7 seater advice

lindseydaniel

Hi all,

Can anyone give me some advice on 7 seaters.

Best value? Most economical? Cheapest to insure? Best to drive?

I have around £3500 to spend.

Thanks

Daniel

anewman

I'll be crazy and suggest a second-hand minibus to be different. It may well be more practical in some ways than a 7 seater, for example when you need more than 7 seats. Just suggesting it as I guess you probably hadn't considered this an option.

harveybobbles

Plenty of old Shalhambraxy's about for that money. Might be high on miles, but very good.

dcy_2

I have an 05 zafira, 1.6 petrol, and it drinks a hell of alot of oil. I belive this is a common fault on the 1.6's, but the 1.8 my sister has is fine. So i wouldnt advise the 1.6 model. Other then that it is a very good car, light stearing, easy loading, rear seats easy to fold away etc.

sarahg1969

A Zafira's not great if you want a proper MPV (it's only an Astra estate after all). It doesn't have proper rear seats and is only really suitable for children. And the middle seats can be awkward to fold to access the rear seats, if you have car seats buckled in.

I've had a Galaxy, which was fine, an Espace, which was a lemon (3 turbos in under 23k miles), so I don't know if they are usually OK, and I've now got a Citroen C8, which is the most roomy one we've had and OK on the diesel. Obviously, not the most stylish car on the road, though.

For 3.5k, I think I would agree with the Sharan etc.

Iand1

had two zafira's myself, one a petrol 1.8 (poor fuel economy, needs lot's of revs!) the other a 1.9 oil burner ( a lot better economy, smoother drive as well)

most people for seven seaters only need the back two for kids anyway?? If not what about a Ssangyong Rodius. (google it) they are as long as a bus, but ugly as hell! prob get one of those cheap.

just my two pence worth mind.....

AdrianHi

Toyota Previa?

tanith

I've also had two Zafiras and find them reliable , economical, and great for carrying around the grandkids.. the only thing is there is'nt room for luggage if you are using the two back seats, but if not you could almost get a double decker bus in there....

delain

AdrianHi wrote: »

Toyota Previa?

They are really unreliable, prone to hugely expensive engine problems, please do not buy one of these. You only have to look on fleabay to see how many non runners are on sale for peanuts.

I had a 2.3l petrol auto galaxy, it was expensive to run but the diesel one will be more economical (i'm on the lookout for one myself, as baby no.4 is on the way and my car will be too small) I'd vote for that, that's what I'm going to buy.

The kia Sedona is ok I've heard, but not as big as the galaxy etc, Same for the Hyundai Trajet.

AdrianHi

delain wrote: »

They are really unreliable, prone to hugely expensive engine problems, please do not buy one of these. You only have to look on fleabay to see how many non runners are on sale for peanuts.

Statistically they seem to come out fairly well, Honest John and the Relibaility index linked: http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/index.htm?md=413
Work on catalystic converter and ECU software upgrade seem to be common to sort engine cut out problem.

emmell

I think it's the import previas (lucida, estima,) that seem to have a lot of problems and it's usually the diesels that weren't available here at the time. Head gasket problems seems to ring a bell.
My sister has a zafira diesel and loves it, but no room for luggage or shopping if you're using all 7 seats. I had a Toyota corolla verso diesel, nice car, same luggage problem as the zafira though.
Ssanyong rodius has got to be the ugliest people carrier on the road, I don't think you'll get an older Ssanyong because they all broke down or fell to bits, I think, well at least you don't see any on the road.
ML.