Are smaller 7 seater cheaper to run

Cal04

Need to change to a 7 seater. Moving up from an 08 corolla. Will stick to diesel and budget is about 15 k. Looking at Citreon c4 but worried hoe expensive it is to run. Considering a smaller 7 seater but nothing open. Any advice please

bazz26

Why do you think a C4 would be expensive to run? Also not sure how you expect a 7 seater to be smaller as they need to seat 7 people in relative comfort. Even the likes of the C4 are really a mid sized 7 seater compared to the likes of a Ford Galaxy, etc. Anything smaller and your talking a 5 seater with 2 third row seats for kids only and even that third row when in use eats into boot space.

Cal04

Would a c4 really be smaller than a galaxy? I am clueless on the matter so really appreciate the advice. What would your preference be, c4 or Peugeot 5008. Thank you

shesty

Saw this on the main page.We have a Ford SMax.Recommend it.

Cheaper...I don't know, it's a 2 L diesel engine.I can't compare properly because I am mostly working from home now, vs when I had a 5 seater a few years back.With the cost of fuel...it's a car.It costs money to run.That's it really.

Flinty997

As a general rule anything bigger is heavier and less aerodynamic which means more expensive to run.

I wished we've got a bigger one but herself prefers the smaller one for parking.

If you got something like the Toyota Prius plus it's more car shaped and smaller. But I think diesel is hard to beat in a 7 seater. Unless you can make use of hybrid that has a massive battery.

Are you doing longer trips on a regular basis petrol/diesel etc.

pron

C4 Grand Picasso (2016 / 1.6HDi ) owner here:

• Reasonably light on diesel (lifetime average is about 6 ltr / 100km mostly short-hop urban with some long haul)
• Get good tyres - more expensive, but they last substantially longer, still on 3rd set at 80k km or so
• They're middling heavy on brakes (pads and discs)
• AdBlue injector can gum up if there are too many short-hop trips, which can be expensive to replace or clean - especially if you like main dealers.
• With the rear two seats up, you have the "standard" 30cm front-to-back of boot space which is not a lot ... but the folding options mean you can have only one up, leaving you with half the boot available and a squashed kid :)
• Servicing costs are on a par with anything of the era - reasonably low all done - oil and filters with adblue top-ups ... every other year budget for tyres and/or brakes - but so far nothing major to be concerned about.

pron

Oh - yeah - massively cheaper than the 2003 reg big 7-seater we had previously, but that did have a 2.2 ltr Turbo Daysul and 'erself has a heavy foot getting ~20mpg urban on it .. so :)

User1998

If you want a cheap to run 7 seater have a look at the Honda Freed, or if you need something bigger look at Toyota Estima or Nissan Serena. All hybrid automatics

colm_mcm

I don’t think the hybrid Serenas are actually that good on fuel though.

Donald Trump

If the price of fuel is an issue, may I suggest one of the below models

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119350498#Comment_119350498

I think they officially do 6.3l/100km combined? Pair that with cheap tax and good reliability I’d consider it cheap to run as far as 7 seaters go.

Honda Freed would be better again being lighter and having a smaller engine which is why I mentioned that one first.

colm_mcm

If they do anywhere near that, they’re a safer bet than most diesel MPVs. I don’t know where I heard it but I thought they weren’t that economical.

Flinty997

With hybrids it depends on the specific vehicle and your use of it. If it only has a tiny battery then really is not going to be much different to a petrol. It would need to be phev with a decent real world range on the battery alone.

colm_mcm

This is a pretty detailed write up on how the older ones worked

https://www.carlist.my/news/how-is-the-nissan-serena-s-hybrid-different-from-other-hybrid-models-60071/60071/

User1998

Yeah I see what you mean. Even that article states 6.5l/100km. I wonder what its like in the real world. I’ve driven one but took no notice of fuel economy. They drive nice and I’d pick one over a Touran/S-Max etc. I’d imagine they’re quite loud on the motorway tho like most Jap hybrids of that era.

shane b

Another C4 Grand Picasso (2016 / 1.6HDi ) owner here.

• We moved from a Corolla diesel to the Citroen and find the fuel economy the same as the corolla. We have 65k kms done in 2.5 yrs.
• Service interval is 25k kms compared to the corollas 15k kms.
• Good Turning circle and is reasonably easy to park.
• Boot space is reasonable. We only have 3 kids so don’t use the rear 2 seats but needed the 7 seats for the boot space.
• Ad blue usage can be varied but we are using about 1 ltr per 1000 Km.
• Ours came with a space saver spare under the car which is nice. A lot of People carriers don’t come with spare wheels anymore due to the adblue tank and to maximise space.
• The 205/55/17 95V tyres are a bit of an odd size so some tyre places may not have them in stock straight away.
• They are well speced, our has a reversing camera (wife’s must have) parking sensors, tinted windows and a colour screen.
• One of the interior lights in the boot doubles as removable rechargeable torch. Great idea in a breakdown but our daughter removed ours and lost it. 80 Euro for a new one.

