7 seater woes

Agreed, If you want a genuine 7 seater, Smax is hard to beat. Go and try to fit 3 child seats in back of X5 or Tiguan then try again with Smax. Had one for 8 years when kids small and found it great. Only thing it lacks is prestige, but to be honest with 3 small kids that drops down the list.

My sister got a kia Sorrento when her 3rd arrived , sold it after a year for a Smax, the seating options didn't work for her.

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/kia-sorento-2021/36954143

Kia Sorento with a 7 year warranty is a wild card option

We got a VW Sharan, 4 kids. The last of them were built in 2019/2020 and Tiguan replaced them in the line up. Great car, very happy with the purchase, love the fact that you see models from the 00's on the road so you know they are reliable work horses.

Was immaculate when we bought 3 years ago, 2019 reg. Kids have it destroyed inside.

I dunno, the 2019 I got is a 2 litre diesel so I guess it's one of the good ones. Had been looking at a Japanese import one that was a 3 litre petrol, glad I didn't opt for that!!

I think the van types are way more practical than SUVs for the majority. Especially if they have sliding doors.

I agree. But they've fallen out of fashion. I don't think there are any new models. All SUV and crossovers.

it was great fun trying to get twin babies out of cars in their car seats in some car parks. Especially if on your own.

+1

Also seems to be a trend of having massive wheels with wide flared out wheel arches........and then a tapered narrow/smaller cab!

So you get the disadvange of a larger more ackward vehicle and the disadvantage of a smaller passenger space.

had one of these, very practical and reliable, easy to drive

Exactly this.

What you really need 3 kids + friends + grandparents is the MPV square sided and van like. The nicer driving ones are perfect.

We had Tourans, for years shorter than a Passat but like a TARDIS inside.

They are mostly diesel these days. Which doesn't suit lots of short local journeys which many MPVs do.

If I was doing it again I'd have a MPV as soon as I had one kid. Just so useful. Doubles as a van at the weekends for DIY.

We had two petrol then diesel. The diesel was a nightmare. Just unlucky maybe. I'd buy another tomorrow if it was manual and petrol. Or a PHEV or BEV. I think MPVs are extinct though unfortunately.

The ID4 is the white knight of the MPV class. Will be interesting to see the 7 seater version

If its too good to be true, it usually a sign to walk away.

I don't know your financial situation obviously, but I personally wouldn't be going near a marquee brand car as a seven seater with 2 young kids and a third on the way. With the best will in the world, the kids will make messes, break things and generally increase wear and tear in the vehicle. I'd be weary of buying brand new for the same reason, even if I had the money..

Now obviously if money isn't an issue then perhaps sound.

Have a grand scenic here that we got about 7 years ago, second hand. We have had multiple trips to France with bikes, it's helped us move house twice and it's up on 370k km at the point. It has given us a few wear and tear issues on top of regular service but nothing you wouldn't expect.

Car would be worth feck all now so will continue with it as long as feasible.

I wanted to suggest a Jap 7 seater but posters on here never seem to go for them. Toyota Estima, Toyota Alphard, and Toyota Voxy are all just as good if not better than the Serena. All petrol hybrids and all bulletproof reliable.

That's nuts, I had to google it, and it's seems common, tires on a xc90 going in bits for no reason

Why does every car, have a unique fault of it's own, with no answers as to why.

Dont waste your time with the jeepy type cars, they are 2 seats in the back with a pathetic narrow excuse of a third seat. not practical for multiple child seats. ive 4 kids and a bomb proof vw sharan that is the family bus. If i were to upgrade it Id buy a seat alhambra. sliding rear doors, proper sized seats, a lovely 140bhp diesel engine, safe, reliable and spacious, the 6 of is travel comfortably and still have decent boot space.

There are far more practical cars like the much cheaper Dacia Jogger, had a look at it Saturday, not intending to just car shopping with my Sister and we both thought wow, this is a Dacia ? anyway, for someone wanting a real 7 seater that is actually way more practical than a silly little SUV with a bulky body kit then the Jogger is well worth a look.

