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Seven seater for family of five?

I need to replace our reasonably good C-Max with a seven seater for our family of two adults, plus three children (5, 3 and 1 year old right now) and occasional ferrying of their friends to school, clubs etc. I was preferring the Grand C-Max, but stumbled onto the Qashqai +2 and then to the new Santa Fe. I know you like your Mazda 5, but I quite like the idea of 4WD (useful in rural Sussex if we have more severe winters).

Are any of the diesels suitable for our inevitable short runs from cold or are we better off sticking with petrol? I'd prefer an auto 'box, would you recommend any of the CVTs?

What is your overall car and engine recommendation? I'm warming to the Qashqai because of the 4WD (but maybe decent winter tyres could be sufficient) and am not necessarily put off by the small third row seats as the kids are still small. Would you wait for the new Santa Fe or would you still plump for the Mazda 5 or C-Max over the 4WDs?

Thanks as ever for your advice and always entertaining and informative column,
David.

Asked on 18 August 2012 by DjP

Answered by Honest John
I'd still plump for the Mazda 5 1.6d TS2 on 205/65 R16 Toyo J48s (but I no longer have this car). You might also consider a Renault Grand Scenic with the 1.6dCi 130 or a Qashqai with the same engine. But the Mazda 5 as described rides much better over poorly surfaced country roads.

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