Minor observations:

• Glovebox due to its shape is next to useless
• Changing gear isnt the smoothest coming from a toyota. Nothing bad just different
• Air filter and pollen filter are difficult to access so we let the garage do it for us. Cost a bit more but less frustrating.
• There’s no CD player (I’m old school) buy you can set up your phone if needed.
• There is dual zone heating but on the heater screen you can only adjust side at a time. Ie you adust the drivers side temperature and then adjust the passenger side.

We will possibly change it next year for another C4 Grand Picasso as my wife wants one with the electric tail lift. She does the shopping and wants to be open the boot with the key.

On other people carriers we also drove the Peugeot 5008. Very similar car. I found the seats more comfortable in the Peugeot however the centre console/radio were a let down compared to the Citroen.

The Ford/VW/Seat alternatives are bigger but also more expensive. We looked at a 2016 Ford S-max at the time and was 5K more than the Citroen which put it outside our budget. Granted I know the S-max is more expensive when new.

We found this website useful to compare car sizes https://www.carsized.com/en/

Flinty997

Personally I wouldn't get an import but some people think they are great value.

I get the idea of mini 7 seater for costs but for me the whole point was to get more space, so going smaller would have been pointless.

What ever you do it's going to be more expensive than running a smaller car.

Fr Tod Umptious

Another C4 Grand Picasso (2016 / 1.6HDi ) owner here.

The reality of a 7 seater is that first and foremost it has to be practical.

It's essentially a bus, and should be considered as such.

So your biggest concern is space.

We are on our second C4 because they were really the only ones big enough in our budget.

To Galaxy was too expensive.

The Opel Zafira was too small.

The smaller seven seaters are not worth it of you really need 6 or 7 seats in the car.

They are just too compact.

Cal04

Thanks so much everyone

Can I ask what are your views on a garage importing the picasso?

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119354690#Comment_119354690

From where. I see some of the VW Touran's seem to be Japanese Imports. So I'm not sure of the others.

Then theres obviously Asian models of that we don't get in Ireland.

User1998

You’d be mad to buy one of those diesel 7 seaters over a Jap import. Hybrid automatics are far superior

Mandzhalas

2012 Peugeot 5008 1.6 HDi. Same engine as in C4. Very nice car to drive.

Disabled EGR valve year ago and that thing absolutely flies now. Mega torque, no turbo lag, I wish I have done years ago.

Fuel consumption 6.2 l/100km combined

Cal04

Wonder which is preferable citreon c4 or peugot 5008

handlemaster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119355196#Comment_119355196

Depends on you and your family. Everyone has different needs and budgets. Test drive youself.

Cal04

So few of them around

Will keep looking

In Co limk

Fr Tod Umptious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119355196#Comment_119355196

I know nothing about Mega torque or turbo lag but from a space point of view I found no difference.

When buying our last 7 seater I checked out a 5008

Brought kids and car seats along for the test drive and found no difference between it and the C4 space wise.

Greentree_uk

Smax owner here, looked at them all, even took the wife around eventually the size and flexibility of the smax won, however most are paddy spec here. The model to get is xsport 2.0 diesel - 50 mpg 163 bhp and a solid reliable engine. Imported mine in 2014 - 3 years old.

Flinty997

Personally I like the paddy spec less gadgets to break.

Cal04

Any idea what these are like, good spec?

2015 Citroen Grand C4 Picasso

1.6 E-HDI VTR+ AIRDREAM 115

Cal04

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119362663#Comment_119362663

153 k kms for 16,000 euro

shane b

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119362663#Comment_119362663

Its a low to medium spec car. UK cars pre 2016 had 4 trim levels, VTR,VTR+,Exclusive & Exclusive+. Also its an automatic. I cant comment on the auto box as we have the manual one. The photos arent great on the ad either.

On the mileage I wouldnt consider 22K kms a year excessive for a diesel but it is a decent amount. We are doing 27 - 30K km a year. Low mileage ones do seem to be rare or expensive.

There is a top spec one for sale in kildare with similar mileage for the same price and better pictures. Have a look and draw your own conclusions.