Another 7 seater car thread

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Looking into these. Have 7 and 4yr old, ttc another, have a big dog, go camping with a big tent, need big boot. We generally buy pretty old cars with 40+k miles and wear them down so that’s how I’m starting my search - definitely not people who need cars to look good etc.

But my research so far is making me think we can’t get away cheap this time! Just been reading about how any 7 seater with boot seats, those seats are not safe in a crash? I’d really like to be able to give kids friends lifts etc, move kids about on journeys, but will I just worry about safety?

Also needs to be petrol for our LEZ zone so rules out VWs which I’d probably choose. Plenty of Zafiras in budget but I’m not sure. Should we just get a big booted 5 seater estate? Accept spending more money? Would hope to spend 10ish k but maybe more.

Before you rule out diesels completely, you're probably best checking the ULEZ website. I drive a diesel van with Ad Blu in and it's not charged anywhere, my husband has an old land rover and it's only charged in London and 2 other cities, compliant everywhere else.

I have a Citroen C4 Spacetourer, updated version of Citroen Grande Picasso ( think it changed around 2017/18). Highly recommend as has three Isofix points across back, loads of legroom in back and a big boot. Comes in a slightly lower price point than VW Touran. Extra two seats bonus when taking the kids friends etc. Economical on fuel. We think perfect for 3 kids but if any more you will need a bigger car again. Try Carwow for reviews .

If you want to consider an electric 7 seater, the Kia Ev9 is out 2024. And is looking to be a much more reasonably priced 7 seater compared to the Volvo or Tesla x

My 2015 diesel Volvo is ULEZ compliant op. Maybe take a look at the XC90 which is a 7 seater.

Thoroughly recommend the SMax, absolute workhorse. We got ours to accommodate 3 car seats when the DC were tiny, and it's now used to ferry DC and their stuff to and from university. In between it's swallowed camping kit, numerous outings with friends and family, IKEA trips etc.

Both rear rows flip up and down in seconds so it's super versatile.

We needed to upgrade to a 7 seater 2 years ago- with 3 teenagers, a new baby and a dog we needed leg room for everyone and boot space for prams/kit for sports/food shop/camping gear etc.
Hubby is a mechanic and hates zafira’s and I wasn’t keen on having a 7 seater with seats in the boot anyway- like others have said their occasional seats and you shouldn’t use car seats in these.
We ended up with a hyundai i800 and love it- 8 seats with plenty leg room/space for dog, loads of boot space and sliding side doors. We’re hoping to convert it so we can use it as a camper van too eventually.
Only down side is the model we bought is quite high to tax- but believe you can get other models that are cheaper.

Get a multimac 3 or 4 seater and then you have 5 or 6 seats in a car with a boot size of your choosing. So much better than the 7 seaters that have no boot space as soon as you’ve got the 7 seats up

Ford S-Max here too - super versatile with tonnes of space and as a recent diesel model is ULEZ compliant. Family of 5 with 2 extras and we still have room for lots of shopping etc.

Another vote for the i800. 8 not 7 seats but a full and huge boot all of the time. Plenty of room, sliding doors make getting in and out of the car easy for you and kids.

I was about to say this Both my cars are diesel and are ULEZ compliant.

The boot seats in my Zafira are further away from the back of the car than the normal seats are in my friend's C1...

Yes that's also true ... it makes no sense to worry about the rear two seats if your alternative is some tiny tin can.
Those are also pretty unsafe in a collision from behind.

Don't be rude. Not everyone can afford a massive car, nor even want one.

Wow lots of replies, sorry I forgot to check the thread. Thanks so much, lots to think about. Making a decision is feeling quite hard but I am definitely put off Zafiras for now. Maybe we need to just go and see a few different cars to get more of a feel in person.

Another vote for ford s max. Great car and the middle row of seats (which all have isofix) tilts forward rather than folding to access the rear seats so you can have an isofixed car seat on there without having to remove it. (Does that make sense?) V useful with small children. We have 4 children so the boot isn't massive but if we only had 3 it would be fab!

We have a diesel Renault Grande Scenic 7 seater - later model so compliant in charging zones. Absolutely brilliant and the 2 boot seats fold flat in the boot when not in use. Lots of storage space in various cubby holes around the car. Can move rear passenger seats individually so can make adjustments as needed! Mainly bought so can ferry grandparents around as well as children and dog!!

I thought I’d come back and update the thread since I always find that helpful when reading these threads! We ended up electric, with a Citroen berlingo. It was more than we planned but we got an interest free loan over 5yr so all things considered it seemed the best value for money. It has so much space and we love it!! Thanks to all of you sounding boards that helped me on the way.