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Original poster

Cars (again) need a car, 5-7 seats. will be on mobility

49 replies

Misdee · 11/01/2008 13:49

so no 'posh' onhes, no 4x4's.

does anyone have a grand citreon c4 picasso? or the big renault scenic?

if nissan stil lmade the tino, i would get another one, but they dont, and the qashqai is horrid and poor visibility comapred the tino and the note is too small.

we need something to fit 3 cars seat in the back.

i want the astra estate as i lvoed driving that last summer as a hire car, but really should look at other options.

could i fit three car seats i na volvo V50?

how big is a mazda 3?

OP posts:

BibiThree · 11/01/2008 19:14

srry, don't know about advanced payments etc, just love my car!

hope you find a suitable one

MC100 · 27/01/2008 22:53

Hi i've only just joined this site, am about to give my motability car back (astra) and swap it for a new one and really want a 7 seater but dont really understand the prices for advanced payment... do you pay it when you order the car or when you pick it up? do you hav to pay it all in one go?? can you get a 7 seater with nil AP?? please help thanks :-)

bestignored · 27/01/2008 23:03

Seat Alhambra is fantastic, very manouverable, good visibilty, high spec even on base model, lots of space, easy to put 3 car seats in across the middle three seats and get children in and out of them. It has 7 seats, lots of space and if you take one or two of the rearmost seats out there is loads of room in the boot! All 5 back seats will take a car seat easily but you need the post 2002 model if you want 5 three point seatbelts and not 4 three point plus one lap belt in the very middle seat.

The renault Espace is notoriously unreliable and expensive to fix btw

nappyaddict · 07/02/2008 09:06

what's the difference between the c4 picasso and the xsara picasso?

Shhhh · 07/02/2008 14:46

toyota verso...

Shhhh · 07/02/2008 14:46

toyota verso...

Shhhh · 07/02/2008 14:46

toyota verso...

nappyaddict · 07/02/2008 22:26

do nissan do a 7 seater?

nappyaddict · 07/02/2008 22:28

oh shhh can you put car seats on the back seats in the verso cos i know you can't in the scenic and i think it's a similar car.

millie1 · 07/02/2008 22:49

I might be wrong but we looked at the Verso the other week and I seem to recall that the back row weren't as solid as say the Sharan/Galaxy/larger MPV's ... can't remember if they were bench style or just not very deep. Sorry, not much help!

vacaloca · 07/02/2008 23:03

I've spent the last two weekends looking at the Grand Scenic, VW Touran, Honda FRV, Toyota Verso and Ford S-Max. The only one where we could fit 3 car seats across the middle row comfortably (without leaving a couple of fingers behind every time I did the seat belt for the booster seat in the middle) was the S-Max. The Toyota Verso was the second best but the boot felt very small compared to the others. In the recent Which? report the Grand Scenic didn't do very well on reliability - they recommend the S-Max or Honda FRV. What Car recommends the Grand C4 Picasso, which we haven't managed to try yet as the dealer is not that near us. I'm afraid I don't know about motability though.

nappyaddict · 07/02/2008 23:06

i am mistaken you can put some seats in the very back seats of both the scenic and the verso according to the britax fit finder page.

nappyaddict · 07/02/2008 23:07

does anyone know what it means when it says raise or remove vehicle head restraint?

nappyaddict · 07/02/2008 23:10

vacaloca how many seats does the s max have?

nappyaddict · 07/02/2008 23:16

just looked its 7

vacaloca · 07/02/2008 23:21

yes 7 - all the ones we looked at were 7 (except Honda FRV which is 6, in two rows of 3, like the Multipla). Problem with S-Max is that it's fairly new so second hand prices are still very high.

vacaloca · 07/02/2008 23:23

The head restraint will be the bit where you lean your head if you're adult size - you probably have to take it off to fit the car seat properly. I also found with a couple of the cars we tried (can't remember which now) that we also had to take it off to be able to fold the seats completely flat to access the 3rd row at the back, otherwise they bumped into the front seats.

millie1 · 08/02/2008 10:06

Vacoloca .. I'm being cheeky now ... do you have the Which report per chance? If so, does it cover the larger MPVs and again, if so, would you mind telling me what comes out on top there and what sort of recommendation the Galaxy & Sharan get?

I should just sign up for the trial period but last time I forgot to cancel the subscription - typical !

Thanks a lot!

vacaloca · 08/02/2008 13:33

Millie, all the MPVs are together (small and big) and the Ford Galaxy has 4 stars (like the S-Max and the Honda FR-V) and the road test score is 67% (as opposed to 69% and 70% in the other two) and it's got a 'Worth Considering' badge . The Sharan has 3 stars and a score of 61%, only 45% of owners would recommend it to a friend, and it says to approach the dealer with a serious discount in mind and make sure you get a good warranty, and 'the safety standards are lagging on this ageing design'. It looks like it may be discontinued in the near future. The VW Touran is also 'Worth Considering'. HTH

Shhhh · 08/02/2008 13:44

nappy addict, we looked at the smax when it was launched 2 (?) years ago and tbh apart from extra storage it was exactly the same size at the verso.

Our verson can easily fit 3 car seats (forward facing) across the back and its a very sturdy car and seating (not sure what millie1 means..) Also referring to vacaloca, the boot is massive..! I can get in it (at one go) a double pram, a single umbrella pram OR quinny buzz and a weeks shopping..! What more do you need..?!

For size and being bigger than expected the verso is tops, imo its actually bigger than it looks. Why don't you speak to a dealer, arrange a 24 hour demo (thats what we did when choosing my next car) and see if it fits your needs and life....You may decide it fits and not like the drive etc. Its very high up so positioning is good.

Imo again, the sharan and galaxy are very "people carrier looking" but depends on what you are after. AND a galaxy and now a sharon driver actually tested mine and perfered it to their own...

millie1 · 08/02/2008 17:25

Thanks a million Vacaloca! Had wondered about safety in Sharan so that's good to know. Thanks!

Shhh ... I know what you mean about those two models being 'people carrier looking'. I think though, that with 4 little ones, we'll need the extra room that their boots afford (for what it's worth) to accomodate double buggy and all the other bits and pieces which we'll need to take with us. It's heartbreaking really ... I love my Passat

nappyaddict · 25/02/2008 15:04

does anyone have a vw touran, grand c4 picasso or mazda 5?

nappyaddict · 26/02/2008 23:23

or a fiat doblo or kia carens?

purpleduck · 26/02/2008 23:50

HI!!!
We have a Touran. It has seven seats (2 that pop up from the boot.
It is a bit tricky getting in and out of those 2 seats. Plus there is not alot of boot space when those seats are up (maybe a foot and a half of space)

Also, and I do think this is a fluke, but we have had alot of MAJOR problems with ours. It is a leased car, so we don't have to pay, but it would have been devastating if we did have to pay. One of the reasons we got it was because vw's are supposed to be reliable. Our old Picasso was much more reliable.

We looked at an S-max at the weekend, and they look fab

hth

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