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

To be honest, the ULEZ thing isn’t a deal breaker, more of a nice have, budget MAY be able to be stretched to 4500 at a push for the right car

seems there’s a lot of love for the SMAX and incidentally was the first car I tried searching for this morning. Last couple (or so) cars have been Vauxhalls, I like them but wouldn’t mind a bit of a change

If buying a petrol one is there a preferred / most economical engine size or type to look out for? I also had an 07 zafira for a while and quite liked the fact the rear bench of seats could all be slid backwards / forwards, does the SMAX have the same feature?

I have a roomster, the 1.6 petrol auto, it was bought to replace my dead Vauxhall  combo van when van prices were sky high. I really like it and with the rear seats out it has got a lot of storage space but I think it’s smaller than my MiL’s berlingo. We can get three bikes in the back with the front wheels off though. I’ll probably get rid of our decent car now and just keep the roomster. Check the electric windows work – it’s a Skoda weakness.

Middle row of SMax seats can be moved forwards/backwards. They are three separate seats so you can move them independently. When the kids were small I’d fold the centre seat down to give them a table / defensive barrier.

If we have somebody sat in the rear seats I’ll move a couple of the middle seats forwards to give them somewhere to put their feet. Similarly if the rear seats are down and the boot is rammed with stuff I’ll move all of the middle seats forwards to gain an extra few inches of load space.

Rear row are fixed and drop into the floor to give a flat load bed.

Toyota Verso for dull & reliable points? If it’s big enough.

I’d probably favour an S-Max myself though.

Regarding the S-Max, might I suggest the Grand S-Max – a bit longer, but has the advantage of having sliding rear doors, so the roofline is flatter, when the rear hatch is open and the rear doors as well, you have a greater degree of weather protection when loading plus it’s easier to get stuff in through the side, and if the front doors are open practically the whole of the side is accessible.
You also get a heated screen, and they’re nice cars to drive.

Doblo has a fair bit of room – nice high position. Far from trendy. One of my pals drives me in his occasionally. He loves it. Bikes go in upright with forks tucked down behind front seats. Mines a long bike. Kenevo SL S5.
Shame the Ford autos aren’t good. I rather like the SMax.
Toyota RAV would be reliable. It’s a consideration.

@countzero

is that not a Grand C-Max?

We have a vauxhall combo life XL

7 seats

2/3/2

Back Row come out individually

Middle row fold flat individually

With the back row out and the middle seat down I can wheel in 2 29ers.

So versatile and a nice place to be!

is that not a Grand C-Max?

it is, which is smaller than an s-max

I also had an 07 zafira for a while and quite liked the fact the rear bench of seats could all be slid backwards / forwards, does the SMAX have the same feature?

the zafira tourer has an option (might be on all cars) of “lounge seating” – where on top of sliding forwards and backwards, the middle seat folds into an armrest and the 2 edge seats slide even further back, and inwards, to get even more space – pretty similar to (swb) S-class space in that config. Completely worthless, as you only ever really put kids in the back, but there ya go.

the pre-facelift zafira tourer has a rubbish satnav (and some don’t have bluetooth for music iirc, so worth checking that’s there), we just use our phones, whereas the more recent ones (different headlights, 2016 onwards from memory) which should be creeping into budget have android auto which is much better.

Funny, I did a search specifically for the Grand S-Max, ‘cos I know the Grand C-Max is smaller, I’ve driven both of them, hence my suggestion. I’ll do another search, see what it throws up.

Right, despite the image search heading saying Grand S-Max, practically all of the images are Grand C-Max, and I was looking at the pictures, and not paying attention to the caption. Sorry ‘bout that.

I have a 2017 galaxy, I like it. Can put 3 bikes and 3 people inside without fuss, but you do need to remove the front wheels.

Nice to drive, nothing serious has gone wrong (battery died after covid from lack of use).

Sync 3 audio thing is a bit old now but android auto solves that.

It’s our third galaxy. Have looked at vans but they never seem as nice to be in.

@didnthurt

£4k is 16 months worth of £250pm leasing. Then what?

Unimog Doka. Perfect 7 seater school run car.

Not sure what your point is?

