C. Jay. k.

Have any of you guys owned a Previa/Lucida people carrier ? 3 kids later, having to resign myself to buying one (or similer).
Looked at a few Lucida's, seem to be top for the job ......not much access to the oily bits mind you, the steep raked bonnet doesn't give much room. Tend to do the servicing myself so thats a bad point, any others maybe someones encountered.(apart from being an ugly lookin fookin thing....but hey needs must!)

scoobypreza

We've just bought a Zafira... not too bad at all to be honest.
Can get 7 people in it but not much stuff with all the seats up.
Ideal if you only need extra seats sometimes.

Might not be big enough for you though.

Hey have a look at this thread on NSR...

http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/showthread.php?t=454510


cath

C. Jay. k.

Got to agree with the comments on the NSR thread ,these buses are purely for practicality .
Your right Cath we need the room ,the Lucida has a fair old boot space even with all the seats in position which is a bonus compared with most of types of these vehicles .

Aly Mac

Hi mate, we bought a Kia Sedona for the wife at the end of last year and i know what most people will say about them but imho you will not buy a better people carrier especially for the money. I was a bit unsure but the wife pestered the life out if me to go for a drive in one and i was very pleasantly surprised to say the least, and still to this day the car amazes me with its ability & practicality. They are BIG cars but i feel we got a great deal, met black with blacked windows, spoiler on rear, side steps, front bullbar, reverse sensors and a flip down dvd to keep the kids entertained, absolutely brilliant family travel and more importantly the wife absolutely loves it and that means she never wants to drive the subaru anymore, bonus. Its like a big pimp mobile

cheers

C. Jay. k.

Whats the space like behind the rear seats in these Kia's. Is the rear seat a 3 seater bench?? onder2:

Brendan Hughes

Hope you don't crash it, or at least I hope they've improved since the Euro NCAP tests:

FirebirdUK

We had a new Previa a few years ago - couldn't fault it... Only got rid of it as we changed houses and didn't have enough room to park it and my car on the drive...

We recently moved and were in the market for another MPV, but went down the import route this time (so as not to lose too much cash with depreciation) - had a look at some Lucida's and was all set on getting one, until I saw a Mitsubishi Delica... Ended up getting one of them

Although the Delica is only a P reg, I'd say it had more toys and was more practical (in terms of seat positioning, etc.) than what new Previas/Lucidas offer...

You also get the added bonus of it being a 4 wheel drive vehicle - might come in handy now and again...

It's funny being in the Delica - you're quite high up and seem to look down to other MPVs that you would normally consider big vehicles (Range Rovers, etc.)

Which do I prefer - new Previa or old Delica? Old Delica!

C. Jay. k.

Haven't really looked at a Delica ,they dont look as big as a Lucida? 2.8 td (i?) that'll be the same motor as whats in a Pajero is it not.
Got a 7 seat 2.7 4x4 nissan import just now. the 6/7th seats are just a fold down bench which takes up 90% of the boot which is no good .
What is the Delica like on juice....the 4x4 i have is pretty crap!

FirebirdUK

They don't look as big, but there's quite a bit of room inside (depending how you arrange the seats). They come in 7 and 8 seater versions - the 8th seat is one of the fold up type seats on the middle row of seats.

The middle row can be rotated 360 degrees (you can have them facing forwards, backwards or sideways). The back seats fold up to the side, giving quite a bit of room. You can arrange the seats to make a double bed if you wanted too!

There's enough room between the front two seats to walk into the back of the car (which came in handy when we were on the ferry the other week - we were wedged between other vans and couldn't open the doors wide enough to get out - luckily we could get out of the side door)

Have a look at the Delica owners club - lots of good info and pictures over there (www.mdocuk.co.uk - take a browse in the forums)

It is the same engine as the Pajero (as are most of the parts - gearbox, etc.)

Can't really moan at the mpg (it's better than the Scoob) - I'm probably getting high 20's (between 20 and 30 seems to be the average) - probably about the same as I was getting in the Previa we had (that was the 2.0 D4D version).

I suppose it depends what you're after, but if you're in the market for that sort of thing, I'd recommend taking a look if you get the chance...

Andy M3

I am about to have baby number 3. I also bought a new car this year to replace our Volvo T5 Estate. I was in the market for a spacious MIDI people carrier. The large one's seem cumbersome thirsty, expensive to buy / run etc and not used to it's full potential 90% of the time. So after looking at the Toran, Scenic, Zafira and Toyota Corolla Verso, we decided on the latest generation of FIAT MULTIPLA. It was perfect for a kiddy carrier with 6 FULL SIZED seats front and back - more room in the back then my parents MY04 range rover and only a few inches longer than my Skoda Fabia. It is very quirky and quite a cool car to own. No where near as 'tricky' as the scenic or as 'solid' as the toran - but it is what it is, rather than a people carrier trying to be something else. In addition it is easy to get the kids in and out - with growing space - and I think we will have it about 5 years then get something more what we want. But I can recommend the JTD Multipla [Eleganza].

Andy

http://www.briskoda.net/gallery/file...8/18052005.jpg

Dream Weaver

Zafira VXR is due out soon, 240bhp

rallylane.com

We've done the usual looking at lucida/delicas/honda shuttles,etc,etc,etc. Was half tempted by some of the pimped out versions, but wasn't convinced.

Finally bought a Grand Voyager with blacked out windows and more toys than you can shake a stick at, plenty of room behind the spacious rear bench seat so that you can actually take some luggage with you if you have people sitting in the car. One of the most comfortable cars I've driven.