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Larger families

Find out all about large family cars, holidays and more right here.

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Original poster

any families of 6+ have a 5seater car?

19 replies

misdee · 18/05/2009 17:58

we are trying to decide what to do.

the only times we travel all together is at weekends to see my/peters parents (both are walkable distance but a long walk iykwim), and when we go on holidays.

during the week dd1,2 and 3 are at school/nursery which is close to home and walking distance.

town centre is v v close.

good transport links if i want to travel further.

shops/docs/aprk all nearby.

we are thinking of just getting a ford focus/astra sized car.

it would be cheaper, and for the money we have (ie not much!) we can get a better car than a lower/older MPV.

does that possible/impossible

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juuule · 18/05/2009 18:35

We have a 5-seater car.
There are usually 9 of us that need ferrying around. We do 2 trips if we are all visiting a relative who lives more than walking distance but not a distance too ridiculous to do 2 trips iyswim.

We will be going to Edinburgh soon. 5 will be travelling in the car and the rest by train. We'll meet up when we get there.

In your situation could you do 2 trips for visits to parents and maybe hire a car for holidays?

Original poster

misdee · 18/05/2009 18:41

that was exactly what dh and myself said!

thank you.

was starting to wonder if we were mad to consider it.

most realtives live close by, same for friends.

OP posts:

bracingair · 18/05/2009 18:48

a vw touran or vauxhall zafira is a 7 seater but almost no bigger then a saloon car. you could keep the two back seats down most of the time but have those extra seats when needed. a honda stream is also v small. zafiras are not very expensive

juuule · 18/05/2009 18:50

Not mad at all.

A bit crazy if you laid out the money for a bigger car that you didn't really need.

Original poster

misdee · 18/05/2009 18:51

the zafira is what i currently have. i hate it. Sorry to any fans, but i do. its sluggish, bad visibility, seats are fiddly to pop up and down, and boot space is pants if even one seat is up.

and to replace it would be out of our price range (its a mobility car and veery likely to be going back this yeaR)

OP posts:

juuule · 18/05/2009 18:52

Isn't the road tax a lot more expensive now on 7-seaters?
And they're not that fuel efficient.
And what about insurance?

Original poster

misdee · 18/05/2009 18:54

yes juuule, its going up to just under £200 i think.

OP posts:

tinseltot · 23/05/2009 17:58

We have a zafira, 3 kids and and i love it. It has exactly same running costs as our old renault scenic. Its a 1.6 engine so ok its not a powerful car but i like to think i am fairly green so i wouldn't want some gas guzzling 2.6 litre mega car anyway! Road tax is £170 a year (it is worked out on engine size and pollutant output not number of seats in car) and insurance is cheap. A tank of petrol is £48 ish and it lasts me a month as don't do long journeys much.

It is hardly any bigger than many saloon cars and costs no more to tax, insure or run.Its a good solution for us as didn't want a big mpv. We don't use the boot seats much, only if have friends in car, but is nice to have the option for no extra cost.

tinseltot · 23/05/2009 17:59

oops misdee just seen that you have the zafira and hate it! Hope you find something else you like instead.

lljkk · 23/05/2009 18:08

We are a family of 2 adults, 4dc and we have only a 5 seater estate.
To all get places together we manage with cycle rides, trains, occasionally hiring a car or combo of the above. We never use taxis, though I don't really know why not (too rural maybe).

I kept a diary of all our journeys away from town and/or with the car, for 5 months before DC4 was born, and then sat down and figured out how we would do the same journeys with another child in tow. I realised it wouldn't be that hard to manage with just the 5 seater.

Now DH really wants a 6 seater, but I am insisting upon a few conditions -- and truth is, we are still getting by pretty well without one.

bronze · 23/05/2009 18:12

There are 6 of us (4) kids and we have an estate. At the moment we just dont go anywhere as a family. None of mine are old enough to leave. In the summer we plan to go acros the county for a holiday so will have to leave the boys with a friend for dh to come back for them. Other than that we go shopping etc while theyre at school or shop online.

tinseltot · 23/05/2009 18:15

What about a fiat multipla? 6 seats and not a huge beast of a car!

4andnotout · 26/05/2009 09:14

We have a dihatsu Hijet, it is only 1000cc so cheap to run, and has 6 seats (the back two can also be folded up out of the way) They are also very cheap to pick up 2nd hand as thye are only around £8000 brand new.

congrats on the new arrival Bronze

dietstartstomorrow · 26/05/2009 09:16

We have a Multipla - it's a great car.

sooey76 · 25/08/2009 13:56

Apparently, you can get a seat that goes in the boot for most makes/models of cars. There are various websites I believe.When I was with my ex we were attempted to be sold an astra by car salesroom that didn't have any bigger vehicles, as apparently you can get an extra seat to go in boot.Then it's there if you need it.

bronze · 25/08/2009 13:59

we have a 5 seat estate and there are six of us. We just rarely go out as a group as none of them are old enough to leave on their own yet.

On the odd occasion we've just left the eldest with a friend/neighbour while dh drops me and the younger ones off and he goes back for them

bronze · 25/08/2009 14:00

sooey? more info?

bronze · 25/08/2009 14:01

doh just realized Ive already answered this ages ago

Pollyanna · 25/08/2009 14:03

we have a zafira and I hate it.

dh says we aren't all in the car together to warrant a bigger one, but we can't even fit our pushchair in. We permanently have the roof box on. I hate it. We don't use it during the week though, and not for long distances at weekends unless we are going on holiday. So we are in discussions about whether to get a bigger one.

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