What 7 seater

guil

I need to buy a 7 seater over the next month or so. I don't really have a preference on manufacturer but want reliability.

I've had plenty of Ford's over the years and swaying towards a Smax or Galaxy but unsure of their reliability.

Budget will 10k-20k and doubt I'll get anything at all really for my current car so not factoring that in. I rarely drive a car so closer to 10-15k would be preferred.

Any opinions?

User1998

If you want reliability you should go Japanese. There are a number of different Japanese import automatic petrols and hybrids to choose from. Toyota Prius, Estima, Voxy, Sienta. Honda Stepwagon, Honda Freed. Nissan Serena. etc

guil

Thanks for the suggestions but you would want to be paid a fortune to drive any of them. Horrid looking things

black & white

Seat Taracco ? Cousin has one and loves it.

goochy

You can't have everything reliability or nice looking/nice to drive. Rarely you get altogether

shane b

If you rarely drive a car, a petrol 7 seater may be less problematic though rare as a lot of people carriers have been diesel.

The thing Ive found with many of cars advertised as 7 seaters is that if you need to get 3 car seats in 1 row modern SUVs struggle as they are more of a 6 seater in the 2+2+2 configuration. The middle seat is usually very tight as can be seen below from a Seat Tarraco. Car seat selection is almost as important as the car its going into.

guil

Yeah ideally something with 3 full size seats in the middle row

enfant terrible

Is a volkswagen touran a full 7 to seater?

sasol

If you are looking for a reliable 7-seater, I think you could not go wrong with a KIA Carens. 

I have had a Carens for 6 years and it never caused an ounce of bother. 

Unlike most “7-seaters” you will actually get three car seats in the middle row of a Carens. The back two seats are also very decent in size.

Carens are also excellent value for money when compared with its competitors.

shane b

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123407902#Comment_123407902

yes in the since that you can fit 3 car seats across the back. The 2 rear seats are ideally suited to kids or teenagers though.

GerardKeating

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058408134/what-7-seater

You would get a Dacia Jogger 222 for well inside your price range.

Depends on what you need with Car Seats, it has two ISO fix points, outer seats in middle row, but if you use both, access to third row is awkward/messy.

Third row can take adults for medium range drives.

guil

My head is wrecked on what to get or even go and look at. I'm tempted to go down the PCP route but I think that is a disaster of an option.

jiminho

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123509268#Comment_123509268

Peugeot 5008 is the only reasonable priced car that has three full size seats in the middle. The new model doesn’t have 3 iso fix seats in the middle but the last model does. Something like this might be in your price range:

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/peugeot-5008-2018/39792639

gandalfio

Prius

bazz26

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123509364#Comment_123509364

Not with that ticking time bomb wetbelt engine.

colm reilly

You were told what to get in the 2nd post on here by a professional in the business .Stop crying and just take that posters advoice .

colm reilly

will you get the boat ,you cant effort it lad ,,

Fr Tod Umptious

Hi OP,

Firstly I'd get rid of the "you would want to be paid a fortune to drive any of them. Horrid looking things" attitude.

A 7 seater is a work horse, it needs to be functional, so don't worry about what it looks like, if it does the job it does the job.

I'd be in one of those imports in a flash if I thought it did the job.

We have had a couple of Citeron Grand C4s for the last 11 years.

They are very functional, three separate seats in the middle row.

As the kids have gotten older and the back row has become more cramped we now put two in the middle, two in the back and drop the middle middle seat to let the two in the back stretch out, that is the great thing about three separate seats in the middle row even after the need for car seats is gone.

They stopped making them in 2019 but I believe the Peugeot 5008 has exactly the same seat design.

We looked into getting a Dacia Jogger just a few days ago and test drove one, but they are far more cramped in the middle row than the C4, the back row is fine, and they don't have the three seats in the middle.

They are great value, but not great on space.

The problem with 7 seaters right now is that used ones are getting rarer and rarer, smaller families and no UK imports add to that.

You'll get late 2010s C4s for your budget but that's over 5 years old already.

Max H

how about a VW Caddy Maxi, few on Done deal ranging in your price range, most are quite high in miles though

fonecrusher1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123509799#Comment_123509799

Aye I was interested in one of these last year but after doing a bit of research that wet belt put me off it. As well as some other issues that seem to affect that 1.2 petrol unit. It was a 2020 I was looking at.

Nice looking cars and all but not sure about how long you'd get out of a used one thats 4 or 5 years old. I guess servicing is crucial. Also that belt needs to be changed within 5 or 6 years or 60k miles I think and not sure how much that would add to the cost overall. Would that be covered under warranty though?

I'm sure someone will be along to say "mines been bulletproof for years" etc but pretty sure most are happy to get rid within a few years or before that belt change interval arrives … I'm specifically talking about the prospect of buying a used one thats minimum 4 years old.

Fr Tod Umptious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123405152#Comment_123405152

As a 7 seater user that is thinking about changing I have never looked at Japanese imports as an option, that's based on ignorance rather than any particular dislike for them, I honestly didn't know 7 seater Japanese imports existed.

So I looked at all the models you mentioned on DD and it strikes me how roomy they look and how suitable they might be for our family of 4 teenagers.

But here are my questions.

Why are they all so old ?

Most are early and mid 2010s.

I assume the low mileage is because they don't drive much in Japan.

And some have petrol engines up to 2.4L.

Surely they guzzling petrol at that size, or does the hybrid counteract it ?

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123510929#Comment_123510929

I think the reason they are quite expensive is because they are low mileage hybrid automatics which command a premium vs the usual UK/Irish high mileage manual diesels. The freight costs and VRT can be quite high on them too when importing.

So I do agree that price wise you do have to go back a few years, but the fact that they are generally more reliable and lower mileage is obviously a bonus.

And yeah, regarding the engine size, the Toyota Estima for example has a 2.4 hybrid, which may or may not be a bit worse on fuel than something like a 1.6 diesel. But some of them only have a 1.5 hybrid like the Honda Freed for example.

guil

Does any of the listed jap 7 seaters have isofix? Hard to tell in some pics

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123516177#Comment_123516177

Yes, depends on the year and model

Big Bag of Chips

I've had a 2013 Opel Zafira for the past 9 years and never had a bit of trouble with it. I do a LOT of mileage.

When the day comes to change I'll be looking at another one.

Fr Tod Umptious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123516220#Comment_123516220

I know a good few 5 member families that went with them over the years.

They didn't need to use the back row day to day but it was still handy to have it in case you were bringing a friend or a grandparent somewhere.

We looked at one as a 6 member family and determined that the back row was very tight, much tighter than the C4.

OP are you a 6+ member family?

Will you need to use the 6th and 7th seat every day?

Big Bag of Chips

There's 6 in my family. The smallest is generally happy in the back. The 18 year old sometimes gets in the back to have a bit of peace!

The seats folding flat into the floor makes the boot huge when I don't have a full car.

Fr Tod Umptious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123517935#Comment_123517935

The seats folding flat into the floor makes the boot huge when I don't have a full car.

C4 does the same and I'm guessing the 5008 also.

It's very handy, they just disappear.

guil

Just a family of 5 now but daughter and granddaughter come with us a bit in the car so cramped with 2 car seats.

Mad_Lad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123509268#Comment_123509268

Don't do PCP, take that from someone who got 3 PCP like a gobshite. Never again.

My Brother rented a Jogger around 5 weeks ago, I was impressed. Worth a look.

BorneTobyWilde

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/ford-galaxy-titanium-5dr-2-5fhev190-s6-2-4dr/38881918

Hard to look past a Galaxy