MPV Advice

Fratton Fred

Hi,

I’ve decided I need a 7 seater car, but I want something a bit cool, not a standard Ford Galaxy type people carrier. The things I’ve considered so far are the Opel Zafira, the VW Touran and the Toyota Verso. None of which particularly “Float my Boat” other than the top of the range sporty models.

Basically, we have a lot of friends and relatives coming over from England regularly and I want something that avoids us using two cars yet is not too big for the three of us.

Can anyone offer any advice/experiences etc.

Thanks

FF

Rowley Birkin QC

Have you considered a mazda 5? Not the worst to look at and it seems to get good reviews.
My aunt test drove one lately and was very impressed with it. Should be 100% reliable too. Zoom Zoom!

Sunday Times Driving review

Fratton Fred

bigkev49 wrote:

Have you considered a mazda 5? Not the worst to look at and it seems to get good reviews.
My aunt test drove one lately and was very impressed with it. Should be 100% reliable too. Zoom Zoom!

Sunday Times Driving review

Thanks, I'll take a look.

The article sums up how I feel about MPVs though

MrPudding

What about a Ford s-max?

I am looking at them myself as 7 seat is becoming a neccesity.

MrP

Rowley Birkin QC

MrPudding wrote:

What about a Ford s-max?

I am looking at them myself as 7 seat is becoming a neccesity.

MrP

Mazda is based on this chassis and running gear methinks.

Fratton Fred wrote:

The article sums up how I feel about MPVs though

I could sum it up a bit better, some time when the mods aren't around to be worrying about bad language!!:D

beerbaron

Ford S-Max, the best looking one in that sector

RobAMerc

The grand scenic is a nice drive and very comfortable if a little brittle.
The Zafira has the best seating design and the latest version is also reasonably nice to drive - the the previous one is a noisey truck like the Astra it was based on. - I spent some time late last year helping my sister decide, once she drove the scenic she was convienced.

Kashkai

We bought a Grand Scenic last year and to be honest, the rear seats are for kids only and even then, only for short trips. This car should have been 6 inches longer at least to make sitting in the back reasonably comfortable. And with all these MPV's, once the rear seats are up, there's damn all boot space for luggage etc.

On the plus side, there's a huge boot when the rear seats are folded flat into the floor and its a comfortable car. Don't buy a 1.6 petrol as it wouldn't pull you out of bed.

My brother bought a Chrysler Grand Voyager and thats a real people carrier. Very very impressive but with a 3.3l petrol engine, you'd better own a petol station as well.

MrPudding

Prosperous Dave wrote:

We bought a Grand Scenic last year and to be honest, the rear seats are for kids only and even then, only for short trips. This car should have been 6 inches longer at least to make sitting in the back reasonably comfortable. And with all these MPV's, once the rear seats are up, there's damn all boot space for luggage etc.

It is the same with the c4 picasso. The Galaxy has a usable boot even with all 7 seats. Haven't actually looked at the s-max yet as I thought, until the other day, it was only 5 seater.

Prosperous Dave wrote:

My brother bought a Chrysler Grand Voyager and thats a real people carrier. Very very impressive but with a 3.3l petrol engine, you'd better own a petol station as well.

3 stars on the EuroNCAP, apparently as well as owning a petrol station you need to hope you are never in a crash.

What about the Espace?

MrP

Stephen

As regards looks, I think the Ford S-Max is the best of the mpv bunch. The only MPV I've ever driven was a Zafira 1.8 and it was pretty 'meh'.

Kashkai

I drove the S-Max before we bought the Grand Scenic and to be honest, although it had a great diesel engine that pulled and pulled, it wasn't that roomy inside and there was no boot space left when the rear seats were up. At least I could still get my kids pram into the boot of the Renault when the rear seats were being used. This wasn't the case with the Ford. The Ford was also about €5,000 dearer than the Renault, and the Ford was for me, the smaller car.

I also looked at the new Galaxy and though I found it to be more roomy than the S-Max, the price of €44k+ was out of my reach.

The Espace will be replaced shortly with a new model and thus would not be a good buy right now. The depreciation on them is horrendous, we saw a 12 month old model with just 12000 miles for €36,000 when the same model new was €50,000. €12 grand in one year - ouch :eek:

RobAMerc

C4 Picasso ? feckin' gorgeous car makes me soften on the whole having kids bit. ( Not that much, if you online luv )

Dunno if they are in the same class as the rest but damn they look great.

PaulieC

I had a new grand scenic last year for about 6 months. I traded it in for a 6 month old Passat highline. Would never go back. It was a poxy piece of sh*te, back in the garage for warranty and recall work 4 times and at the time I sold it, the first problem had resurfaced.

When I was looking at MPVs, I drove everything that was on the market (with the obvious exception of Kias), from Peugeot 307SW to Chrysler Voyager. I found the best to be the the Mazda5. The dealbreaker was the middle row middle seat - I needed three car seats across the middle and they wouldn't fit..

The S-Max is nice, especially in 2.0 Diesel Titanium trim. Pricey though

ninty9er

The Previa is probably the best all round massive MPV, but as you're looking for something a bit sportier what about the Mitsubishi Grandis

Fratton Fred

ninty9er wrote:

The Previa is probably the best all round massive MPV, but as you're looking for something a bit sportier what about the Mitsubishi Grandis

is that the new space wagon?

Thanks for all the advice, I've been checking the prices of the Mazda and the Grande Scenic and so far the only thing I have deduced is that I will be buying my next car in England!!

ninty9er

Fratton Fred wrote:

is that the new space wagon?

AFAIK it's the new Spacewagon and Galant combined

Lex Luthor

I like the look of the Mitsu Grandis on the outside but the dash looks cheap.

Are you buying new?

Do you need all 7 seats for adults? If so, the rule out the Verso. The only new MPV available from Toyota is the Corolla Verso. All others are discontinued. We have a Verso and it is bulletproof but the back seats will not seat comfortably any one over 10yrs.

I also like the C4 Picasso and the Renault Grand Scenic but chances are they will not hold their value well.

prospect

I like the look of the C4 Picasso the most, (of the MPVs anyway):

Do-more

Fratton Fred wrote:

so far the only thing I have deduced is that I will be buying my next car in England!!

Your not wrong there Fred! I priced a low mileage 2004 Espace 1.9DCi from the UK a little while ago and it was working out at €18500 all in, my local Renault dealer had a similar one stickered up at over €30,000 :eek:

Still couldn't bring myself to buying a Renault though!