I'm looking for a car with 7 seats for family running around and the occaisional longer trip, but dont like big MPVs as they seem a bit van like. I've got about £8-12k to spend and it has to be an automatic.
My thoughts to date: Vauxhall Zafira, Peugeot 406 estate, maybe an old Mercedes E-class estate. Any thoughts? Who else has made 7 seat estates?
Thanks - Robin
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How about a Land Rover Discovery TDi Auto, My kids love the inward facing rear seats. £8-£10k will get you a nice one.
Stephen
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Purely personal opinion, but I don't like the idea of having kids sitting in the rear crumple zone, nor do I like sideways facing seats.
Regards
John
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My 7 Seat Merc Estate has served me well. For the kind of money you want to spend you should get a very good example. The additional two seats face the back so are farther away from any potential impact than many cars. Parts for the W124 model are relatvely cheap through Euro Car Parts / German & Swedish etc. I've just taken a test drive in a new VW sharan and found it slower, noiser and rougher than my equivalent two litre ten year old car.
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I'm interested - How old were the kids, what size do you think the rear seats would take? In the back, what are the seat belts & head restraints (if any) like?
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How about the Trooper/Monterey, 7 seats but full safety, or, just about within the price bracket, and a lot better than its reputation, the Terrano?
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When our fourth child made his unscheduled appearance, for a short period we had an '87 Volvo 760 GLE estate with occasional seats which lifted out of the boot floor. The novelty of facing backwards soon wore off and I was asked to install some reflective film on the back windows. The seats were reported as uncomfortable and I was unhappy with the accident protection in case we were rear-ended.
At the time ('97), we looked at 'proper' MPVs and I rejected the Sharambralxy family because I was doubtful if the smaller children could manage the rear doors. We couldn't afford a Merc V class, and ended up with a Citroen Synergie. Although it is a long, long way down my list of driver's cars, the children all like it. And the 4 year old can open the sliding doors.
Forgive the ramble, I was trying to advise against rear-facing child seats in general, and to say we were glad to see the back of the Volvo.
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Interesting input so far.
I'm not very keen on 4x4s - just think they are OTT for town/motorway.
Interesting debate on rear facing seats - seems one all depending on whether you are more worried about impact from front or rear. Kids wil usually be in normal seats though, just in rear for occaiaional trips.
I'm driving a Zafira tomorrow, so will tell you what I think.
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A Peugeot 506 7 seater, all facing forward, is the best if you can still find one in good condition. Also Renault Savannah, but the two rear (forward facing) seats are definitely for kids only. Citroen Synergie is very van-like and, in my experience, very unreliable.
I've had all the above at some time. The Peugot is the best, but now dated.
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My kids are young but the boot seats could accommodate older children or adults on a short trip. The footwells are quite deep and are about 350mm from the rear end. (The boot is massive). There are two three point seatbelts and head restraint is provided by the head restraints on the rear seats.
Another possibility is a Toyota Picnic which drives quite well but has very limited space when fully loaded. If you only need to carry six then the Fiat Multipla seems the best bet. - I'm told than getting in and out of the very rear seats in the Zafira is a problem (as was the VW Sharan) as only one second row seat fold down fully- Take the tribe to a showroom and try it out for loading/unloading etc.
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The n-cap crash test results for Mini MPVs are now out. Unfortunately the Multipla was not tested but it looks like the Zafira did not fare as GM anticipated and the results for the Zafira have been delayed.Robin Tucker wrote:
>
> Interesting input so far.
> I'm not very keen on 4x4s - just think they are OTT for
> town/motorway.
> Interesting debate on rear facing seats - seems one all
> depending on whether you are more worried about impact from
> front or rear. Kids wil usually be in normal seats though,
> just in rear for occaiaional trips.
>
> I'm driving a Zafira tomorrow, so will tell you what I think.
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Well we drove the Zafira and it seemed to go ok (not fast). felt well attached to the road although higher than normal car. Certainly more happy driving this than a Galaxy.
Kids jumped straight into the back row. You really could get 7 adults in if needed. Normally we'll have the back row folded down. Then the liddle row slides back and forward so you can get huge legroom at a moderate cost in bootspace.
Thought about the Merc, but wasn't sure how long it would be before the kids grew out of the back row, and if you had luggage in the boot with them it could be dangerous. (With 7 seats the Zafira's boot reduces to tiny, but you could still get a Maclaren in there - our most important piece of luggage.
Also, my wife said she wouldn't want to be seen driving a Merc. (Funny, I thought it was meant to work the other way round).
So - chose the Zafira. Decided we should get the Elegance as Comfort does not have ABS until 2001 model year. Thought about an import at £13999, but it's an Opel & I worried about this affecting trade in later. Tracked down a Jan 200 V reg for £13995 at a main dealer (unfortunately white, but cant have it all). Got offer of £13080 accepted after haggling.
Thanks for the advice!
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