Need to find a bus

[Prizam]

The expected arrival of a newborn was going to push us to the limits of our 5 seater Volvo, turns out there is another rugrat in there.

3 kids under 4, and the amount of stuff and large car seats that come with them means I'm in the market for a 7 seater bus.

It's going to get trashed, both by children, the driver and the car parks it will visit. So don't want anything too new. I'm hoping to keep the Motorbikes, TVR and my snotter.

I want...
- Auto
- Saftey
- Isofix
- A boot that can handle a double buggy with the extra seats up.

I don't want...
- A Vauxhall
- Preferably not a Diesel
- Silver


The top runners...
- Ford S-Max. Good looking, Good drive, limited on boot space and expensive. Some petrol versions available.

- Renault Espace. Looks ok outside, great spec and cheap!. Questionable interior and French electronics. most are Diesel.

What am I missing? Sure, I haven't exactly delved into the world of the family bus before but there must be more viable options than these?

Budget - Ideally around 5k or less. The current Volvo was MINT when I got it 2 years ago. Emphasis on "was", hence I don't want to spend too much, but I guess up to 10k for something that turns out not to be a compromise in some way.


- Dammit, can't fix typo in thread title.

[Prizam]

Mazda 5 are ok, the sliding door is a big help. Not the best chassis and they do rust. i had one for a while with 200k on the clock. It was alright.

Touran is on the list, but has the VW tax. Would prefer the S-Max over this.

[Prizam]

Christmassss said:

This is what will limit your choices...

The bootspace in a 7 seater with the additional seats up is woeful.

Honda FRV might work for you?

Edited by Christmassss on Thursday 27th July 16:26

Honda looks good... never heard of them but the boot space looks the best so far.

The Renault Espace has a space between the two rear seats, looks like you could slide a double buggy in their length ways.

[Prizam]

Olivergt said:

Would you consider a Land Cruiser?

I had one of the older shape Amazons and it was simply the best family wagon ever, plenty of room for everyone. Last row of seats split 50/50, so you can leave one side down (or take out, which is a 5 minute job) which gives ample room for pretty much anything.

I know it's diesel, but it is 6 cylinder, so quite smooth and don't be put off by the mileage, they are pretty tough.

Land Cruiser Amazon

They are also pretty good off road and a little more interesting than a Ford Galaxy or Renault Espace.

Great cars! Didn't know they were 7 seaters.

4.2 Derv around town on short journeys coupled to an auto slush box will drink the middle east dry in a week! I will also struggle to drop 5k on an 18yr old Toyota with 150k on the clock.

Good call tho.

[Prizam]

mr_spock said:

Depending on the buggy you may get away with a Citroen C4 Grand Picasso. However, the diesel is better matched to the gearbox than the petrol. We had 2 of the old model, very comfy, reliable and robust interiors. Also economical but could cruse at over 110 (indicated, autobahn etc).

With 3 rows of seats, don't underestimate the challenge of access to the 3rd row. The C4 has pretty good middle row sliding seats.

Citroen C4 Grand Picasso looks good. Boot is a bit smaller than i would like but you can leave one of the rear seats down. Cheap too for what your getting... i also like Citroen's styling.

[Prizam]

familyguy1 said:

My sister has an S Max and to me the boot seems MASSIVE with the seats down. easily fit a double buggy

Thats the key, i will need to use at least one of the rear seats all the time.

[Prizam]

Thanks, Dis she ever manage it with 3 full-size car seats?

[Prizam]

Good to hear about the Grand Scenic... I have herd some reliability horror stories.

That Subaru is horrific!

The other busses, whilst fitting... probably wouldn't go down well. Suspect parts are a pain too.

Galaxy is the winner so far but would try for the facelift. They all seem to be ex-taxis.

[Prizam]

doolie said:

Do you need any of the third row seats up? The S-max middle row is wide. We have 3 kids with the following

Recaro Monza seatfix for 3yr old (very wide booster)
2 other boosters for 11 and 7 year old.

No issues with space across that row.

And the 2.5 is lurverly

It will be 2 x new bourns and a 2.5yr old todler across the middle. There will be a stage where it will be 3 x toddlers in big seats across the middle. Not sure if we can fit them all in at that stage.

There is also the issue of getting to the one in the middle when parked up. And then there is the clobber that goes with them.

Starting to lean towards the Galaxy / S-Max. An XC-90 has a surprisingly large boot with the rear seats up, but they cost a lot!

Looked at an Espace - probably the best fit so far, but some questionable styling.

C4 Grand Picasso - no room with seats up.

2.5 S-Max would be nice, but space and practicality must be a priority. Probably end up with a Diesel, as that's all that seems to be for sale.

[Prizam]

Thanks Ross, Both are more van than car though... admittedly do the job im after quite well. I would choose the Merc if everything else fails.