Leasing for me is so less stressful. A car to me is an essential appliance. I like having the same outlay each month, with no worries about the car breaking down and having to have an expensive repair. Same with MOTs, servicing, brakes and tyres. When they’re worn then they get replaced as part of the deal. You just contact the lease company and they arrange everything. And at the end of the lease, you don’t have any hassle with selling the car and worrying about finance or having to deal with people when selling.

Here’s an example of how leasing saved me hundreds of pounds this year. I had a double puncture miles from a garage, I just rang up my leasing company and they arranged for the car to be transported (along with my son and I) 20 odd miles to the garage and replaced the two tyres with no additional charge for me. I was told by the garage that I was lucky that my car had the full maintenance lease package. I’ve also had an mot, a service, a full set of tyres, full set of brake pads and discs. The car was collected and dropped off each time.

I find it better, but maybe other people like the idea that they own something especially when they’re outlaying a lot of money (after all cars are expensive).

Better pros and cons here:

https://www.theaa.com/car-leasing/leasing-guides/pros-and-cons-of-leasing-a-car

Also remember that the average maintenance cost of a car is approx £500 per annum, so this would need to be factored in when buying.

https://www.nimblefins.co.uk/cheap-car-insurance/average-cost-run-car-uk

In classic recommend what you have,

We had a 60 plate zafira b. Classic box on wheels. Perfect space. But we replaced dual mass flywheel, had the gearbox rebuilt twice endless egr issues and it finally snapped the belt in the M1 and destroyed itself. A little put off vauxhall, we get an 18 plate Touran. For us, the bikes and the dog it’s ideal and not too cumbersome to be the wife’s daily driver.

Not sure what your point is?

You said it yourself, many of us want to own our vehicle – and are happy to be responsible for it. Your suggested figure of £500pa rings true, perhaps slightly higher for someone like me currently running a 17-year-old car.

£3k a year to rent a car just doesn’t make sense to me, but I get that it will to some.

I was use to having a company car so when I needed to have my own car for work, I wanted something reliable (job can require visiting different sites) so meant quite new, but didn’t have a spare £12k+ to buy something. Nor did I want to get into a finance agreement where I was having to borrow a large sum of money for a depreciating asset (whose value at the end of the finance period is not certain). My current leased car retails for over £30k, there is no way I would want to get into debt for that much.

Lastly, when I leased my car, I did it based on a higher mileage than what I ending up needing so wouldn’t have any nasty over mileage costs at the end of the lease period. But as I’m in my last year of my lease, I contacted the lease company to reduce my mileage and they ended up cutting my monthly hire by about 40%.

“A loan is generally considered bad debt if you’re borrowing to purchase a depreciating asset. In other words, if it won’t go up in value or generate income, then you shouldn’t go into debt to buy it. This includes clothes, cars, and most other consumer goods”

This always comes to mind when I’m car or bike shopping. But if you’ve got the cash then maybe buying will work out cheaper for you in the long run.

A loan is generally considered bad debt if you’re borrowing to purchase a depreciating asset. In other words, if it won’t go up in value or generate income, then you shouldn’t go into debt to buy it. This includes clothes, cars, and most other consumer goods

What a load of nonsense. A loan is a useful tool to buy something you don’t have the money for at the moment, but will later on. There’s costs involved, but just because a car depreciates does not make it a “bad debt”, any more so than a whopping mortgage on an appreciating house is a “good debt”

All I can offer is thst I’d not touch a Zafira with someone else’s barge pole, let alone my own.

From experience, whilst the interior layout and comfort was good… it was a real POS from an engineering, maintenance  and reliability viewpoint.   EVERYTHING seemed compromised (like heating, cooling, air con, ventilation etc) just to fit it in the too-small available space under and in front of the dash.  Too cold, too hot, too steamed up etc. Anything and everything inaccessible to maintain… even a light bulb was a PITA to change.

Oh and the engine emissions claptrap a total liability. I lost count how many times I get a sudden 70% loss of power and a limb home mode – but to the level I carried an OBD reader with me st all times to reset if in the middle of nowhere.  EGR replacement as often as an oil change.

Don’t say we didn’t warn you !

Zafari Oil filter change – Jack up the car, remove the undertray, this may require you to remove the front wheels, connect a bit of pipe to the back of the engine to drain some of the oil but remove the oil plug to remove the rest, cover the exhaust pipes before removing the actual filter to catch drops, do not warm the engine beforte hand (like EVERY other car recommends) or you will burn your arm on the hot exhaust and any oil that does drip might cause a fire.

