7 / 8 seater cars?

[aclivity]

My wife needs a new car - her current car, a Kia Sedona, has been great but it's a bit tired now - it's 8.5 years old, must be about 95000 miles on it.

So what car is available for her? We had a look at the Hyundai i800, her concern is that it is a large car, almost like a van in size. That and there is between 4 to 6 months wait for one as well! She needs to have at least 6, preferably 7 seats available as we have 4 kids, we also want to have a decent amount of load space so any 5+2 cars are out.

So what other cars are available?

[kiethton]

Galaxy if big enough?

VW caravelle? VW caddy max?

[wiliferus]

Nissan Pathfinders have a decent boot with all the seats in use.

[Buff Mchugelarge]

Kia Sedona? Or whatever the blatant Chrysler voyager rip off is called?

[Stuart70]

Hyundai i800

My mate has one. It is horrible, but brilliant at what it does, if you need what it does.....

[Gavin0478]

Don't get a pathfinder..... I purchased an ex demo with 85 miles, after 5 months and two Nissan dealers looking at it i manager nearly 3 thousand painfully unreliable miles and just got a full refund.

BJ62KCE..... dont touch it

[Happy82]

Discovery 3/4
Jeep Commander

[Willy Nilly]

aclivity said:

My wife needs a new car - her current car, a Kia Sedona, has been great but it's a bit tired now - it's 8.5 years old, must be about 95000 miles on it.

So what car is available for her? We had a look at the Hyundai i800, her concern is that it is a large car, almost like a van in size. That and there is between 4 to 6 months wait for one as well! She needs to have at least 6, preferably 7 seats available as we have 4 kids, we also want to have a decent amount of load space so any 5+2 cars are out.

So what other cars are available?

So she wants a car that can seat up to 8 and has "a decent amount of load space" what ever that is, but isn't a large car. Tall order.

[aclivity]

Willy Nilly said:

So she wants a car that can seat up to 8 and has "a decent amount of load space" what ever that is, but isn't a large car. Tall order.

I know - this is the issue!

[Idontdrinkrsmoke]

Honda FRV? Meets the minimum 6 seats requirement and useful sized boot.

What about a 6/7/8 seater with roof box for storage?

[ConorE]

A van-type vehicle would probably be best, so a VW Transporter Shuttle type thing would be a good bet as it's most 'car-like'. Failing that, a Toyota Previa or similar?

[arguti]

We also have four kids ...had they the LWB Caravelle - great thing but too long and a few scrapes later we downsized to a Prius + 7 seater but installed a multimac 4 seat job by so boot is free . We also have a
VW Touran which is just as practical but has cost oh so much more to run with so called VW reliability... My Classic Alfas put the the VW to shame.

http://www.multimac.co.uk/home

HTH

[Willy Nilly]

why doesn't anyone make double decker cars? Same sized foot print but double the interior space.

[Idontdrinkrsmoke]

Willy Nilly said:

why doesn't anyone make double decker cars? Same sized foot print but double the interior space.

Would you trust the missus to remember how tall the car is and not smack into a low bridge?

[Willy Nilly]

Idontdrinkrsmoke said:

Willy Nilly said:

why doesn't anyone make double decker cars? Same sized foot print but double the interior space.

Would you trust the missus to remember how tall the car is and not smack into a low bridge?

if it was based on something low, like an Elise, one stacked on top of the other would be no higher than a Discovery. To answer your question, no.

[davepoth]

Citroen Berlingo Multispace?

[toerag]

Gavin0478 said:

Don't get a pathfinder..... I purchased an ex demo with 85 miles, after 5 months and two Nissan dealers looking at it i manager nearly 3 thousand painfully unreliable miles and just got a full refund.

BJ62KCE..... dont touch it

I had a Pathfinder from almost new, sold it at 9000 miles when the gearbox started failing (dealer gave me a great deal). wouldnt recomend.

(loved it while it was working though )

Edited by toerag on Saturday 14th December 22:27

[wiliferus]

Willy Nilly said:

Idontdrinkrsmoke said:

Willy Nilly said:

why doesn't anyone make double decker cars? Same sized foot print but double the interior space.

Would you trust the missus to remember how tall the car is and not smack into a low bridge?

if it was based on something low, like an Elise, one stacked on top of the other would be no higher than a Discovery. To answer your question, no.

A double decker Elise.. I've heard it all now

[22Rgt]

LWB Transporter or Caravelle, 8/9 seats and a massive boot. The 2.4 five cylinder PD is good on fuel, has plenty of torque and they drive surprisingly well.

[BlueMeganeII]

Theres only really three perhaps four options. Firstly the Pathfinder, Shogun etc do not leave you with a lot of space and the rear most seats are cramped. Its just unworkable. Your only real option is:

Hyundai I800 (Nice to drive, reasonable spec and cheap)
Ford Transit Custom (Even nicer to drive and looks alright)
VW Caravelle etc (Best Van available but expensive)
Mercedes Vito (Over priced and will rust, but well kitted and is a Merc)

They are all vans because if you need 8 proper seats or even 7 and a proper boot theres nothing else available. They do, like most vans of this size drive very car like and I find parking any of them easier than parking a little car as its basically a box and you can see all the corners. We choose the I800 as you get a 20% discount in the forces and it fits in four kids and a black lab with ease plus one of their friends, journeys are rather pleasant now compared to any of our previous cars. We have a reversing camera and front and rear parking sensors, its a doodle to park.

If I had more money than sense I would get the VW but there are some reliability questions. The transit custom wasn't around when I purchased the I800 but its well kitted out and superb value for money compared to the VW and Merc plus its better looking than the I800 and there are some deals to be hand.