7 seater

garcon6

Will soon need to upgrade to a 7 seater as i have one son who is 7months old and expecting another one in December.

Originally I was thinking about the Honda FR-V (6 SEATER).

Would like some recommendations what to look for etc, though it would be second hand i would be buying i will be using 2 car seats and will need plenty of luggage space especially for the pushchairs etc.

Are there any comparison websites for 6/7 seaters?

RichardD1970

Why do you need 7 seats with 2 kids?

There are plenty of thread on here about the subject.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4930272

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4914274

Here's just two of the more recent ones.

AdrianC

garcon6 wrote: »

...and will need plenty of luggage space...

As he said, two adults plus two children does not equal seven - and this requirement does not fit with seats taking up most of the boot space.

Ebe_Scrooge

As above, why do you need 7 seats ?

Any of the "car-sized" 7 seaters ( e.g. Zafira ) have the issue that with all 7 seats in use, you get very limited luggage space. If you want 7 seats as well as decent luggage capacity, you'll be looking more towards the "van-like" options such as the VW transporters etc. These are great at doing what they say on the tin, but expensive to buy and run in comparison to the "car-sized" options.

k3lvc

6/7 is great if you live remotely/often have visitors or ferry others kids around. Bear in mind that for many you can't use the rearmost seats for infants and to get into the rearmost seats you have to move/slide/fold the middle row. Seem to remember we discounted the (original) Zafira on this basis as it had a single bench seat to had to remove child seats to be able to get into rear set of seats. Honda FRV removes this need but bear in mind it's width

Other one to look at is Mazda 5 with sliding doors and ability to walk (well shuffle) between middle row of seats into rear.

Also if it really is occasional use then don't discount Merc E Class/Volvo XC70/V70 or Audi A6 is you can find one with rear facing conversion

reeac

Ebe_Scrooge wrote: »

As above, why do you need 7 seats ?

Once your kids start wanting to bring friends along then you'll find a 7 seater useful but that's a way off, I'd have thought. Re. Zafiras, my son has had one for around 7 years now as a second car and thinks very highly of it.

Ebe_Scrooge

Yep, we also have a Zafira, it's a great car. It's got bags of storage space in 5-seat mode, and we use the 7 seats for the times when, as you say, friends need lifts as well. It's very rare that we need 7 seats plus luggage, but we have a roof box for when we do.

A lot of people rubbish the Zafira, but I can't fault it, it suits our particular circumstances perfectly.

A friend of mine has a Kia Sedona - that's great as well, quite a bit bigger than the Zafira, but has the advantage of 7 full-sized seats - the rear seats in the Zaffy are only really suitable for kids. But the Kia is quite a thirsty beast.

teffers

garcon6 wrote: »

Will soon need to upgrade to a 7 seater as i have one son who is 7months old and expecting another one in December.

Originally I was thinking about the Honda FR-V (6 SEATER).

Would like some recommendations what to look for etc, though it would be second hand i would be buying i will be using 2 car seats and will need plenty of luggage space especially for the pushchairs etc.

Are there any comparison websites for 6/7 seaters?

When you've recovered from the avalanche of posters berating your request for a 7 seater and explaining why you really don't need one (one poster on a previous thread even tried to convince a child-minder they only needed a small family car) - then hopefully you'll get some useful info like the posts above.

We have a Mazda 5 (partner is a child-minder) and whilst it's one of the cheaper options, it's a pretty basic feeling car. Suspension is harsh, road noise is very loud and the interior is cheap plastics.

In reality the Mazda 5 has 6 adult seats and a smaller seat in the middle of the 2nd row. The final two rear seats drop flat to give you a lot of boot space.

It goes through tyres / suspension fairly regularly too (known issue).

MPG is 30-35 around town and about 40 on longer runs.

Building_Surveyor

teefers no one was berating the OP, this is a money saving site ... Why get a car bigger than you need?? A reasonable question in my opinion.

Tigerprint

Another option is the Peugeot 307 SW. The SW means there is the option for 7 seats (some have them already included but they can also be purchased from a well known on-line auction site) The 3rd row seats are easy to remove & thus you have a good sized estate car. Apparently the 1.6 (110) HDi engine is one of the better options, & one with as least miles is obviously going to be a better buy.

garcon6

After reading all the comments a 7 seater would be money down the drain, I was thinking of luggage space etc. I do like the look of the Honda FR-V. Will read the other threads later but thanks for the feedback much appreciated.