8 Seater required for expanding family - Can anyone help ?

[therealhyper]

Hello all,

I am looking for a 8 seater as our replacement family car but having spent weeks looking for one, disappointedly it appears there are only limited choices available in the car/mpv selection.
I am Looking for something ideally economical and defo need something reliable, and fully loaded (Auto/Leather/Diesel- and I don't want a van type i.e Hyundai i800.

I thought the galaxy/sharans may have 8 seaters ( they appear large enough, the back 2 seats could be replaced by a 3 seat bench) but that is not the case.... :-(

I have come across the following:

Toyota Landcruiser (2004 - 2008 Model) - Reviews suggest these are very reliable, the DC-5 or Invicible are the ones to get but the MPG seems to let it down, around 30 mpg (as expected).

Peugeot 807/Citroen C8 (Upton 2010) - Reviews suggest MPG is decent (upto 40mg) but concern over reliability issues!

Toyota Previa - These have good reviews, but low mileage, UK spec and fully loaded ones (auto/leather) are very hard to come by.


What do you guys think ? Any suggestions on an ideal 8 seater ? And do any of you guys/gals own any of the above - whats your experience been thus far? I am hoping to have one ASAP (next few weeks).

Currently edging towards a Peugeot 807 (Auto/2.2 HDI/Looking for one with leathers and low mileage as will be keeping it for a while) but am concerned about how reliable it is. Cant seem to find a decent/fully loaded Previa, so it could be a thirsty/expensive Landcruiser !

Look forward to your car/mpv suggestions.

Thanks

[hedgefinder]

from memory the last time I had an 8 seater I struggled to get anyone to insure it as a private vehicle policy as they all seemed to require it to be insured on a commecial vehicle policy , which was all very odd.... we just removed the last 2 optional extra seats though..
it was a very large american vehicle though, so not economical at all..
I think you will be looking at a van/minibus type affair to get a genuine 8 seater to be honest..... the newer vw combis are bloody good by the way, drive like a car and just as quick if not quicker in some cases...

[Welshbeef]

How about an actual mini bus if you have 6 kids then a Merc Vivaro or is it vito seems to be the only thing to go for.

[Who me ?]

Only one thing to look out for, AND CONSIDER.I regularly see large MPV and LR types with seats in what is best described as the boot area. ( Behind the normal last row of passenger seats, and aft of the rear wheel arches). FIRST question I'd ask is where the passenger safety cage (as defined by NCAP) EXTENDS, and how safe are seats in the boot area from a rear impact. Years ago I was rear ended ,twice in a high grade NCAP hatch and the rear door severely damaged, and the body severely damaged to the extent of needing a new body shell . Impact speed ,approx 20 MPH. I see a lot of pet owners with estates/hatches with a dog cage to the rear of the back seats ,and I shudder. My pets/ my kids, and now grand kids, ONLY travel in the passenger cage. Personally, I'd opt for a van type on safety grounds.

[GingerWizard]

Do not.
Under any circumstances.
Get a 807.


fking terrible cars/MPV's. Poorly designed, cheaply engineered, glued together prices of automotive embarrassment. You would be better with a 39 year old DAF 2.5 van.


I have no other worthy advice other then get the snip.

[nct001]

Toyota Previa

[poing]

Welshbeef said:

How about an actual mini bus if you have 6 kids then a Merc Vivaro or is it vito seems to be the only thing to go for.

This isn't a bad idea. A neighbour bought a Mercedes (don't know the name) van type thing. All the toys and mod cons, looks great in silver with gunmetal alloys and I believe the rear side doors slide back which makes car parks easier to deal with.

Do you still get long wheel base Land Rover Defenders with rear bench seats down each side? I remember someone with a load of kids when I was a teenager have one of those.

[clockworks]

We hired a Mercedes Vito for a few days on Lanzarote. A proper 8/9 seater, with a reasonably sized boot. It felt no bigger than my E61, and was surprisingly car-like to drive. If I was looking to buy a vehicle to carry more than 5 people and some luggage that's what I would get.

[bompey]

Land Rover 110?

[therealhyper]

Thanks for the input thus far guys :-)

I do like the Merc Vito/Viannos (whats the diffrence) but too van like :-(....and the mpg is about the same as the Toyota Landcruiser (which has 8 seats).

So far, negative comments for the 807 (C8 is similar car).

The VW Combo is 7 seater (haven't seen 8 seater)
the 110 is a bit too raw for me...

What about the Toyota Landcruiser? anyone owned/owns one? (they are still pricey, 2005/2006 Auto versions with average miles are going for 10-12k.

Edited by therealhyper on Sunday 16th November 00:23

[mph1977]

bompey said:

Land Rover 110?

7 seater now and has been for quite a few years

2 -3 -2 to get more seats requires side facing seats i nthe rear which are not good from a crash worthyness point of view

as others have said 8 seat market is fairly limited and 8+1 ( the largest that can legally be driven on a cat B licnece without having to worry about the derogation) are van based Vito/ Transport / Vivaro /'Transit custom' sized tourneo ...

[MissChief]

If it really must be 8 seats then your choices are severely limited.

[Barchettaman]

Presumably the expanding family is going to require space to put its clobber, which is where anything car-based will fall down. There just won't be enough space for luggage/prams etc. with all the seats in use.

Hi-top Merc Sprinter with a load of garden furniture nailed down inside? I axtually took a band to the Alps years ago by doing this, I shudder to think of it now.

[CMYKguru]

Might be cheaper to send your least favourite children away to foster parents.

[Google [bot]]

Nissan Elgrand

[Hitch78]

My money would be on an i800 all day long. You've just got to wrestle your inner demons first!

[cptsideways]

Hitch78 said:

My money would be on an i800 all day long. You've just got to wrestle your inner demons first!

This


They go well! are RWD reliable & quite nice to drive. The Elgrand is a good option too.

[arguti]

Depends on how big the kids are - we have four under the age of nine and we initially had a LWB VW Caravelle which we had configured into 2 + 2 + 3 configuration which meant you could walk through to the back etc nothing stopping you from buying a spare VW seat to make it an 8 seater - friends also had one loved it and then got a Mercedes Vaneo and loved it more!

We have downsized to a Toyota Prius + whine is a seven seater but with a multimac rear bench seat it fits all kids in the second row

[HenryJM]

I wouldn't be so down about vans, a good one (generally read Merc) can be preferable to some large cars to drive and be in.

[gtidreamer]

It's got to be a caravelle (or transporter) with the right interior setup.