7 Seater That Seats 7 and has a boot

[van22cam]

Seems almost impossible to find a car that seats all 7 of us (we have 5 who are 11 and under inc a newborn) whilst still having any form of boot.

We currently have a 15 Grand Picasso which fits a pushchair if dismantled and no other boot space and a Grand Voyager which fits everything but is terrible on fuel, not great to drive and is starting to fall apart a bit due to age. We've been through an Alhambra, old style Galaxy, Smax, FRV, X5 which have all been snug but doable when there was only 6 of us as you just had one seat down but now with 7 i can't see how they would work at all.

Looking around, there seems to be no "cars" that have a boot like the voyager if the seats are in use. We would prefer not to end up with a van. Any ideas? Need to replace the voyager sooner rather than later.

Newer Q7’s have 5 seats with isofix. 3 middle seats and the 2 boot seats all have isofix. There is some boot space which would fit a small pushchair and a couple of bags.

Do they climb over the back of the 3rd row? we have car seats in that row also and a pushchair so it all has to come out so they can climb over to get in which is what we do with the Grand Picasso to get in and out. Does make even the quickest of pit stops take an age.

@van22cam ah our 2 back seats are individual seats so they can squeeze between them to get in and out

I have a Skoda kodiaq sportline with all 7 seats up I can still fit buggy and shopping in the boot and a collapsed dog cage. For holidays we use a roof box. I would deff recommend it. You can also remove entire seats to your preference

We have four and our caravelle is a lifesaver. Why aren't you keen on a van? It is mm larger than our previous estate car which couldn't fit three car seats across the back. You can also get in to sort children out, they can eat in it, use the potty, change a nappy etc. I have been in many friends discoveries, range rovers, XC90's absolutely would not change

Should add I only have 3 kids so mainly use the back seats but have a 7 seater as I regularly have family’s kids, so I put the oldest in the boot seats they either go in through the boot and press the electric tail gate closed or if needed if the wee ones go in the boot which is rare the middle seats slide rite forward for easy access to strap in. I’d say you could get 4 full car seats and a booster in no bother

VW Sharan. I'm surprised nobody has mentioned it!

With 7 people seated we fitted a wheelchair AND a double pushchair on the boot 🤷🏻‍♀️

Because OP has already had an Alhambra, which is the same thing.

We had a Chrysler grand voyager. Our engine blew up, unfortunately 😁 the space was brilliant, though.

We've got a zafira, could get out double buggy in the boot without taking it apart and room for some shopping / other stuff. The back two seats are independent so kids could squeeze through to get in the middle row. You can't access the third row seats with car seats in situ.

I think it’s in the van territory that op wanted to avoid. I’d agree with you though I have a Toyota Alphard and it’s super easy to fit everyone and everything in. Sliding rear doors are so convenient as enough room to get to front and middle row. I can flip middle row to transform back into a bed or a sociable space for camping trips etc.

@NightmareSlashDelightful actually not!!! We were going to buy the Alhambra (slightly cheaper....) and the Sharan's boot IS bigger.

At the time we had to fit those 2 massive things in the boot and the Alhambra was a complete no go! We could just barely shove/close the Alhambra boot with just the pushchair.....

We had 3 under 5 and an xc90 but got a MultiMac car seat, was great.

kids would have to get into the 2 back seats via the boot though, you won’t be moving a multimac in and out to flip the rear seats forward!

Yes, I was going to ask the same question - what is putting you off a van?
Before I had my v-class, I had a BMW X5 and the actual footprint of my van is pretty much the same. They look bigger because they're taller and give you more space because they're boxier, but they really aren't difficult to drive or park.

That is what we settled on when expecting no 5 but having used it since Jan its just that bit too old (bills mounting), a bit too unreliable and unrefined so looking to move on but can't find much else suitable.

a lot of time spent parked in multistoreys for trains and shopping and cost. they are a lot more for a similar age/spec vs mpvs.

ooh i thought they were identical so have never looked at a Sharan. We've had a newer type alhambra and it felt a little basic in kit and the boot was ok but not huge. That extra bit in the Sharan may make all the difference.

Looks like Addison Lee have flooded the market with 18 plate Black Ford Galaxy's so having a look at one tomorrow with puschair in tow to have a play with the boot. Salesman will probably look at me funny when i ask to play with the boot instead of having a test drive first.

I'm not sure why the multi storey parking would be an issue? Had a Toyota Hiace for years and they are fine in most multi storeys, just know your height and check the height limit before you enter. Easy to drive and park, the sliding doors are a godsend.

Japanese Import Toyota Alphard, brilliant vehicle. If you use the right importer and there is only one I would use, they arrive in this country in an immaculate condition, well above spec, plenty of room inside, electric side doors. We had a Renault Espace when our children where younger (they are now adults) but this is a far more impressive vehicle.

It's more the length and tight turns the Mrs doesn't like with longer cars and multistoreys. A lot of it is other than the newest generation of vans they are vans as far as interior and dash spec goes and the new gen of van based with decent interiors are pushing £60k.

Tried and tested a galaxy today. Decent upfront and middle but boot space fit the pushchair but nothing else. Nowhere near the space of the grand voyager in the boot. So the search continues, if they still made newer voyagers it'll be a no brainer for price, space and car like comfort.

2015+ model looks amazing. Looks like a bit of a trip to actually find one to test/view. Questionable car seat compatibility as we need 5 seats capable of car/baby seats but only way to know is to go own with seats and pushchair and see if it all fits. No point even test driving it if it doesn't pass the seat/boot space test 😢

Same with 5 kids and a dog. Ours is an 8 seater. Various size boots available depending on length of wheelbase.