Which 7 seater (or similar) am I after? Cars for a not very car person…

STW I need some help…

So my 60 Vauxhall insignia died a death yesterday I’m loath to spend any more repairing it so I need to find another car sharpish

i think I want a 7 seater as I quite like the idea of being able to fold the seats down flat and have a (nearly) van (how easily can I throw a bike in the back of it or load it up for a family camping trip?!?)

have seen things like s-max, zafira and Mazda 5 that look like they could tick the car but nearly van box

Coming from someone that doesn’t really “do” cars I don’t really know about these things

determined to by a car because it’s a good purchase rather than, “ooh I like the look of that, I’ll buy it” this time, looking for something but no idea where to even start

something cheap to run / tax

half decent fuel economy

something cheap / easy to repair / reliable

circa 4k

Kind folks of STW suggestions please…
many thanks

i think I want a 7 seater

Does it have to be a 7-seater or just a longer cargo area?

SMax is your answer. I had one, replaced it with an SUV and instantly regretted it so got another one within 6 months. Drives really well, not at all van like, loads of space, decent enough gadgets on the higher spec models, easily takes bikes, mine were really reliable. Clarkson once described them as the only people carrier that you would want to own, rather than need to own.

There are a stack of 70k – £100k miles high spec versions for sale on Autotrader between £3.5k – £4.5k.

SMax Autotrader

Does it have to be a 7-seater or just a longer cargo area?

not particularly, I think I just want van like space without buying an actual van, as someone who doesn’t really know about cars, 7 seater seemed to give that sort of cargo area but always open to suggestions to look at

@franksinatra thank you, I’ve got a search starting point at least now

cheap to run and tax – vauxhall zafira tourer is a smidge smaller than a smax, but £20/year tax and 60mpg. If you want a bit more space I’d go Galaxy before SMAX

I’ve got a Mazda 5 (09 model)

fitted a fork mount front and rear, so i can fit 2 passengers + 1 bike, 1 passenger + 2 bikes… and all kit secured

Really happy with the Mazda, (2.0 diesel) been pretty reliable, just does suspension parts quite readily…

If you want a bit more space I’d go Galaxy before SMAX

The Galaxy has extra headroom space for passenger using seats 6&7, but its not really usable space otherwise. So worth it if you plan to use all the seats often, not really worth it if it is just a bike carrier.

On my second Smax. Wouldn’t hesitate to recommend.

2015 Titanium spec 2l diesel. Does 40 mpg average commuting (which isn’t great), however as a load lugger and nice place to sit I can’t fault it. I can do a 350 mile drive and get out feeling fresh, which I certainly couldn’t do in my previous cars.

The folding seats in the boot are ¾ size, so anyone taller than 5ft isn’t going to thank you for stuffing them in there for a prolonged period of time. If you are just using the middle seats the leg room and general space for passengers is vast.

All seats down and it can take a bike whole. Or a wardrobe, single bed, sideboard, full set of patio furniture, church pew, 8 garden chairs, 600kg of bricks etc…

Think of it as a tall estate rather than an MPV.

More at the van end but what about Caddy, Torneo, Berlingo type options. People carriers that are van based.

I’ve got a caddy and like it. Not really a car person it’s just a tool to move me and things around.

I’m not sure how cheap they are but the answer is, not cheap enough. Do not buy a Peugeot 5008. They are a 7 seater and have loads of room. Apart from that, they are dog shit. I rented one recently to drive back from Nice and it was horrible. I’d forgotten how nasty it is to have to drop into 3rd on a Peage incline, just to get up it. Junk.

VW Touran, dull but reliable, economical and you can take the seats out completely and move house in it.

Skoda Superb estate. £20 VED available around your budget, but some models jump to £190+ VED so watch out.

Likely to be fewer cars out there than Fords, but they’re liked as taxis for good reason

Mondeo estates are also reasonably long

Had a look at mate’s SMax that he was selling. It’s taller, but shorter than our Mondeo estate.  Didn’t really see it adding anything, as the Mondeo already does all of this:

All seats down and it can take a bike whole. Or a wardrobe, single bed, sideboard, full set of patio furniture, church pew, 8 garden chairs, 600kg of bricks etc

I can see the advantage of slightly higher roof, though. We always used to stack bikes upright, from wheel off with the 40 or 60 split side rar seats down.  not an issue with 26ers, doesn’t work with 29ers.

