with the 2 rear seats there's no boot anymore, not even enough for a descent sized bag
therefore we bought a alhambra
stay well clear of the renault espace 4, we had that intermediate for 1 year, nothing but trouble
Zafira is not bad on the seat size - I took 6 rugby playing friends to Twickenham in our last year. 1.6 probably is cheaper to run than the diesel.
No contest,Tdi Galaxy.
Steve
I'm looking for the same sort of thing for SWMBO - have looked at most things and keep coming back to the Galaxy/Alhambra/Sharan each time.
Can't see that there's much to choose between them as they're the same basic car. The Galaxy and Alhambra are a bit cheaper that the
Sharan like for like, but then will be worth less when sold - horses for courses.
I'm going on general condition and history rather than specific model when I finally give in to the MPV I swore I'd never own 
What about a VW Touran?
sorry too expensive
[Edited on 14/1/10 by l0rd]
Kia Sedonna -- but don't buy an automatic ---- same applies to the Galaxy or anything else that uses the JATCO autobox
yeah, would be a manual as she'd probably get lost with an automatic lol
Re Renault diesels Renault and Nissan Dci diesels tend to very very expensively self destruct, the turbo internals have tendancy end up in the
cylinders. Lubrication problem -- oil type and oil change interval issues.
[Edited on 14/1/10 by britishtrident]
My wife is a childminder and has a Zafira. She has two very chunky Britax car seats mounted on the rear-most seats. This works well becasuse the second row slide back and forth at the flick of a lever - so getting kids in the back is easy. She can still fit a buggy in the boot. Seating options are the best thing about the Zafira - lots of combinations. We actually have the 150 bhp 2.2 petrol version and it does well over 30 mpg. Cheap to buy cos everyone wants the diesel and we only do 15 miles or so a week in it.
Done a few epic France trips with 4 adults and 3 kids in various 7 seaters over the years including a Touran and Zafira.
Peugeot 806 wins every time hands down.
And they're great for collecting car parts.
Pat...
Anyone had any experience of a newer shape Fiat Ulysse??
Renault Espace Grande diesel. Superb piece of kit, loads of room, easy access, loads of toys, cheapish to buy, fantastic on fuel, 2.2td does 45mpg, yes 45mpg. I would recommend to anyone.
Both our families have Renault/Peugeot/Citroens in and all of them have electric problems... my dad's peugeot had lots of toys... most stopped
working after 100,000...
Wont touch anything french now.
My borther in law has had his Seat Alhambra 54 plate, diesel since new. Great car, roomy, reliable and ecomomical.
I think a lot of people dont like MPV's that is till theyve owned one. They are simply one of the best bits of kit going, from taking stuff to
the tip to picking up car parts and the higher driving position just seems safer.
Cheers,
Bob
Are you sure that this isnt her way of telling you it's going to be twins ?
Roger
I've got a Grand Espace and I like it. Comfy, economical, load of space (I, at 6', can sit in all rear seats comfortably), and 5 star euro
ncap.
We were thinking of the Chrysler Voyager/Kia Sedona but neighbour had one and it was like being in a truck. And they are 2 star Euro NCAP which was
the reason we went for the Espace. Other choice was Galaxy, but dealer said they had trouble getting them, and they expected me to pay full(ish) price
(yeah, dream on).
ATB
Simon
i borrow my mates galaxy all the time, love it, have decided to find a v6 LPG one for myself, but want the v6 4x4 sharan 4motion on gas, hens teeth would be easier to find!!!!!
Growing up in a large family, we had this problem alot (Though In the 90's MPV's were very expensive and poo as I remember). I
wouldn't go for a Zafira because the back just isn't big enough. If you use the seats, only kids will fit in them and you lose the boot,
also, and no offence to anyone with one, but they tend to be driven by knobs (I'm not saying having one makes you a knob, but almost every time I
see a man driving one, they're driving like a knob), also the new one has poo electronic switch gear which makes turning the indicators on and
off aukward.
My dad did have a colman milne dorchester with three rows of benches, but I couldn't reckomend it. It was fun but it was thirsty and I think
you'd have reliabilty problems.
The Best of the MPVs we had would either be the Sedona or the Espace (Apart from the transmission going, which the AA said was common on the manual
box). The Espace is the best MPV for doing van stuff with. Don't get a chrysler, I know a few people who've had them and they've all
suffered terribly, My Godmothers blew it self up when it was just 4 years old, and did it in Calais on their way home to Brussels.
If you want a car to carry 7 people, my first thought would be to go French, Last year my dad rented a C8 and an 807, both for a weekend (seperate
weekends) for familly events and they were both amazing. There is also the 307 estate with an extra row of seats (I believe forward facing) which
would probably be one of your cheapest options fuel and tax wise.
land rover station wagon, but will struggle to get a newish one for that budget.
I still think a Zafira should be considered, and that is after 60,000 miles and 7 years of 100% reliable, ecomonical ownership.
Ours has carried engines and motorcycles in the back, towed cars around the country, been packed upto the eyeballs on camping trips around Europe, is
used every week as transport for 6 children on the school run, etc, etc..
All that in 1.6 2ngine mode and 40mpg average. Serviced annually and that's it.
And, it isn't driving a Zafira means you are a knob, it's being a knob that makes you a knob......
And, why is it that people who are about to be offensive say "no offence, but, ....."
I would go for the Renault Espace as it is the only one that is relatively nice looking car.
I know they have problems, which car doesn't though. A well maintaned one could be trouble free.
quote:
Originally posted by britishtrident
Re Renault diesels Renault and Nissan Dci diesels tend to very very expensively self destruct, the turbo internals have tendancy end up in the cylinders. Lubrication problem -- oil type and oil change interval issues.
[Edited on 14/1/10 by britishtrident]
What do people think of S-MAX's? I quite like the look of them.
We have a Honda Shuttle from new on a "T" reg, done 125K. Only costs have been routine servicing. Most reliable of all People carriers (7
seats), in excellent condition but only worth circa 1-1.5K !
Mike
Ended up with a 7 seat zafira, small petrol rather than diesel.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewIte
m&item=230427380990&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT
Iirc the Smax isn't 7 seater, and it's a Mondeo that's tall...
I struggled to get into the back of a Zafira, but it was comfortable enough for a short run.
Grand Espace was quite nice and a bit more space right back there, but I still couldn't exactly jump in.
Sedona was great, tons of room and I could almost stand up in there!
Have you considered an ex-Royal Mail van or something of that sort?
No, because we bought a zafira... she wouldnt want a van.
oh and the Smax is a 7 seater... or at least they have that option for proper 7 seater configuration....
[Edited on 6/2/10 by Ben_Copeland]
Doh!
Just fallen foul to "eyes glazing over after a while" syndrome!
Not bad, the people at Vauxhall told us that engine was pretty decent on fuel too. Reminds me of the Astra I had 
It shares a lot of bits with the Astra i think
Surprisingly the Haynes manual I had was titled "Astra/Zafira diesel"