Reassembly is the reverse of assembly.

Yeah, not designed for easy maintenance

why don’t you just suck the oil out of the dipstick tube like pretty much all garages do? no need to faff about under the car.

“petrol would be much better (I think) due to occasionally using ULEZ roads because diesel, DPF and all that other oddness just rattles my my brain a bit plus my mileage (I don’t think) really warrants it unless I’m missing something?!?”

It’s hard work for the smaller petrol-engined MPVs to move a car that heavy when fully loaded. Our Zafira Tourer is my first diesel car and the engine suits it – and being 170bhp with lots of torque it never feels like it struggling, it’s quite quick really.

I hate the idea of leasing a car – I’m much happier buying something secondhand and running it into the ground, with no worries about that time my toddler decided to draw a chalk picture on the black paintwork…

why don’t you just suck the oil out of the dipstick tube like pretty much all garages do? no need to faff about under the car.[/]

That would solve the 2 step process for emptying the oil – providing I bought an oil sucker that fitted etc.

It doesn’t stop you needing to remove the car undertray to change the filter, or the oil dripping onto the exhaust and risk of welding your forearm to the exhaust pipe.

Agree with the comment above and bout the diesel engine suiting the heavy lump of car. That does work.

We had a ’08 Peugeot 5008. It drove really nicely, as opposed to whatever engine boblo had. Don’t write them off.

We only got rid as we couldn’t cope with the lack of space (compared to a LWB T5) so I sold it and got a LWB T6. Sorry that’s not exactly your remit but the 5008 was a bargain compared the the comparable S-Max’s we saw (all knackered) and Sharans (all high mileage ex-taxis or just £££).

If you want big and spacious / very very roomy: Galaxy or Sharan/Albhamammamammamambbbamamra

If you want more ‘car size’ – SMax

7 seater, goes to 5 seats or two seats at the touch of a button 😉

Not quite as practical as some of the suggestions though…

CountZero

Funny, I did a search specifically for the Grand S-Max, ‘cos I know the Grand C-Max is smaller, I’ve driven both of them, hence my suggestion. I’ll do another search, see what it throws up.

Right, despite the image search heading saying Grand S-Max, practically all of the images are Grand C-Max, and I was looking at the pictures, and not paying attention to the caption. Sorry ‘bout that.

I’m pretty sure there never was a Grand S-Max? The Seat Alhambra (Ford Galaxy/VW Sharan derivative) did have sliding rear doors IIRC but that’s a whole platform bigger.

@didnthurt

My point was that the OP has £4k to spend on a car. That gets 16 months of lease at £250pm. What would the OP do after that? Their budget has been used up and I expect they want a car for more than 16 months.

I get the appeal of leasing. Will consider it for us in the future, especially an EV. Can you spec a towbar?

You can ask the lease company whatever you like, but often the best deals are on cars that are already available. But that’s the same when buying new. Now using the car to tow a trailer migh incur an additional cost due to additional wear and tear. Just speak with them.

Think I’ve narrowed it down to a petrol grand c-max

quick question for anyone with experience of these

1.0 engine or 1.6 engine? Is there much of a difference in performance / fuel economy / reliability?

Ford 1.0 ecoboom?

On your budget you want to the most old school / biggest capacity / unstressed engine for maximum longevity. Not a highly stressed 1litre turbo charged time bomb.

7 seater, goes to 5 seats or two seats at the touch of a button ?

Hopefully they borrowed the mechanism from the Ford Galaxy, rather than coming up with their own then 😉

I had a Grand C Max back in 2011 for a few years, but it was a 2.0 diesel, so sorry no experience with the petrol engines. That engine made sense as I was doing alot of motorway miles back then, still miss those sliding doors and heated windscreen.

1.0 engine or 1.6 engine? Is there much of a difference in performance / fuel economy / reliability?

We have the 1.0 in our c-max, it’s okish performance wise but the mpg is woeful around town, I guess because it’s a small engine moving a fairly heavy car. Plus the cambelt is a very expensive job.

I do love this forum- I want a cheap 7 seater MPV- lease a brand new 5 seater EV-get a 5 seater est car.