I have owned a Mazda 5 and a Ford Grand CMax, both were easy enough to get seats flat and chuck bike(s) in the back. The other bonus with those two was the sliding side doors which was great for better side access when parked.

The £20 VED goes up to £90(?)  next year I think?

All seats down and it can take a bike whole. Or a wardrobe, single bed, sideboard, full set of patio furniture, church pew, 8 garden chairs, 600kg of bricks etc…

How big is your bike!?

6 foot 6.

Zafira here, bought it new for 10K, its on its 9th year now 90k and still going strong, few sets of tyres, front discs, air filter and spark plugs are all Ive had to change

Comfy- well its OK and yeah the back row seats are small but , its a sea of plastic inside (base spec) , but itll take 3 bikes & passengers with front wheels off (upright 2 x 29er 1 x 26er) its been a brilliant workhorse and with a big roofbox on top wife + 4 kids + bikes/ bodyboards + tent have been all over UK and several trips to france

Would I like a full van, yes, but Zafira has worked out much cheaper, it fits in a regular parking space at the supermarket and under the bars at the local park car parks.

If we get a van, we’d probably then need a second smaller car, which weve avoided so far!

VW Touran or Sharan or Seat Alhambra (rebadged Sharan).

These all drive like a car not an SUV/Boat. The load space of the Sharan/Alhambra is huge

VW do come with a badge tax and will likely be more expensive than the Ford though….

Diesels might not be the best choice, depends on how you’re going to use it? Short trips? Daily motorway miles?

The Galaxy has extra headroom space for passenger using seats 6&7, but its not really usable space otherwise. So worth it if you plan to use all the seats often, not really worth it if it is just a bike carrier.

It’s 15cm longer as a car, a lot of which is in the boot. The 10cm taller rear end is also useful if you want to get larger bikes in upright. Depends on the OP needs

something cheap to run / tax

half decent fuel economy

something cheap / easy to repair / reliable

circa 4k

To meet that is actually going to be a challenge I reckon. for your budget it’s going to be about as old as your 60 plate insignia and probably diesel, another “high mileage hero” which potentially cuts against the reliability/cheap to repair requirement.

We’re just getting shot of our 16 year old C4 Picasso which has been pretty reliable (up to a point), it’s not left us stranded yet but all the big bills are looming, the DPF is going to clog soon, Turbo should have failed 50K ago but has hung on, it got some tell-tale rust low down and has lifting lacquer all over the place, plus various minor electrical gremlins, it’ll probably need brakes/suspension links/maybe a new CV joint at next MOT, I just can’t be arsed now…

Having had one (for a bit too long) I’m not sure I’d fancy another car based MPV unless you regularly have to move more than 5 people, the roof is higher but then all the seating means it’s not really “van-like” with the seats down, (perhaps with them out?) an actual van based MPV is a different beast but probably outside of your budget. you seem to end up paying more to own more vehicle (and proportionately worse MPG), but if you don’t need to move more people why pay for more seating?

I’m joining the unimaginative masses and getting a shiny Octavia Estate next week, lower roof, but still has a relatively big boot, I should be able to get my MTB in with seats down (or it goes on the roof maybe) and the other sorts of items I will typically need to lug with enough space in the back seats for full sized people.

In your shoes I’d be mulling a 12-65 plate Estate of some sort, I’ve started to notice that Octavia Estates are bloody everywhere since deciding to get one.

Since the rise of the MPV in the late 90’s and the subsequent rise of the SUV in popularity through the 2010-2020s it feels like the venerable Estate car gets overlooked now when people need a “Family car” but if all you want is something as driveable as a hatchback but with a bit more boot volume they’re still a sensible option, being unfashionable seems to help moderate their price on the used market a tad…

Anyway, typical STW Response, your question is wrong, you need an Estate… or a panel van 😉