Bexlee

With twins on the way & another child who will be just 3 years old by D-Day, I need a car capable of taking 3 child seats. To my dismay, it was apparant today that our Volvo V70 is not up to the job (not interested in fitting the extra rear facing seats) & so it is going to be sold to make way for an MPV. I've never paid any interest to these before & so would be interested to hear some opinions / recommendations (other than get the snip!)

Must have
Reliability
Reasonable economy & power (so a diesel I guess)
Decent load space as well as the extra seats
Automatic
Good passive & active safety
Prefer leather

I like the idea of a sliding door, so off the top of my head thought of the Chrysler Voyager. Others immediately to mind include SEAT Alhambra, VW Sharan.

I will have around £10- 15k to play with.

What do you think?

Bexlee

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

We had the same problem, went from an 850 T5 to a Sharan, its been alright, it has 3 built in kid seats (depends on the version, you dont get it with leather though), its been reliable having had it 3 and a bit years from new, drives ok, ours is a PD115 diesel, the petrols are either crap (2.0), thirsty (2.3) or very thirsty (2.8), there is a 150 turbo petrol that may work well but again it wont be at all economical.

Safety wise the Sharan (and the others) is only a group 3 but they do feel safe, plus you dont tend to throw it about or drive quickly anyway.

My sister in law looked down the Voyager route but also ended up with a Sharan.

Smiler

We own a MPV and to be honest I wouldn't look at a MPV if it didn't have sliding doors.

Fiat Ulysse/Citroen C8/Peugeot 807

All the same car except the badge. We have a Ulysse and to be honest it is a half decent MPV. All the toys as well, acres of room. Never seen one with leather but perhaps the newer ones do. The 807 comes with the higher price tag but dunno why

Voyager (we will seriously consider next time)

Can be as loaded as you want it to be.

Don't be fooled into the diesel route. Think about getting a Petrol and then getting a LPG conversion.

woodmeister

My brother in law has a Toyota Privia. He rates it. Big, reliable and there's a sliding door too.

mightyyid

Voyager is totally crap to drive, too wallowy and all over the place and classic boring interior. Previa is OK but an older diegn inside and out so makes a difference. Pug 807 and associated vehicles have many documented faults. Best is the Galaxy, Sharan route as plenty of them, many common parts and decents vehicles to boot given a wide choice of diesel engines.

Fred321

I'd go for the Jap Version of the Previa...Toyota Lucida, being a 2.2 Turbo Diesel they are very nippy yet provide better mpg than the uk previa being a 2.4 petrol.

The chap next door to me has a 1996 Lucida & thing has all sorts of gadets like self closing doors, fridge, swivel seats, massive roof, digital climate etc etc....and most important you can get 8 people in there AND have room for the pushchair in the boot.

Worth looking into....

captain ted

Transit mini-bus?

How many more you having?

Think to the future!

Ted.

Bexlee

Had a look at a few today- didn't drive any, just trying to narrow it down to start with based on design & layout.

Toyota Previa- BIG car with tiny wheels, looked strange! Good seat layout & sliding doors each side

SEAT/Ford/VW- good design, lots around, value with SEAT/Ford

Citroen C8- lots of space, big car & relatively good looking, sliding doors

Renault Espace- space & good looking

I didn't have time to go to the Mitsubishi showroom- I wanted to see their Grandis.

Discounted the Chrysler Voyager based on layout

Any further comments on these would be appreciated.

Bexlee

flynnstudio

X-Trail big enough ?

captain ted

Grandis is prettiest by far in my opinion.

I would wager much more reliable than any French tat too!

Ted.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Its like choosing between cat sick or dog sick for dinner choosing an MPV, you dont want either.

Bexlee

Lol, just so J4cko!

Espace 2.2DTi seems to be front runner at the moment. Although it would be cramped, the second row of seats are properly separate- which would mean on a full expedition we could get 3 baby seats in, take the back 2 out & have a 1/2 decent boot.

Sharan/Alhambra/Galaxy same as above.

In the Citroen C8 (and derivatives), and Mitsi Grandis (judging by pictures on their website) the middle seat of the middle row isn't a full size separate seat & so I would lose that flexibility.

