Affordable 7 seater vehicles

[Aug12]

Hi there,

Our car has given up on us a month before Christmas, we live rurally (no bus route) so a car really is a necessity. We have 3 kiddos and would like recommendations on 7 seater vehicles? I’d like something with large boot space and roomy. Not a vafira please as I really don’t like the look of them 🙈 thanks

What is your budget?
We have a galaxy, it is great. We had to get a new model because of ulez, but if you're rural and that isn't a factor then a pre 2015 one can be picked up relatively cheaply...
decided against the smax because there is no boot when all seats are up.

Avoid the suv style ones as almost all of them have a small middle seat in the back, which is very uncomfortable for the child who has to sit in the middle when using it in 5 seat mode. It seems that only people carriers, Volvo xc90 and Audi q7 have three back seats, but the latter two are very expensive as well as big and heavy. So mpv is better option.
It makes me very angry that all those huge cars can only comfortably carry 4 people, but that's a rant for another day

Skoda Kodiaq probably your best bet

All depends on budget. We currently have a Ford Smax and a VW Sharan and both are great
We do need 7 seats though and the VW is definitely bigger is the back two seats but both cars have plenty of room in the middle row for 3 as they are separate seats
When looking We found a lot of 7 seaters are very small in the middle row

I have a skoda kodiaq. It's a lovely drive, but does have a small seat in the middle of the back. Fine for kids but not if you need 3 car seats.

Previous car was an S Max. I like the kodiaq better, the spec is better and it's a nicer drive.

Mitsubishi Outlander. Got the 7 seater, have the rear 2 seats folded down and can get 4 dogs in. Nice and high and comfy to drive.

Peugeot 5008

Seat Alhambra!

SEAT Alhambra. Practically identical to the VW Sharan but more affordable. Same engine etc as SEAT is owned by VW.

I loved my Alhambra. Middle seat can take an infant car seat or high backed booster no problem. All seats move independently and can be removed independently too! Once my bigger kids got bigger it was great to fold down the middle seat in the middle row and everybody felt they had a lot of space.

Massive boot both with and without back row seats. I could get my double buggy in the back no problem even with the back row seats up.

Dacia Logan. My brother and my sister each have one. I have a Dacia Sandero, they are brilliant cars, reliable and cheap to buy and run!

We had the same issue a few months ago, like a previous poster said be careful with the middle row and the 'half' seat which is tiny.

We looked and sat in lots of cars but ended up with a Ford Galaxy.