7 seater with view to make not so 7 seater

ghogie91

Hi All

Want to find out about 7 seaters! Right my idea is to get a 7 seater car that basically the seats in the back can be fully removes or totally flattened down.

My purpose for this would be when travelling to cycling completions that I could have all my gear and bike in the back and if accommodation is scarce the I could have like a bit of foam and a sleeping bag in the back that I could go for a kip before I had to drive home again! And like not a van where it's basically cold metal under you!

Thanks,
Gary

Zcott

Friend of mine drove a (shudder) Fiat Multipla for a while. Back seats come out no problem.

SCOOP 64

I think alot fold flat now, Zafira etc...

Yawlboy

Land Rover Discovery 3 - seats fold completely flat. and you can fit a double air bed in there.

colm_mcm

Verso folds completely flat.

Karl Stein

What about an estate? Most estates fold flat don't they? A lot of them would have roof bars as standard too for the fitting a bike holder thingy.

Cavernous boot in these things.



http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/5091879

bbam

We had a Zaferia for a number of years and to be honest its a pain to raise and lower the very rear seats as the middle row needs to be slid forward for the seats to fold down or be lifted up.

We have a Citroen C4 Grand Picaso now and the very rear seats are more comfortable, move up and down with no need to touch the middle row.
When all rear seats are down its huge in the back... Have it two years now and its been great.

T-Maxx

+1 on the estate idea, put the bike on the roof.

Else a proper 7 seater like a VW Caravelle.

goz83

bbam wrote: »

We had a Zaferia for a number of years and to be honest its a pain to raise and lower the very rear seats as the middle row needs to be slid forward for the seats to fold down or be lifted up.

We have a Citroen C4 Grand Picaso now and the very rear seats are more comfortable, move up and down with no need to touch the middle row.
When all rear seats are down its huge in the back... Have it two years now and its been great.

We also have a zafira and yes, the middle seats need to move forward before lifting, or flattening the rear seats. Keep away. You will never get those 5 seconds back :rolleyes:

But seriously, it's a lever that you pull on either side to move the middle seats. It's not like you need a tool kit for the job. And i think the prices are better too

pete4130

Volvo V70 for loads of room.

Subaru Forester have great single action flat folding seats. Not as spacious.

Mistubishi Delica (4wd van) come in 7 or 8 seats and the rear seats just pop up to the sides out of the way. The 7 & 8 seat combos fold/move around differently. Downside is its a 2.8L AUTO engine. Upside is its basically a Pajero with a van Body. Really comfortable too.

hardCopy

Go on, you know you want to

Karl Stein

hardCopy wrote: »

Volkswagen_T1.jpg

Go on, you know you want to

Ah shure why stop there:

ghogie91

Thanks all

I would lean towards the zafira idea because I don't have a family or passengers to be carrying in it it's strictly for travelling to competitions or meets where I would be doing a long haul ride and might need somewhere I would actually throw a sleeping bag in the back and sleep for 2/3 hours either. So completely flat folding seats are a must

Henry Ford III

hardCopy wrote: »

Go on, you know you want to

Those vans command huge prices.

Cee-Jay-Cee

ghogie91 wrote: »

Thanks all

I would lean towards the zafira idea because I don't have a family or passengers to be carrying in it it's strictly for travelling to competitions or meets where I would be doing a long haul ride and might need somewhere I would actually throw a sleeping bag in the back and sleep for 2/3 hours either. So completely flat folding seats are a must

I'd go for a Verso over a Zafira, much more reliable and comfortable and have similar space in them. Plus the seats fold flat very easily unlike the Zafira. If you do go for a Zafira, fold the seats on your inspection as the mechanism for the rear two seats gives trouble.

pete4130

Delica sleeping arrangements

SuperGrover

Mazda 5 has fully flat folding rear seats, both rows.

hardCopy

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Those vans command huge prices.

Tell me about it.

The T3's are a bit more reasonable though.

Zcott

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Those vans command huge prices.

I borrowed one from a friend last summer. They're great craic but only about 40hp and not good for much more than 50mph.

dgt

Brian?

SuperGrover wrote: »

Mazda 5 has fully flat folding rear seats, both rows.

Had a Mazda 5 for a while last year. Fierce handy car.

goz83

Actually, i think your best bet is a Mazda Bongo. Great yokes. They come in 5 or 7 and 8 seats, but all mid and rear seats can just slide out the back, off the rail. Would be perfect for you. I used to have one and used for light building work. I found one thats commercially taxed (take out seats and seat belts for doe) for you and is only 3k. 4wd too and a diesel.

http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/campers/4864937

mkdon05

Ford galaxy, you can remove all the back seats to have basically a van.

Zubeneschamali

mkdon05 wrote: »

Ford galaxy, you can remove all the back seats to have basically a van.

A more recent Galaxy (or S-Max) has fold-flat seats, not removable ones.

Removable seats (like the Multipla upthread) are a pain in the hole. They are heavy, awkward to remove and replace, and much bigger than you'd think when you have to store them out of the car.

Marcusm

It's not a car I'd recommend but the Chrysler Voyager could be specc'ed with a "Stow n Go" system where the seats crumple up nd fit into slots under the floor. This lead to a complete flat load space like in a Hiace/Transit. Much of the other lay flat systems lead to compromised load spaces either through reduced height or less than flat loading areas.

bbam

goz83 wrote: »

We also have a zafira and yes, the middle seats need to move forward before lifting, or flattening the rear seats. Keep away. You will never get those 5 seconds back :rolleyes:

But seriously, it's a lever that you pull on either side to move the middle seats. It's not like you need a tool kit for the job. And i think the prices are better too

Its a real pain of you have a baby seat strapped in the middle row.

• You have to unbelt the baby seat, and many have complicated ways strapping them in..
• Take out the baby seat or spin it round as it will stop the row going forward enough to allow the back seats to raise.
• Slide the middle row forward..
• Raise the back seats..
• Slide middle row backwards
• Replace childs seats and strap it back in..

If you have a child in the seat already this just adds another world of hurt to the process


It's a pain in the ar5e in the Zaferia and spoils their notion of the flexible seating.

NIMAN

dgt,

whats that Peugeot?

goz83

bbam wrote: »

Its a real pain of you have a baby seat strapped in the middle row.

• You have to unbelt the baby seat, and many have complicated ways strapping them in..
• Take out the baby seat or spin it round as it will stop the row going forward enough to allow the back seats to raise.
• Slide the middle row forward..
• Raise the back seats..
• Slide middle row backwards
• Replace childs seats and strap it back in..

If you have a child in the seat already this just adds another world of hurt to the process


It's a pain in the ar5e in the Zaferia and spoils their notion of the flexible seating.

It is a bit more time consuming alright if you have baby seats in the way, but it is not necessary to remove, or twist them. You just move the front seats(s) forward and problem solved. Sometimes it's a pain, but it's not a world of hurt. Besides, the OP mentions nothing of baby seats, so I didn't make it an issue.