Anyone want a Volvo V70 140SE Ocean Race, auto, leather, fvsh (inc recent cam belt) 90k miles for £8250?

captain ted

Go on!

Get your crappy French plastic bus!

Everyone I know who has owned a Galaxy has had tons of trouble with them.

Has the Volvo had sticky kids all over it?

MattW

What about a Zafira - 7 seats, in Gsi spec a lot of fun.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

I must add that in the JD Power survery the Sharan managage a creditable (ahem) 137 out of 137, the Galaxy and Alhambra fared a smidge better but the stunning performance of the SHaran was only possible due to VW dealers being surly, rude and inneficient beyond the call of duty.

Ours has been ok, but its only done 20,000 miles, it did need 2 anti roll bar links but thats not much of a job, it did develop a slight hairline crack in the dash above the stereo so my missus got them to book it in to change the ENTIRE dash, I un-booked it having asked her if she would like a small crack (sniggers) in the dash sorting or nothing electrical to ever to work again. The crack is still there.

Smiler

But you said you wanted it to be reliabale

Rob82uk

the new espace is a whole different kettle of fish to the old ones

where older renaults fell apart, newer ones are very well built.

Reffro

Go for the Previa, its got the width to take three child seats across the car, and is available with a turbo diesel engine. Premium pricing doesn't always equal a premium car, so ignore the Espace. Which of the two is going to be reliable, the Toyota or the Renault.......

The Grandis is great looking but its not got much width, its long, so you'll struggle to get three across, and as pointed out, sliding doors are a must. You don't want the be the git responsible for most of the dents in car parks, by swinging open doors onto the car next to you, just to help you get junior in the car more easily.

The Voyager is a an American car design, its got the space, but nothing else to recommend it.

Galaxy, Alhambra and Sharan get replaced next year.

C8, 807 and Ulysse, hmm a combination of French and Italian style and build quality. At the end of the day, they were first designed as vans, not cars, hence they drive like vans. But they do have cheapness and sliding doors on their side.

Previa has only one disadvanage, in that its just been withdrawn from sale, but that ould be useful in securing a bargain. And its not going to be replaced, so no need to worry a new model driving down the old versions prices. They aren't that fast, but with 115hp, and the diesel torque it moves along alright.

monty baber

Renault grand scenic 1.9 Diesel imo

captain ted

Bet he buys French!

(cheapo!)

dharbige

The new Mazda 5 has had excellent reviews.

It's not a full sized MPV, but has sliding rear doors and can seat 6 (+1 seat for ocasional use).

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

We went through all this as did the sis in law, all roads lead to a Shahamalxy !

wheelwright

Get the Alhambra SE/Stylance bang on car the 115 tdi is a great performer in the SE mode, had this one on a 51 plate no probs.(Seat use the VW lump Ford don't)

The stylance is the 130bhp with a few more toys ie rear/front parking aid, not drove it but it will surely please.
BUT i hear they are ALL do a replcement next year

Mark A

iTrader: (1)

I leased a Grand scenic 1.5 dci for the wife and it's been excellent. Nice to drive, 7 seats and some great touches.

Bexlee

Favourite seems to be Espace 2.2dci, although some figures suggest 1.9dci is much more economical- I'll have to see if the extra power is worth it. I could also get it in auto, which is the preference (as Mrs Bexlee drives a geared car like it is an auto anyway!) but I need to see how driveable it is. Only MPV with 5 star NCAP results, which is important when you have got all your eggs in one basket.

However, I have no doubt the Alhambra will be plenty good enough, especially with a 130tdi. Seems to be really good value- just depends on how much I like the Espace & if I can get one I like for the money. New models coming out may help negotiations on my part, as I will be looking to buy at 1 or 2 year's old for my budget.

Thanks for all the comments- not an exciting topic but clearly something a lot of us have had to consider.

dharbige

That's not true. Peugeot 807, Citroen c8, Fiat Ulysse all have 5 stars. Mind you, they are all the same platform as the Espace, which is proberbly why they're all crap.
We've had an 807 for 2 1/2 years now, and it has had very unreliable electricals. The peugeot is supposed to be the "quality" version of the shared platform.