They have a hybrid coming if not already available but to be honest I wouldn't pay the extra 6 K for the Hybrid but I have to say of all the cars lately the Jogger is the car that has impressed me the most in quite a long time, I couldn't believe the space and if the missus was to change the outlander diesel I'd definitely try persuade her to get it as the Outlander 7 seater, rear 2 seats are very, very cramped compared to the jogger and you could fit much more than smaller kids in those rear 2 seats and it's got a proper 3 seater bench in the middle too.

One thing I didn't check is if the middle 3 seat bench could slide forward and backwards, amazing if it can. The rear 2 seats can be lifted out But it's the most practical car I've seen released in quite a long time runs rings around those crappy SUV and would be dead handy for those of us with a couple of kids and their friends to taxi around.
OK I know it's not a car listen in your list of cars but with 2 kids and one on the way, ( yikes ) I absolutely recommend taking a look because with 3 kids it will be the most practical you could buy these days and kids wreck car interiors.

If you don't like the Badge then I'm not sure if VW still sell the Caddy Comb, another practical car but very van like.

"Luxury" brands usually come with "luxury" maintenance costs, if it's a push to buy it'll be worse to run.

For those prices I would buy a new VW Id Buzz. Brand new, warranty, no diesel worry on mostly short trips, huge and configurable, slidng doors also

We are in the exact same position as the OP, 4 year old, a 2 year old, and a bump getting bigger by the day. We looked at almost everything available, and in the end we bought a Peugeot 5008 auto, which we actually just picked up today.

Kodiaq - cant really take 3 seats in the back - if you do, then the 2 in the boot are out of bounds. I wanted to love the Skoda, as it looks great in Sportline spec, but it works better if the kids are a bit older - not for 3 isofix. Same for almost anything that doesn't have 3 individual seats in the middle row like the Sorento etc.

Volvo XC90 - too expensive to buy one that wasn't half dead already - not cheap to maintain as far as I can see

Discovery - It's a Land Rover - I have a Toyota Landcruiser - that's like asking a US Republican to support gun control - but in more serious terms - running costs - nope

Ford S-Max - was my original choice but Mrs Bob didn't love it - and we had just parted ways with a Kuga we've had for 11 years and she fancied a change. She also didn't want a big minivan like a Galaxy if at all possible. The 5008 has the 3 middle seats, and the 2 in the boot can take adults - I've tried them all - 5'10 - no giant, but very possible to sit in the boot ones.

I know it's not prestige, or particularly powerful, but it is practical. I didn't want to like it - but there we are.

Our 2 cents

To me, 40 grand on a 6 year old car is bonkers - but I'm not quite in that price bracket either. I buy a car on condition over the year and to an extent even the mileage, but you have to be happy with the car. Fella I know has had 3 XC90's, the las 2 have been T8 hybrid and he loves them.

"Really? Is this a known issue with VW's?"

VW tried to copy Tesla and thought a screen would solve a problem that didn't exist so they removed as many knobs and buttons as they could and put it all in software in menus in a touch screen and it's infuriating and very distracting and one of the reasons I handed back the Id3 to the finance company under the half rule, delighted I did because it is a disastrous system. I don't care for teslas approach either.

Promises of OTA updates n the id3 never happened and now stuck permanently on crap software as the hardware in the late 2021 electric car is already obsolete.

This is why I will never touch any car so heavily dependent on menus and screens again, not to mention the sheer distraction.

So I went back to a much simpler petrol manual car without all that crap software and screens, with proper buttons and knobs and I absolutely love it !

I drove a Kia EV 6 and it was better, but I'm not a fan of haptic "buttons" and screens that are now the focal point in a car.

Another example, the matrix headlights, they are good but they are very expensive and very complex if one fails and it has to be coded to the car ECU…….now all that can go wrong is a blown halogen bulb that's easy and cheap to fix, no visit to the dealer for a day or more…….

"To me, 40 grand on a 6 year old car is bonkers"

Yes, you're right, it is bonkers !

I'm gone to the stage now that due to the extortionate cost of cars and the Government extortion taxes, I will spend as little on cars as possible going forward.