7 seater family car help

mum_of_4

So expecting again and have no choice but to buy and 7 seater any suggestions?

Have been looking at the Ford S-Max.

The car will be used 75% of the time to transport 2 adults and children, 10, 7, 4 and 1 or possibly 2 babies. So I'm looking for one that will still have boot space even when all seats are in use.

I kind of like the S-Max as it seems to keep the look of a car rather than a mini bus. I've compared sizes and compared to the galaxey it appears bigger although the head room for the last two seats isn't as high.

Woby_Tide

with the final 2 seats up we can fit a Maclaren stroller in and a couple of bags. technically you could only use 1 of the final seats and put 3 kids in the middle row which gives you extra space for stuff but it won't take a pushchair full length(maybe a mid folder like a Phil and Teds would be ok, may be worth taking a trip to a dealer. The middle row is quite good that it can be moved quite a bit forward and back to create leg room in the last row.

Friends of ours settled on a Chrysler Grand Voyager now they have 4 for sake of ease and for the extra boot space etc. They found a Zafira too small and as had twins could not find a decent boot for a twin pushchair on most of the normal 7 seaters i.e. S-Max/Galaxy

Ranger8

Toyota Verso 2.0d = 7 seats and 50mpg

winnie81

We have a Grand Voyager the CRD Limited version (diesel) for us and the 4 kids it very roomy and easily gets bags, pushchairs, dogs in boot and we often take out all the seats for moving stuff about. We wouldn't be without one now and will upgrade to newer versions (ours is an 03) not a different car

Good Luck choosing

Forgot to add with the Grand Voyager you can move the back seats forward/backward to allow extra boot space or foot well space if needed. We have the seats to allow max boot space and we have room for pushchairs, dog cage and shopping etc the boot is huge!

mum_of_4

many thanks for the help - I find it so frustrating when you find that the two back seats are not proper size.

Rolandtheroadie

winnie81 wrote: »

We have a Grand Voyager the CRD Limited version (diesel) for us and the 4 kids it very roomy and easily gets bags, pushchairs, dogs in boot and we often take out all the seats for moving stuff about. We wouldn't be without one now and will upgrade to newer versions (ours is an 03) not a different car

Good Luck choosing

Forgot to add with the Grand Voyager you can move the back seats forward/backward to allow extra boot space or foot well space if needed. We have the seats to allow max boot space and we have room for pushchairs, dog cage and shopping etc the boot is huge!

We've a grand voyager crd as well and wont be without one (kids are 13, 5 and 1 year old twins).
Looked at everything at the time (although never had a good look at the grand espace for seating/boot space).
They CAN have problems (what car doesnt) and as people will come out and say,they do poorly in the Ncap results.
See past the poor star rating. Basically, for side impact (where the kids would be at risk) it scores 17 and a half out of 20. For pedestrians its a zero and also for a front impact its a zero (for the driver). Thats why the scores so bad.
So just dont knock anyone down or crash head on and you'll be fine lol.
All the seats are real seats and the crd limited is quite a high spec as well with ours returning around 33 MPH general running around.
I think the newer 2.8 crd's also do stow and go seating (like the zafira but decent seats) but we are still able to remove ours with not too much hassle. With them all out, it's like a van.

jcr16

we have an 02 plate renault espace. It is fantastic. highest n cap safety rating in it's class . All the seats move easily so can remove them all with ease if needed. you can slide the seats forward to give more boot space. The front seats are captin seats so you can turn the right around to face the back , great for when you plans for a picnic are ruined by rain and you have to eat in car ,lol!. The boot space is fab when all 7 seats are in use. Very easy to park and drive. Also you can turn the air con on inside the glove box and it acts like an ice box so there for keeping baby bottles and drinks cold in summer. All the seats are proper seats . the boot has a shop drop boot, so you can either open it fully or just the windscreen pops up. ideal for when someone has parked close to you and you can't open boot fully. It a very roomy car. all seats have a cup holder aswell. and two of the back seats have little pop up trays. ideal for older kids who want to draw in the car.

blue_monkey_2

Also check out the Kia Carens, I can get 3 boosters in the middle and the back seats are proper size to and you can have either one or both seats up in the back so have some boot space if you want it too. The only thing to deal with are the fights as to who sits in the boot!! It is car size like you are looking for, Tax is £150 pa and Insurance is cheap too.

We paid £13,500 for our 2.0 CRDI, brand new, and it is the top of the range model with all the gadgets on it that men like to fiddle with. We also got an entertainment system put in with a DVD player. We could have got the entry model for £10k - and it comes with a 7 year warranty so for me it just made me feel more confident it would last. Miles cheaper than even the basic OTR price of the C-Max - and £10k less than the Verso.

ETA. What put us off the sedona is the size of the seats when not in use, the seats on the carens just fold down onto themselves and they kind of live in the boot if you see what I mean so there is no storing big seats. If you want to use it to carry things rather than people the seats fold down.

Inactive

Transit Mini Bus, should serve your needs and any further family expansion.:D

sarahg1969

We've had a Galaxy, an Espace and now have a Citroen C8 (Peugeot 807/Fiat Ulysse), which is really roomy and great to drive.

With 4 children, I would always go for the proper MPV, rather than a part-time one with flimsy fold-down seats.

Fruity1

If you only need 6 seats take a look at the Honda FRV.