Which MPV for around €15000

mildews

Looking for a bit of advice from the enlightened here!
Have just found out we are expecting a big increase in our family numbers and will need something with 6 seats
(yes I did say six) Can anyone recommend which MPV (or other) would be the most reliable and cheapest to run? As you can appreciate money is going to be a bit tight for a while so I will be looking for something thats going to last without any or little hassle. I have been looking at the Hyundai Trajet and it seems to tick all the boxes. Any advice greatly appreciated.

Will have around €15000 to spend so new is not an option.

Stevie Dakota

€15000 will get you into a 2007 7 seat Grand Scenic from the UK with 2 years warranty remaining...you will struggle to do better than that.

http://www.motorpoint.co.uk/(S(efzghlfr0akppu25nq1le3zj))/Search/Stock.aspx?make=Renault&model=Grand%20Scenic&trim=1.5%20dCi%20Expression%205dr%20[7%20Seats]&body=Estate&fuel=Diesel&type=0&diesel=yes

Qwerty?

mildews wrote: »

I have been looking at the Hyundai Trajet and it seems to tick all the boxes.

Have you checked its safety ratings? http://www.irishmotoring.ie/euroncap/euroncap_details.php?car_id=209

Stevie Dakota

It may not do well in a head on, but at least looks better after one.

bazz26

Fiat Multipla, once you get over the styling it really is a very practical 6 seater bus:
http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Fiat/Multipla/5dr-1.6/951839/

Or a VW Touran:
http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Volkswagen/Touran/1.9-TDi/1096974/


7 seater choices would be the Ford Galaxy/Seat Alhambra/VW Sharan which were all the same car up to recently.

Ford Galaxy:
http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Ford/Galaxy/115BHP-6SPD/761145/

Seat Alhambra:
http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/SEAT/Alhambra/car/649442/

VW Sharan:
http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Volkswagen/Sharan/1.9-TDI/1077764/

WHITE_P

The Hyundai Trajet seems to be a fairly good all rounder, a neighbour has one and aside from a problem with the tracking which meant it went through tyres fairly quickly, although I think thats sorted now the only other problem they had with it was a snapped gear linkage, which is common on 01 / 02 models.

I've a new VW Touran which I'm well impressed with, but I only need the extra seats occassionally.

Check out the long term or comparison tests in the car mags / websites and the JD Power / Driver power survey's.

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/
http://www.autocar.co.uk/

RobAMerc

If you gonna be using the 6 seats all the time rather than the 5 plus 2 in the boot of say a Verso you'll really need to go for a full size MPV of say a Galaxy or a Grande Espace - otherise you'll have to buy a big roof box too.

Not sure about the Espace's reliability or the Fords ultimate size sorry.

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Renault/Grand-Espace/1.9-DCI/1001292/

T-Maxx

VW Caravelle FTW. For €15k you might get a 2003 or so.

E92

Opel Zafira. The Renault is great for 2 things: safety and making you a very frequent visitor to a dealer.

colm_mcm

Hard to recommend a Caravelle, it'll be old model and a pain to park for most people. it's also a van with windows.

Guy:Incognito

E92 wrote: »

Opel Zafira. The Renault is great for 2 things: safety and making your a very frequent visitor to a dealer.

None of my Renaults have been near dealers for work, inc the missus 05 grand Scenic. Also find it a much nicer place to sit (which is high on my list for a car) than the Opel.

Had the misfortune to get a Zafira again as a hire car the weekend before last and I wouldnt spend your money on one, let alone mine.It didnt improve my opinion fromt he first one I had as a hire car.

BTW, any Zafira owners here, whats the deal with the rear most seats? They dont just pull up like the Scenic, they hit the middle row (bench seat, another pita) . I assume you have to move the middle row to get the back ones to come up?

Had a VW multivan as a hire car in Germany last year. Grand car (think about €60-65k new here though) bar the opel-esque squareness of the interior, cant be doung with that. Felt very van derived though.

RobAMerc

colm_mcm wrote: »

Hard to recommend a Caravelle, it'll be old model and a pain to park for most people. it's also a van with windows.

+1 - really, there is no reason to buy a van derived car unless you really need boat loads of room and will be taking masses of luggage everywhere.

You'll really pay for it in ride, handling and confort.

T-Maxx

The OP said he needs something with 6 seats. Most all 7 seaters that I know of is in reality nothing more than 6½ seats (at best). Some of them are even 4½ seats with 2 seats thrown in as a afterthought and only suitable for kids and midgets.

Bear in mind also that all kids (up to 36kg in fact) need to be in either infant/toddler/booster seats, which are very space consuming and quite akward to deal with as well.

Before settling on any make/model, I'd suggest the OP loads all 6 occupants, plus the obligatory luggage etc. and drive around for an hour or so. Whilst most 7 seaters will take 6 people, only the Caravelle will do so in style and comfort and with enough space for all their luggage.

green-blood

no all kids up to a certain HEIGHT, its nothing to do with age.

S-Max...but its too new

mildews

Thanks to all for the suggestions here. BTW all kids will need a full seat to attach the obligatory booster and a couple of rear facing baby seats. The Caravelle is just too much of a box and a bit much for the OH to try and park. I have looked at the Zafira and its just not big enough. I still seem guided to the Trajet as if you remove one of the rear, rear seats it gives a good bit of extra space. Alot of the buses suggested so far have just too high mileage to be financially viable. A friend at work has had two Trajets and has had no problems with either.

It's getting very obvious that I may have to re-think my budget though!!!!!!!!!!!! Aw crap.....

Guy:Incognito

T-Maxx wrote: »

The OP said he needs something with 6 seats. Most all 7 seaters that I know of is in reality nothing more than 6½ seats (at best). Some of them are even 4½ seats with 2 seats thrown in as a afterthought and only suitable for kids and midgets.
.

See you need to seperate the classes of cars here instead of just lumpign them all together under "mpv".

The mini mpv size has limited space. Here we're takling about Grand Scenic/C4 Picasso/C-max/ Corrolla Verso etc.

The full size MPV's have 7 full seats, (Grand) Espace/807/C8/Galaxy/Alahambra etc.

Being that the 2 groups are completely different sizes of cars they obviously come in at much different price points (moreso when new obviously).

BTW my missus regulary carries 4 adults and 2 kids (3 & 9) in her Grand Scenic without complaints so it can be done in that size of car too. With 6 the best way we found was to remove the middle seat in the centre row. I assume it works the same with other makes (bar the opel because of the bench seat) . The 2 outside seats inthe Scenic can be move inwards a few inches for extra shoulder room, then use the 2 rearmost seats for the 2 smallest kids (larger pre teen kids seem to be ok here)

strawberry jam

How about this car?

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Toyota/Avensis/Verso/1027473/

I have an Avensis Verso and am very pleased with it.