I need a 7 seater MPV for under 8k. What is worthwhile?

[peterzoom]

Long story short, my number 1 son is wishing to start a small city tour and tourist sightseeing business.
He asked for my advice on which vehicles to look at. Off the cuff, I have no idea as, probably like most PH types, I have avoided this type of vehicle like the plague!
I have had a look round the `net (even mumsnet!) to try to gain some valuable information. There seems to a minefield of contradictory comment and opinion ( not really a surprise I guess)
So my question really is what are the definite AVOID, DON`T GO THERE vehicles that are simply proven lemons.
At least if I have that kind of advice I can look at a more refined search area.
Thanks in advance.

[xuy]

AVOID a Renault Grand Espace 3.0 Tdi.

As an MPV it wasn't too bad, but they only do 20 mpg and servicing costs are horrific.

Cannot comment about others as it is the only one I have had, for 3 months!

[surveyor]

2.0 diesel Espace is a good car - ours proved pretty reliable for 3 years.

Can't help wondering if he would not be better with a 'posh' minibus for this type of work though.

[blindswelledrat]

Agree. In the average 7-seater the back 2 seats are not really enough for adult, particularly if they were paying adults.
Only car that I can think of with 7 proper seats is teh big Chrysler one but they are a bit of a dog really.

[AmitG]

Avoid all Renault Espace except the 2.0 dCi. The 2.0 dCi came late in the model cycle and sorted out many of the early issues (of which there are many). They are proper 7 seaters with no compromise in the rearmost seats.

Avoid the Chrysler Grand Voyager. They are huge, but can be a reliability nightmare and have a heavily offset pedal position (due to the conversion from LHD to RHD) which was a deal breaker for me.

Avoid Peugeot 807/Citroen C8/Fiat Ulysse (all the same car). Lots of reliability issues with these, especially electrical. These will be well below your budget anyway, they are seemingly entering SOTW territory.

Personally I would go for a Ford Galaxy (2006 on). There are loads of them about (often used as minicabs and airport taxis) and are generally tried and tested. Easy to get parts etc.

There is also the C4 Grand Picasso but that is pretty small in the back. More of a 5-seater with occasional 7-seat usage. Probably won't do.

[V8Triumph]

Why not go for the 7 seater Land Rover Discovery instead of an MPV?

[maffski]

Most of the big taxis around here seem to be Merc's (Vito is it?).

Might be worth looking here - http://www.7-seater-cars.co.uk/

[J4CKO]

V8Triumph said:

Why not go for the 7 seater Land Rover Discovery instead of an MPV?

He wouldtn get a Discovery 4 for that unless very leggy, nice cars but really unless you need the 4wd its a bit pointless, the extra seats arent as good (perched in the boot sideways in a 3), they are a bit of a wobbly thing and arent as good on fuel. The 4 is a nice car but it weighs 2.7 tonnes with a six cylinder engine so not that great on fuel.

We have the Galaxy, it does the job very well and is even pleasant to drive, the later 2006 on one is miles better to drive, we had a 2002 Sharan we bought new and the galaxy was a real leap in every department, get the 2.0 or 2.2 diesel and it has decent grunt, plenty of space, large but not too large like the Grand versions of the others. The renaults are a bit ropey in terms of reliability, we had friends scrap one and it wasnt that old, just a litany of issues and they ended up binning it. The Voyager needs either the big petrol or a 3.0 diesel to move its bulk, neither any good on fuel.

There is also the S-Max, it and the Galaxy are the best solutions to your problem, The 4 by 4s are great if you want the pose value and the 4wd but they arent proper seats by and large and expensive, really you need double the budget to get a decent, low miles seven seat SUV.

[kiethton]

Is the I800 (by hyundai thing) in budget yet? - should provide all the space if not the brand snobbery?

Other than that the Ford Tourneo (transit with windowns and proper seats/Mercedes Vito people carriers (nicer inside) or even a VW Caravelle?

These are all a lot larger so should give more comfort/flexibility (as opposed to being stuck in the back of a galaxy etc...)

A Caravelle (VW transporter with windows) i was in even had the two sets of (leather) rear seats facing each other?

[AmitG]

kiethton said:

Is the I800 (by hyundai thing) in budget yet? - should provide all the space if not the brand snobbery?

Other than that the Ford Tourneo (transit with windowns and proper seats/Mercedes Vito people carriers (nicer inside) or even a VW Caravelle?

These are all a lot larger so should give more comfort/flexibility (as opposed to being stuck in the back of a galaxy etc...)

A Caravelle (VW transporter with windows) i was in even had the two sets of (leather) rear seats facing each other?

This is a good call. Vito or Caravelle might do the job nicely. Not sure what you can get for 8K, I know that the Caravelles tend to be expensive...

The only downsides I can think of are cost, and the fact that they are less "car like" to drive; they are really vans converted for passenger use rather than cars.

[john2443]

You may well have checked this already, but is he allowed to drive for hire or reward on a car licence even if it's only 7 seats?

Also, I'm not convinced that a Galaxy type 7 seater is big enough for the comfort that customers would want if they're paying for being guided, so would go for Torneo/Vito etc.

O/T WhyTF when you filter Autotrader for people carriers does it give loads of 5 seaters, they aren't fking people carriers, they're just tall 5 seaters!

Edited by john2443 on Monday 7th January 18:01

[FisiP1]

Mazda make one that can be got cheap, no idea if its good or not. It is a bit more of an estate than a van/mpv though.

Just looked, its a Mazda5, and you can get them easily within that budget.

Edited by FisiP1 on Monday 7th January 18:11

[kambites]

I'd tend to agree - the usual seven-seaters tend to be very cramped in the back row and have bugger all boot space with all the seats in place. He'd be better off looking at mini-bus type vehicles, although that might require a different licence?

The only car type vehicle I can think of that can comfortably seat seven adults, would be the Ssangyong Rodius.

[GreatGranny]

We had a 03 reg Alhambra and the seats in the back are full size but whilst not that bad getting into the back I would think older or larger adults would find it a pain.

For a business I would go Caravelle

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...