Mercedes family car? (7 seater)

[markjay]

Perhaps one of these would make more sense...

My father had one of these W123 'limousines' at some point of time... around 1975 I think. Indestructible machines. IIRC the W124 replacing it had 6 doors, some of these can still be seen around London. But yes, 7 seats and a proper boot...

 

[BTB 500]

That, or wait for the new Viano...

That's not due till 2014 though.

 

[pipmk]

Excuse the personal question but how many children do you own?

Wrong way round, how many children own you?

 

[Bircham]

I suppose in the uk market the only vehicle that has the space and comfort for 7 plus luggage internally is the Chrysler grand voyager.

 

[BTB 500]

I suppose in the uk market the only vehicle that has the space and comfort for 7 plus luggage internally is the Chrysler grand voyager.

You mean apart from ones like the Viano and VW Caravelle?

And don't forget this monstrosity (actually, do forget it )

SsangYong Rodius | 7 Seater MPV, Cheap MPV

 

[Bircham]

You mean apart from ones like the Viano and VW Caravelle?

And don't forget this monstrosity (actually, do forget it )

SsangYong Rodius | 7 Seater MPV, Cheap MPV

I was thinking about ones that weren't van based. As for the rodius I agree that it was desined by someone who had only ever been told what a car should look like and then let their 5 year old design it... (IMHO of course)
Jon

 

[Pringles]

What about a Hyundai i800. You get 8 seats, a full size boot, and a reliable 2.5 168bhp diesel. I am considering one as a replacement for my W124 as I need more room.

 

[BTB 500]

Don't know about the i800 but a friend of mine bought a new Hyundai Trajet and hates it.

 

[coalville126]

Amazingly the Ssangyong Rodius was designed in the UK. According to Wikipedia "The car was designed by Ken Greenley, former head of the automotive design course at the Royal College of Art in London."

Looks okay in darker colours IMO, but the rear looks odd, like someone's tacked on a dormer extension. Very, very roomy though. They come in a 4-row 11 seat configuration for the home market.

 

[BTB 500]

They also do a 4WD version of the Rodius.

 

[mb320cdi]

If we were to buy anything outside of Mercedes it would be a new VW Sharan, and if we were to buy a 4x4 family vechile we had thought on a Volvo XC90.

 

[BTB 500]

The only M-B that would meet your needs is a Viano. Yes it's 'van based' but they are pretty good, and size-wise they are fine with Parktronic. Our Vito is the middle size ('Long') and it goes into multi-stories etc. without any problems. My wife loves driving it. We got a Vito Dualiner rather than a Viano because we wanted 3x3 seating with the back empty for dog caging. No way to seat 6 in a Viano without using 3 rows of seating.

I quite like the Sharan ... as mentioned we had the previous version in V6 4Motion guise. The new one (with sliding doors) looks pretty good although the biggest engine is a 2 litre 4-cyl I think

 

[mb320cdi]

I showed my wife a picture of a Viano and she say def couldn't manage with the size of it, she has come along way from smaller cars to a Peugoet 5008, she has driven my E320cdi estate and can manage it OK but no bigger she says! Thanks everyone for their input!

 

[A210AMG]

I've not looked at the lengths but my ML seemed much smaller length wise than my current E class estate.

The 7 seater estate though I see little point in a away as NO room for luggage if your using the seats. OK same can be said of many 7 seaters but at least the boot is seperate...

I like the S Max / not as keen on the Galaxy but its a bit bigger again.

I would probably go for a R class LWB but depends on your budget?

 

[mb320cdi]

I've not looked at the lengths but my ML seemed much smaller length wise than my current E class estate.

The 7 seater estate though I see little point in a away as NO room for luggage if your using the seats. OK same can be said of many 7 seaters but at least the boot is seperate...

I like the S Max / not as keen on the Galaxy but its a bit bigger again.

I would probably go for a R class LWB but depends on your budget?

My issue with the R class is the middle row of seats is not suitable for 3 booster/baby seats, its really only a 6 seater with 7 seat belts, apart from that its a lovely vechile, I've drove a friends R320cdi.

 

[A210AMG]

OK from my towing view point and what I saw a LOT of receently in the Alps

The volvo XC90. I like these and its a proper 7 seater with a boot...

The disco 4 I also like but the new one is so much better than the previous disco 3 it makes the disco 3 look very basic and lots of plastic.

 

[BTB 500]

I showed my wife a picture of a Viano and she say def couldn't manage with the size of it

My issue with the R class is the middle row of seats is not suitable for 3 booster/baby seats, its really only a 6 seater with 7 seat belts, apart from that its a lovely vechile, I've drove a friends R320cdi.

Erm ... you know the R Class is longer and wider than a 'long' (mid size) Viano?!

 

[A210AMG]

^ Is that a LWB compared to your style van?

I didn't know it was that long....

It looks big but as it is high and wide its all in proportion.

So in the LWB model is it just 2 front seats, 2 rear and 2 very rear?

 

[BTB 500]

Yes that's a LWB R Class. It changed from being a 6-seater to a 7-seater (3 seats in the middle row). But as above the OP said that the 3 middle seats weren't adequate for his needs.

I've only been in an older 6-seater ... that actually works pretty well as access to the rearmost 2 seats is quite easy (with 2 separate seats in the middle, rather than a bench).

 

[mb320cdi]

Here is a picture of the middle row of seats in a R Class, as you can see the middle seat is not suitable for a booster child seat, its a struggle getting seat belts snapped in on an our present car which has 3 individual sized seats.