Used car/4x4 recommendations

Hi, similar to a recent poster (http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=77599351) I'm curious what people would recommend in the way of a vehicle which could comfortably transport say 4 adults and 4 large, Labrador size, hounds between Dublin and Cork/Waterford. We've been examining various estates and 4x4's but haven't reached any conclusions as of yet.

We had looked at the Nissan Navarra with the covered back but a friend had attempted to dissuade us based on their opinion that the rear rank of seats were very uncomfortable (never sat in one so no idea) and that the government taxes on these types of vehicles if they're not purchased for legitimate business purposes make them quite expensive to run. Aside from that the Navarra felt like it was, slightly, overboard for a fairly 'light' requirement in terms of weight/use as we'd only intend to really put 2-4k miles on it per annum as we live in Dublin and cycle everywhere here normally.

So, relatively light use, not tied to any particular format beyond what meets our space and travel requirements and a budget of say €6-8k for the purchase - any suggestions?