With a growing family and prams to squeeze in alongside the bikes what are the options for a reliable MPV around the £5/6000 mark. Gotta seat 2 adults 2 kids pushchairs bikes climbing equip and snowboards (although obviously not all at once!) and be suitable for trips as far as the alps.

Has to be very reliable (so out goes the scenics & C max’s) – currently got my eye on the VW touran but open to other suggestions

ive had focus estate,scenic x 2 and now on a zafira and its great. normal size estate in normal mode as the seat fold away into the floor. usable boot space still if using 6 or 7 seats and best thing i like is if i want my bike stuff in its only two button presses and the rear seat flip/fold up and slid up behind the drivers seat so its like a big van 😉 it takes literally 10 seconds . by far the most versatile car ive used and defo the easiest to swap seats around. good on fuel and cheap to repair if needed

when i say the seats fold into the floor i meant the 6 and 7th seat in the rear

Berlingo Multispace if you can stand the loss of your self esteem!

I had a Peugeot 307SW for 3 or 4 years that pretty much covered those needs

Zafira, new models have all fold flat seats. Right clever.

Conks

Another vote for the Zafira, though the ones with the media player higher roofs do look a little like taxis!!!

zafira guys did you have the diesel versions??

Touran here – great car, boring, but safe, efficient, roomy, seems well made (but as well made as my X-reg Passat). Only complaint is the seats are not quite as flexible/quick to move as say the Mazda 5 or Verso. Like a big van with seats

bigdawg – cheaper and nowhere near as popular but have you considered a Nissan Almera Tino? 04 1.8’s can be had for 3k.

I had a Ford Smax hirecar, Titanium CDTi, it had all the frills, adaptive cruise control (to match and adjust to the speed of the car in front), all round parking sonar thingy, LCD dash, all leather interior, it was the new one, with those LOVERLY nostil sidelights, Big low profile alloys, massivly powerful engine, and came in Black with a Black trim and a side order of Black.
I felt like darthvader, it gave me the horn.

Out your price rang i would imagine, but i thought i would share it anyway

Nissan Almera Tino?

but aren’t the same mechanicals as the much hated Renault Scenic?
agree probably even cheaper its a no image car – but having owned a scenic there are medium size mpvs with more space

zafira are good, but a smaller mpv. if you really want space look to the bigger varieties.

i had a sharan, that at the time was built in the same factory as the galaxy and alhambra. very nice car to drive but had loads of problems, the biggest being air con that i threw over 1k at but still did’nt work for more than a few months.

then bought a 4 yr old kia sedona. you get a lot of car for your cash, the slide doors are a godsend, but the build quality is appalling and its a pig to drive. also had loads of probs, some major (air con), but as it was from a kia dealer had warranty. i don’t like kia at all.

not sure what i’ll buy next, they all seem to cause problems. that aside, i look for completely removable rear seats, captain seats, fold down tables for the kids, arm rests and most imp of all cup holders.

Another vote for the VW Touran. I’m on second now. The 2.0TDI is a great engine – very powerful and pulls well even when fully loaded.
Had no problems with either of them. Both have Sport 2.0 TDI 140 models.
Easy to split the rear seats on it which I don’t think you can on the Zafira.

my zafira is 2l dti one

Same as Uplink, 307SW with two small seats in the back for kids, not the sexiest thing in the world but my 1.6HDI pulls well and i get up to 60mpg on a run, ive been to Austria skiing and no probs at all.

new zafira diesel here – 150bhp model (so 16v) pulls really well, almost as quick as my A4 TDI 130 and gets pretty good mpg too. avoid the base spec and look at SRi, Design or Elite as they come with all the toys

the s max is just what I want but way out price wise.

Thanks for the advice now testdriving the Zafira and the Touran this weekend…

I didn’t go for a Zafira because I found both the old model (I had one as a company car) and the new one (had a hire one) really, really uncomfortable after about 30mins – the seats were awful…The Touran on the other hand I did Loch Tay to Sheffield without a stop last week (5hours) and was comfy the whole time…

Toyota Verso D4D T-Spirit here. 6/7 seats are good if you ever need them. Rear seat is superb, will fit 3 full size child seats in. Averages 40 – 50mpg. 50mpg+ on a run. Boot is large. Nice car.

Reliable ? If its anything like the Corolla it replaced then 100% yes. That did 45k (20k – 65k) in our ownership & never skipped a beat.

I tried a VW Touran but it was a petrol model & didn’t like it at all. The TDi ones are reckoned to be brilliant.

I’d have preferred a nice big Volvo V70 D5, but the Mrs over-ruled. Only fair really since she drives the thing 90% of the time.

Agree with Matt on the seats in the Touran – I have often spent 5 – 6 hours at a time and always felt comfortable and supported. Pretty important after I had an operation on a prolapsed disc last year.

another reason to get a well specced car – zafira Design has very comfortable seats with plenty adjustment. big benefit of an MPV over a large estate is that htey are designed for women and men to drive comfortably whereas many estates are designed for men (mrs petrieboy finds my Audi very uncomfortable and difficult to drive)

We used to run VW’s (touran’s and Sharan’s) at work, out of 42 only 2 managed to get to hundred thou miles with there original gearbox, some made it to there third!

We now run Fords (new shape Galaxy’s and Smax’s)
We have had NO major problems with any, mine has done 85’000 in 18 months and the only problem the seat back table support broke (probably my 4 year olds fault) but was replaced under warranty!

My new Galaxy has been ordered for 100,000 is approaching fast!!

WTF? almost any car will fit 2 adults & 2 kids and a pushchair. bikes go in the back the rest of your stuff in the boot

GW, you may say that but my old bora and lupo were a right pain, i just got a cheap zafira and its (up to now just the job), its also much cheaper to own than the bora…. and miles bigger than the lupo!

I’ve had a zafira for the past 18 months and fancied something newer. Just bought a 2004 model touran and so far its superb. All rear seats can be moved about or even removed. Well impressed.

Smax. But then I need windsurf van, bike lugger, white van, and 7 seat use. Best vehicle I’ve ever owned.

get a subaru outback.