Occasionally need 7 seats - what to go for?

[IwishIwasmoreorganised]

With our ds's getting older, we're finding more and more that it would be handy to have the option of having 7 seats to cart around extra small children (for parties, rugby etc).

Our dc are 7 and 4, and I imagine that I'd be keeping this car for 5+ years so the legroom in the back needs to be ok ish, but not adult size. When the extra seats are up, I wouldn't need a huge boot.

I'm thinking along the lines of a grand scenic type of size but don't really know any others. Help!

We have an S-max and love it, great to drive

We have a Vauxwagen Touran which fits the bill. It's great.

I've had two Toyota Lucidas and rate them highly.

Very happy with my grand scenic. Rarely use the extra seats but its easy to put the seats up and down. Useful for shipping kids around to parties etc.

Touran

Great. Thanks for the input.

Now i need to do some sums and test driving I think!

Toyota Verso!

Doesn't feel van-like, easy to drive, super-reliable......

I have a grand scenic. Love all it except the running costs. Wish I'd gone for a deseil version.

Had a touran 2005 -a coupe of weeks ago. It was good , but got v expensive but the time we'd done 96k. Great in ice and snow. Perpetual annoyance though that the " hifi system with 4 speakers" meant 2 in the dash and 2 in the front doors -- the kids couldnt hear CDs!

Couple of weeks ago part ex touran for smax. When I got it I felt it'd do the job and was a great price ( paid less for the smax with some nice comfort bits ) than we did in 2005 for total. It's a2011 car with 14k.

Now Ive gone from " it's ok it'll do the job" to I bloody love it!

Great drivers car. Nice on the motorway. Loads if room ( kids are grown up 19/16/13). The extra seats for us are for if we are driving grandparents now..

I've sat in all the seats incl the back row for a short drive. Even that was ok..

Only annoyance to date. We got the parcel shelf cover thingy. Great when using 5 seats. I've no idea where you can put it when using all seats though. We ended up leaving it in dd1 student bedroom and collecting it after.

Touran - had ours for 4 years and will never have different we don't think - fits our needs perfectly.

3 DCs fit on the back easily - all in their carseats.

Boot large enough to accommodate a small orchestra pram, a stroller and a weeks shopping and two extra seats that pop up when I need them and will tale adults or children

Go for a diesel model, but make sure you get the EGR valve checked and the inlet manifold motor
Otherwise, the best car you'll ever buy

We have an S-Max diesel and really like it.

Our Touran is a 53 plate, so 2003/4 model; has done 112k miles and the only repair was the EGR valve at just over £300 for parts and DH fitted
We paid £8k just over 4 years ago.
HTH

Aha, Theas18, the Verso has a little slot under the carpet in the boot where you can stow the parcel shelf cover thingy!

Another vote for the Toyota Verso ...

My Grand Scenic locked with the baby and my keys inside yesterday. It was for less than a minute.

Citroën C4 Grand Picasso.

We rarely use the two extra seats, but they come in useful now and again

Plenty of room for 6ft+ DS and DSS, and slightly smaller younger DSS, as the three back seats are 'proper'seats, the middle isn't a shelf.

Doesn't feel big, to drive or park

I have had mine just over 3 years and have no complaints

we have a grand scenic, with extra storage fitted under the seats etc.

the extra seats are fine if your a child but i have been in the back with my knees under my chin (being six foot) when we have needed it.

if you put all the seats flat you can fit a sofa in there, or lots of stuff. you need to move. i

t doesnt feel van like to drive infact the steering is pretty light. i love being thst much higher up too. i would hate to change it now.

Volvo XC90. Fab.

Just bought an XC90 which is fantastic. The seats in the boot are really comfy and still leave boot space and, when they are down, the boot is huge. It is really, really comfortable and can be automatic or you use gears but no clutch so good for city or country driving. Also, my first car with heated seats so really toasty buns.

Love my Volvo 940 and V70 7 seaters, the two rear seats are back facing and fold down under the boot for extra space.

heated seats make you feel like you have wet yourself, not a luxury i would be after.

the heated seats are great in the winter, couldnt do without them now.

XC90 really isn't an option money wise unfortunately. FIL has one and I am very .

We don't have much of a lump sum available, and bought our last car using a 0% finance deal which we'd be keen to do again. Current car is now 6 years Los and only just needing any money spending on it other than the annual service.

We're looking at about to 20k mark price wise, and I have to say that I really do like the idea of having sliding doors at the back - our ds's don't seem to have grasped the fact that our current doors swing open and can and do ding other cars .

there is a way to solve that, activate the child locks, you will need to let them out but no more damage :D

we've got a qasqai + 2 and it's great!