Looking into getting an MPV as i have three kids and theres always the need for an extra seat. Any suggestions? i have a budget of about 3-4 grand so what second hand buys are best in your opinions?

Multipla

Ours is fab

Multipla again. Big enough inside and no longer than an ordinary car, so parking is a dawdle. When you don't need them, the rear seats can come completely out and you've a massive space. I can stand my bikes upright in the back without removing wheels or saddle.

Another vote for Multipla, my Dad had one of the original ugly ones, after four years with an Octavia he has just replaced it with the facelift version.

Zafira – we have had ours for three years, very handy motor, ultra reliable, stowable 6th and 7th seat, and not such a big bus as the espace or the galaxy type vehicles.

another zafira here. Love how versatile the rear seats are. And how quick they can be moved

Honda Stream if you want an MPV which drives more like a car and doesn't look like a Multipla. (My brother has a multipla and they're very ugly versatile). Stream's petrol only so not so economic, but made by Honda so reliability excellent.

Land Rover Defender or Discovery. 😈

We've got a Zafira but with the underpowered 1.6 engine. Our previous Zafira had the more capable 1.8 engine. Do not get the 1.6 if you want to tow anything, want to overtake anything or do a hill start with all seven seats in occupation! I'm also fed up with the amount of gear changing I have to do to keep the vehicle in momentum in the windy & hilly narrow lanes in our neck of the woods – this was not a problem with the 1.8 engine. Repeat – DO NOT get the 1.6 petrol Zafira.

what make is a multipla i have never heard of it?

Fix It Again Tommorrow (FIAT)

ok just googled one. There pretty ugly are there any nice looking MPVs

ours is a 1.6 16v and its fine, mind you I did test drive a couple of others and they were gutless, depends on how they have been looked after 'spose

FIAT or Fecked In A Tick as we used to cal the marque

Touran, with dsg, good fun and will still be worth something when you come to sell it unlike most other brands, and yes, I do have one.

Zafiras look ok,ish what are vauxhalls like for reliability?

the touran looks ok bit more expensive. how easy to remove the seats etc

another vote for a touran as you say more expensive but it wont let you down and will keep its value for longer, seats either fold right down or you can take them all out so it can be a big as you like, I had the 1.9 tdi great car!

might have to try and raise some more cash

I swapped a zafira to a touran and absolutely love it. Economical (1.9 tdi) and bags of room.
Seats can be totally removed or swapped about.
Plenty of room for the bikes

I have one of the 7 seat Tourans – brilliant car. You can take out the middle row of seat, drop the back ones and get 7 bikes in the back.

1.9TDi engine has plenty of guts for hauling a full load and trailer if you need it.

Done 60,000 miles in mine so far with no problems.

I have got a T5 Multivan. Seats seven plus enough space for luggage (or two dogs or both) and bikes for a family of five.

The only downside being that they are hideously expensive to buy new. 😐

zafira gsi turbo is the only people carrier i have ever half wanted, other than the f1 espace which definitely wont be £4k

none of them get a land rover , and help global warming.

Porsche 911

Get the kids to cycle, it will do them good

😉

Instead of a Multipla – how about a Honda FRV. Not quite as spacious inside, but a slightly bigger boot and far better looking. Not sure about second hand prices though.

However, it's a Honda and will keep going for ever. Had ours for 2 years now and it's great. Seats all fold flat – including the passenger and front middle for loads of cargo carrying. It is also wide enough to fit four bikes on the roof easily if you have a car full.

A Ford S-Max is one of the few decent looking MPVs IMO, pretty roomy on the inside to

I've got an s-max, superb car. gets excellent press reviews and oftern descibed as the only mpv that you want to own, rather than you own because you have to.

They are all different so you just need to ask yourself some questions…

How many seats do you need? 5, 6 or 7

Do you want removable seats (= more cargo space) or fold down seats (= convinient)

Sliding doors?

I am on my 2nd galaxy here, and for me it ticks all the right boxes. Has enough cargo space when I use it as a van, and fits 7 people and some luggage in comfort. You need some space in your garage for the spare seats though as they aren't small.

Yes – The Ford S-Max is great. Don't know what s/hand values are down to though.

We got ours at less than 12 months old. Handles 2 adults, 2 kids, dog and camping gear. 7 seat arrangement when the grandparents are up. Looks good and is pretty good to drive.

Even with the 1.8 TDCi engine it goes far better than you'd expect, and handles better than any similar / large vehicles that I have driven. Even with 4 bikes on the roof it returns better than 45mpg.

Touran for me

Mx5

I had 3 2.0 diesel Zafiras, ran 2 of them well past 100k miles with no probs at all, 45/50 mpg, goes well, comfy, handles pretty well, same size on the road as an Astra estate. Had 5 adults inside plus 3 bikes on roof, 2 on boot rack, luggage in boot, hardly knew it was there

Don't buy the 1.6 petrol, goes ok if only the driver in it, very sluggish if you fill the washer bottle too 🙂

Touran or prefferably T5 Kombi…. everything will go inside….

Don't buy the 1.6 petrol, goes ok if only the driver in it, very sluggish if you fill the washer bottle too

Yep, a bit like what I said about the 1.6 in this thread yesterday, except I find that the car actually corners and handles bumpy roads better with a passenger in the front to help balance things out!

Touran is a 7 seater btw, 2 forming the rear floor. Mine is a 2lr TDi which is out of your price bracket but can do 50+ if I drive it with a bit of tlc. Recent trip from Carlisle to Edn gave me 48mpg there and back(not hanging about :wink:)
It`s been nicknamed the Center Parcs bus by kids & grandkids 😆

Vote for Galaxy's here. Had about 6 of the older type (all diesel) (I get a new car every 6-9 months on my car scheme – which is great). All very reliable (absolutely no issues on any of them) and I guess their value is now dropping to what you have to spend. Get a diesel though as the petrols only do 20-30mpg. Diesels do 40ish. The new Galaxy is a much nicer car, drives like a car, a fits 5 bikes and adults fairly easily. More economical and faster than the old Galaxy. Never had another MPV though so can't compare to others.

My wife has had two Zafira's, & very good for purpose they have been, not a sports car, or even a nice car, but very good at what they do.
I test drove the Toran & thought it was absolute shite in comparison, apart from the badge prestige obviously.
If I had my choice of a seven seater, it would be a E320CDI, but the wife won't go for rearward facing seats, I even bought her one to try, she really was having none of it 🙁

C4 Grand Picasso is a great car, no idea of 2nd hand prices, biggest boot of all the 'occasional' 7 seat MPVs, handles well, far better than the zafira (although the way the back end of a zafira breaks away can be fun!) when back seats are down the boot space is absolutely enormous.(They fold completely flat, unlike zafira's which push up against the backs of the front seats)

Zafira is a poor car IMO, poor finish, poor handling and all the styling of a milk float. I've currently got a C4 Grand Picasso, had Zafira, 307SW and FRV for over two years each, Zafira easily the worst car of the bunch.

FRV is a good car and again handles well. The boot is pretty small with the back seats up, although you can fold the seats down individually, the three abreast seats are good as one kid can sit in the front with you, a good behavior modifier as only good kids get to sit in the front!
I carry a lot of stuff for work and what I had to pack carefully in the back of the FRV just disappears into the back of the C4 with no effort.

307SW is probaly the cheapest to buy out of the cars I can comment on, and is an OK car, again better than a Zafira, similar boot area, but you have the downside of Peugeot reliability.

Standard Picasso here. Only seats 5, but it's great for the bikes if you rip the seats out!