7 seater advice

pigginsexy

Hi. I have two children under 4 and one on the way (due February). We are wanting to change our car to a 7 seater to give us space for 3 car seats and passengers etc. Does anyone have any advice on the best 7 seater available (spec, fuel ec, repair costs etc). We are currently looking at the Ford S-Max Titanium. We want one with as much spec as possible but do not want to spend more than say £14 - £15k. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks Hannah

devizes18193

well my vote is for a kia sedonna , we have had one for a year know . Because is a kia you get a better spec for the money , the thing is massive so plenty of space .The only down side is its heavey on the jucie mines a 2.9 turbo desil but it shifts like you would not belive and the turning circle is a bit big . As a 7 seater goes apart from the fuel it rocks.Oh and they are cheaper then fords

maryjanethespider

You can get a 04 plate grand scenic for around 6k now, they have 3 full seats and two fold down ones in the boot, i really do rate them quite well

If you really want to max out your budget i would go base model grand picasso or a used chrysler voyage

However the older you go, more chances anything that will go wrong has gone wrong and the tax would be cheaper too, a x or y reg voyager could cut your car tax costs by a 1/3 and in a few years a 1/2.

I would however not dismiss the Shalaxy models

DigitalJedi

I have a 07 plate Galaxy and love it. I chose it over the S-Max because it looks ok as a 7 seater for occasional use but not for regular use.

I currently have the 1.8Tdci Zetec specification which is returning 40mpg on average which given its size is fantastic. The front/rear parking sensors are invaluable. I also think they look pretty good to given its the size of a small bus.

If you've only two kids tho then perhaps the S-Max is a better bet but there's not much difference in price.

JonathanA

I've had 2 old shape Ford Galaxy's and tried the new shape 2.0TDCi Ghia last week. The 2 I owned were both excellent cars. The new shape 2.0TDCi was exceptionally good to drive, and I think would be a good car a family who regularly needed the 7 seats. I've not tried the SMAX, but I believe it is very similar to the Galaxy. Over long distances, the seats were very comfortable (450 miles in 1 day with no aches or pains!). It was also more economical than I thought. I covered approx 900 miles in 1 week in the car and it averaged 47 to the gallon, impressive for the size of car.

I wouldn't hesitate to go with the Ford personally - if you can find one with the panoramic roof then so much the better, it made the interior feel very spacious and light.

The other impressive feature (in my view) was the fold flat seats, which gave a great amount of luggage space.

Useless_With_Money_3

I got a Zaf' (Vauxhall Zafira), excellent car, much better than the F**d in drive build, fuel etc..

Vauxhall are doing good deals atm as well on the new stuff, 0% free finance, £1k trade in on any piece of junk with a mot, etc..

(Yes i do work for Vauxhall), i do like the Kia as well, excellent spec for the money, most cant touch it and they give the best warranty by far.

DealDrivers_company_representative

The SMax is fabulous and of our best sellers but...when looking at an old one from initial production runs check what type of seat catches it has...the initial build runs used 'toggle' seat catches which customers loathed and found difficult to use...specifically those needing to continually load children in and out. They were replaced gradually from approx Dec 06-Jan 07 production with much easier magnetic seat catches.

Dealers were able to effect a change to the new catches in their workshops too...so make that one of the first things you look at...no-one wants one with the original toggles!

Anyone thinking of ordering a brand new one needs to to do so by Mon morning 30th June as there is a Ford price increase from July 1st.

it is the end of the calendar quarter on Monday so many manufacturers use that date to re-issue quarterly pricelists and jig dealer margins about.

Hope that helps...

Kaz2904

How about an import? I've got an 8 seater Toyota Lucida. They are much much cheaper and hold their value well. The boot spaces are enormous and you are able to fold up the rear row of seats which gives even more space.
The seats will fold flat giving you a double bed and they come with curtains all round.
The middle row of seats rotates 180 degrees so if you're out for a picnic and it rains then you can sit inside. They all come with electric windows etc and have very good specifications for their age. Parts are not so hard to get hold of now either as you can easily access them from ebay.
Have a look on ebay at toyota estima and you'll see the types available.
I only wish that I had known about these cars before as I would definately have got one.

savagevixen

Kaz2904 wrote: »

How about an import? I've got an 8 seater Toyota Lucida. They are much much cheaper and hold their value well. The boot spaces are enormous and you are able to fold up the rear row of seats which gives even more space.
The seats will fold flat giving you a double bed and they come with curtains all round.
The middle row of seats rotates 180 degrees so if you're out for a picnic and it rains then you can sit inside. They all come with electric windows etc and have very good specifications for their age. Parts are not so hard to get hold of now either as you can easily access them from ebay.
Have a look on ebay at toyota estima and you'll see the types available.
I only wish that I had known about these cars before as I would definately have got one.

I had one of these for 2 years, my dad bought it when we had our 4th child. The boot space was great, but the bench style seats were very unsatisfactory with all the car seats in. When we had our 5th child we had to get another vehicle, as 5 car seats did not fit safely, esp as the 2 rows of seats had lap belts in the middle. Also the access is not easy with a hoard of kids, as there is only one sliding door, and no access from the rear, so one seat has to slide forward for access, to the rear.
We found it very expensive to run, and after the insurance companies cottoned on to th Toyota imports, the price of insurance went up, and the number of insurers who would quote went right down. Lots wouldn't quote at all.
Further to this, parts were very difficult to get hold of and expensive. We had to use second hand parts from breakers sourced by ourselves, as the garages were unbelievable!
It was a great reliable car, cheap, low miles and fun factor, but an expensive tank to keep on the road. And ours didn't hold its value (IMO) bought for £4500 (with a vehicle part exchanged!!!) and sold last summer (after 2 years) for £900.

With lots of kids, the 'Shalaxy/Alhambra' is fab, but I have found that sliding doors are much better. Due to limited funds, we have a Peugeot 806, it has been very reliable, and the kids all have independant seats.
We have now given up with the overpriced MPV's and gone with a minibus!

Sarahsaver

Hubby got a Seat Alhambra 10k and it is great.Enough space for the kids and luggage/shopping. More efficient than his old estate car too

in the past ex h had a toyota super extra town ace (yes really) and they are SO spacious, it had a fridge, excellent aircon, and moveable seating which is good for kids who don't always get on with one another LOL It was a Japanese Import. Sliding doors were good too.

freakybacon

How about a Honda frv, or a Fiat multipla? I know they are only 6 seaters but they are wiiiide! Kia do a version of the carens with 7 seats, VW Touran has the foldaway 2 seats like the zafira. Hyundai Trajet has 7 seats, but looks much like a van with windows.