What compact 7-seater?

[BTB 500]

Thinking of replacing our old Audi A4 estate with a 7-seater.

• 99% of the time it would be seating 5 or less, and no need for luggage space when all 7 seats in use. So not looking at 'full size' MPVs or big estates
• Would like something that handles decently and is reasonably nippy
• Auto would be nice but seems rare in this segment (ditto cruise control)
• Alloys, CD, aircon, central locking - all essential
• Budget around £7k

So far the list is:

Peugeot 307 SW (probably 1st choice, many only have 5 seats though)
VW Touran (relatively rare, most seem to be 1.6 petrol).
Toyota Corolla Verso (not really keen)
Old shape Vauxhall Zafira (problem is I'd only have the hot GSi version, which is a bit pricey)

Any feedback on these? Anything else I should be considering?

TIA

 

[Soltan]

Not sure about price/age but may I recommend the E-Class estate. Many of them have the optional bench seats in the rear. Not really up to adult size but fine for kids. It was my choice after the Toyota Corolla Verso which I decided against after I got some attitude at the dealers for asking awkward questions.

 

[verytalldave]

You do realise that insurance for 7 seaters is considerably more than for an equivalent 5 seater dont you? As I found out when I nearly bought a 7 seater Espace.

If you dont REALLY need a 7 seater, then its wasted money. Phone your insurance company for confirmation.

 

[BTB 500]

E Class estate is too bulky I'm afraid (ditto Volvo 9 series). We want a more compact 'shopping' car that can occasionally seat 7 (when we're with the in-laws).

 

[Soltan]

You do realise that insurance for 7 seaters is considerably more than for an equivalent 5 seater dont you? As I found out when I nearly bought a 7 seater Espace.

If you dont REALLY need a 7 seater, then its wasted money. Phone your insurance company for confirmation.

Well that could be partly why my insurance trippled when I bought the E320!

 

[BTB 500]

You do realise that insurance for 7 seaters is considerably more than for an equivalent 5 seater dont you? As I found out when I nearly bought a 7 seater Espace.

If you dont REALLY need a 7 seater, then its wasted money. Phone your insurance company for confirmation.

I had a 7-seat VW Sharan until September and wasn't aware that the insurance carried any kind of weighting?

AFAIK all Zafiras have 7 seats as standard ... are they expensive to insure? You see them everywhere.

 

[verytalldave]

All I know is when I enquired about insurance for 5/7 seater Espace, the 7 seater version was quite a bit more than the 5 seater.
I ended up buying the new Scenic..........

Things may have changed since then. I am quoting about 10 years ago when the Scenic first came out.

 

[BTB 500]

OK thanks I will bear that in mind.

 

[Ratz]

Not sure if £7k stretches to this, but we test drove a Honda FRV recently and were very impressed with the layout/space/comfort. Obviously I know it's only 6 seats but we found that access to the rearmost seats in the mid-size MPV's to be limited at best.

 

[Brett]

We've had a seven seater 2.0 Diesel Touran for the past two years or so. Extremely flexible, very cheap to run and service, but deadly boring to look at. Not a bad drive though. So far, servicing has been under £300 for 36k miles from a VW main dealer, including brake fluid change. Has returned us an average of 42mpg over that period.

 

[edthedead]

We have a Mazda 5 - 4 seats, then 2 more fold up from the boot and a 7th 'occasional seat' in between the rear 2 , and 2 sliding doors. We have found it to be good, although the dealer less so... Might be worth a look! There is a 55 plate with 25000 miles at cargiant for £8000...

 

[BTB 500]

Thanks for the comments guys.

The FRV is out as we already have a 6-seater (the Vito, which has the same 3x3 layout with a much bigger boot ).

The Touran is definitely on the list but they seem pricey compared to the others (so looking at higher mileage, or older, or lower spec./engine). And they seem to vary between 5 / 6 / 7 seats?

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Zaffy GSi - great engine.

 

[LeighW]

I hired a 1.8 Zafira (old shape) for a lads' weekend to Newcastle a couple of years ago. It hauled 6 blokes plus luggage no problem at all. It was much better than I thought it would be, to be honest, quite nippy. Your budget will get a good example on an 05 plate with reasonable mileage, and that's what I would go for. The only downside are Vauxhall dealers, who, in my experience, are rubbish.

 

[BTB 500]

We have a Mazda 5 - 4 seats, then 2 more fold up from the boot and a 7th 'occasional seat' in between the rear 2 , and 2 sliding doors. We have found it to be good, although the dealer less so... Might be worth a look! There is a 55 plate with 25000 miles at cargiant for £8000...

Thanks. We have 3 kids, so would prefer a more conventional 5 plus 2 in the boot layout really. I do like sliding doors though!

 

[BTB 500]

Zaffy GSi - great engine.

Surprisingly good looking too (IMO). Problem is just the price really.

 

[BTB 500]

I hired a 1.8 Zafira (old shape) for a lads' weekend to Newcastle a couple of years ago. It hauled 6 blokes plus luggage no problem at all. It was much better than I thought it would be, to be honest, quite nippy. Your budget will get a good example on an 05 plate with reasonable mileage, and that's what I would go for. The only downside are Vauxhall dealers, who, in my experience, are rubbish.

Yup an old shape Zafira is the sensible choice, there are tons around to choose from. Unfortunately wifey (who will be the main driver) thinks they are boring and would only have a GSi!

 

[timskemp]

We have a verso. Have previously had two Zafiras.

Verso is slightly smaller than the Zafira, but not significantly. Better load area all seats folded though.

Best thing is the quality - Nothing, absolutely nothing has gone wrong or fallen off from the Verso in two years of carrying 4 kids and 3 dogs (not at the same time) around, and beds, wardrobes etc. The Zafiras were a list of niggly little faults, combined with the occasional complete breakdown.

More comfortable too, and better driving position - I'm just as happy to do 800 miles in the Verso as I am in the E class, the only negative thing I could say is the fuel tank is too small (about 45l), though maybe I'm too used to the 80l tank the merc...

 

[BTB 500]

Verso is nice, but on our budget we'd be looking at the previous Corolla Verso I think.

It's definitely on the list as it has fold-flat (rather than lift-out) rear row seats. That's now a requirement - rules out the Pug 307 SW ... not sure about the Touran?

Renault Grand Scenic needs to go on the list I think.

 

[Will]

Not 100% sure if this applies to the 307 'SW' model, but wasn't the 'normal' 307 one of the most unreliable cars in the UK?

Will