Needs to be no more than 3 years old now

zafira or if cash permits smax for normal sized but still 7 seat options

Tried a zafira and thought it was pretty awful with that “bus like” feel to the driving position

toyota Previa or V70

V70 has 7 seats?

sMax -really good drive.
2.2 diesel is great.

Smax if you have the budget
Zafira if you don’t
Had an 03 zafira- very average to drive
now got 2.0 TDCI Smax- better to drive
also tried a 1.9 Sharan. didn’t like it too much like a tractor

Zafiras are good but only the high spec ones. The ones the hire companies use are awful and put a lot if people off. Design, SRi or Elite are all very comfortable places to be for long journeys and the 150bhp diesel engine is quick and eccomomical if a little noisey. S-Max is a far superior car but it’s a lot more money.

Depends why you want seven seats. If it is to actually carry more than five people regularly, then get a real 7 seater – espace or similar. If not then go for one of the smaller mini mpv or estate cars with an extra row of seats types, which are OK for occasional use.

Have a quick search on autotrader using 7 seats as a search tool for an idea of what models are available in seven seater versions.

V70 is fine for 2 small kids in the back but not much use for over 8yrs.

I have a Renault Grand Espace which is comfortable flexible large, but I have heard of people having a lot of trouble with them.Mines been pretty good though.

S-Max is okay but don’t get the one with the smallest deisel. I had one as a hire car and was hardly able to get up any hills with 5 adults and 2 kids in

XC90 is good and depreciates fast, but still expensive at 3 years old. Peugeot 807 is hideous but cheap and does the job, but it really is a bus.

XC90 is good and depreciates fast, but still expensive at 3 years old.

I still have an XC90 from ‘new’ which I bought in 2002. Although it’s been through a fair few components which I don’t really think it should have done (steering rack, rear shocks, flywheel) I still love it.
Very very comfortable, built like a tank, brilliant sound system and lots of toys. Averages 30mpg around our country lanes and is great for carting our 3 girls plus their mates around the place.
No plans to replace it as frankly there’s nothing out there that can do the same job better – Q7 looks nice but is massive and eats tyres/fuel.

Do you know how the XC90 copes with high mileages? I’ve seen a few 3 year old cars with approaching 100k on the clock. I’d also be keen to buy from an independent Volvo specialist if I could find one in the north-west.

Defender 110. Ours arrives tomorrow. Am I excited? Yes.

If it needs to be a car type thing, an S-Max.

Odd answer of the day if you need more than 5 seats but 6 will do Honda Streams have good handling with three rows of two seats. Petrol engine is very reliable but a bit thirsty 34mpg.

Do you know how the XC90 copes with high mileages?

I would say that Volvo’s in general do high mileages pretty well because they are [or used to be] made so well. Things to look for:

Rear brakes are under-used and the disks tend to corrode and fail MOT’s – I will put cheap ones on next time
Suspension bushes get a bit of grief
If you have a sunroof the drains down either side of the windscreen can block with muck and lead to leaks in the front footwell – easily prevented.
If the stereo goes wrong it could be expensive to fix due to fibre optics – but the premium sound system is amazing!

Touran with DSG, I’ll keep mine til it falls apart.

The XC90 is fine with high mileages. Ours marches on remorselessly towards 120k with no problems. I know of several with 200k, and there’s nothing that really goes wrong. Shocks will wear out, as will bearings (though we’ve needed neither), and generally costs are a bit higher than many cars (tyres, insurance), but the big stuff – exhaust/turbo/gearbox – seems rock-solid.

And the best seats I’ve ever had in a car.

Blimey just looked at drivethedeal and it may not be worth buying secondhand!