E class still have 7 seat options from what I’ve seen.

I have had a couple of the 307SW 7 seaters. Both very good, economical and the SE is very well specced.
Rear 2 seats only for small children.

Not quite true. Adults can fit but you wouldn’t want to spend hours there

As Daisy Duke said above, E-class has 2 rear-facing seats in the boot.
I’m looking for something along similar lines and that’s the only non-MPV/4×4 I can find with 7 seats.

They don’t look massively comfortable though – I think they’re really only for children/short journeys

Was also going to add MPVs are taller for a reason. You don’t have to get Espace / S Max size either, look at a VW Touran. Mine handles better than the works Passat.

I’ve got a C-max and OK so the S-max, gallaxy and C-max grande are all a little bigger, but it really does handle ‘like a car’. And not a crap car either, I test drove a load of normal hatches and estates and it’s well above average. guess that’s due to it being based on the MK2 focus, so an S-max based on the Mondeo would seem like a really good bet.

Also, not many cars actually have full headroom for 6ft+ people in the back, mines got masses!

Another S-Max owner here, previously in a Honda Stream, which is a much more car-like drive, despite how good the S-Max is. When growing up as part of a big clan, we had Citroen CX Family and Pug 504 family version which really were just big estate cars with three rows of seats, I suppose when you look at the premium you pay for a people carrier you can see why the car companies don’t want to do it any more.

Family of 5 here. Had an s-max, got rid of it, regret it and now looking for another. Top car, drives well, looks okay, very functional.

My Dad had one of these for a bit:

Looks like a hearse and has suspension so you can make it rise up and down.

Citroen Safari for the win.

Any Citroen suspension for getting along rutted farm tracks without taking half the engine out.

What about a second hand Taxi ,I’m pretty sure you will get 7people in them plus a decent size boot.
Handle like sh!te but great turning circle and easy to get parts for.

Merc R Class, ugly as sin but effin enormous. Mmm think original ones might only be 6 seats.

I have a Volvo XC90. The extra seats are proper ones, with full seatbelts, and still space behind them for luggage (much safer in a crash too). They fold away into the floor for a cavernous luggage space – I have had a big 3 seat leather sofa inside with the boot closed!!

We went down the 4×4 route – Shogun. These days I’d go for the XC90 which wasn’t around when we needed 7 seats.

I’ve been thinking on the same question for some time, and everything points back to either S Max or XC90. Not much else a family of 5 with outdoor hobbies and dog can all fit in, plus the extra seats are needed more often than I’d ever thought possible,

The Dodge Journey – rebadged as a Fiat Freemont in Europe is not going to be released in UK, not sure why, it’s selling pretty well in Europe.

Zafira BiTurbo, 2.0 CDTi, 0-60 in 8.6 sec, 195 PS, 7-seater.

Saw three of them in Bristol on Wednesday evening, all white ones, like this. (And yes, I know this is an Opel, it’s the only image I could grab).

Really enjoyed having “fun” with my 2ltr Touran 😆 Had it 5yrs, now got a Sorrento for caravan towing duties. Touran was a good tow car but bigger `van = excuse for bigger car 😉
Once you get used to sitting in the higher position of an mpv/4×4 you get to like it. MrsT was against the idea until using mpv style hire cars at work, won`t go back to a “normal” car now.
Touran/Zaffira style is much easier to park in tight spots that a lot of modern sloping roof estate cars imo.

The missus has a Mazda 5 Furano. Great car with plenty of room. The rear doors slide open instead of opening outwards. This is very handy when kids are in the back and you are parked in a tight space.