Another what 7 seater thread...
 

I was thinking of getting a Discovery 3 and still am but if I decide to not spend that amount of cash and say only want to spend £8k what are the best choices for the money?

The criteria must be it is a true 7 seater so things like the Zafira are out. It needs to have a lot of space and split seats 6 and 7 so I can use 1 seat and have the dog/luggage in there too.

I hate dated interiors, especially dash boards, so needs to be as modern looking as possible.

I can get a nice TD5 for that money with all the luxuries such as leather etc but everyone writes them off as awful and unreliable so have already excluded it from my choice.

I'm guessing at old Shoguns, Terranos, Land Cruisers and Troopers? People carriers could be considered but I really don't like them apart from the brand new ones which are all out of price range.

Oh and one last criteria I don't like high miles no matter how renowned the model is for doing lots of miles.

i have answered this before as I had the same requirements (in fact i needed 8 seats - so at least we could take one of the kids friends) plus we needed a little bit of boot space when in seven seat mode which ours always is.

and for me it was the Landcruiser LC100 - the 6/7 seats can either fold up individualy or together in secs or be removed completely in 45 secs

i hate people carriers so they were out -- discos -- with seven seats zero room in the boot, pajeros - even pikey'er than the LC

8k should get you a 2000/2001 model, maybe later, they probably don't drive as dynamically as some (they are fvcking massive)-- but i,m not that bothered tbh

if you want to drive it like a sport car, get a sports car aswell imo

Hyundai | New Cars | I800 :thumb:

Unless you need a 4wd vehicle why bother, at that kind of money you look like you are going out laying tarmac, we have the new shape Galaxy and its really pretty good, dont know how much you can get them for now but I reckon there may be some for that ammount.

If its seven proper seats you need, not like the old Disco with occasional sideways ones in the rear then generally you need a people carrier, you may as well just accept it, buy it use it and get rid of it when you have done with it and get a proper car again.

I think the Landcrusier is an impressive thing but they are huuuuge and I cant imagine they do more than 20 mpg even as a diesel, plus when you add in the limited handling and propensity to fall over they arent as safe as perceived.

Thanks for the replies. That is my concern for only £8k the 4x4's will be old and dated. Once again i've seen some really nice td5's on PH and they are selling so not everyone is avoiding them. Can't do the Galaxy as had Fords before and said never again and can't face up to coming out to a car every day that I don't like.

The 4x4 although not essential will be useful as my son's school is rural so handy in Winter as it lies on a steep narrow country lane.

The Land Cruisers seem rare for a late one at £8k and if they do pop up sell immediately on PH. Need to be quick to snap one of those up.

Aren't some of the big Volvo estates 7 seaters?

a vw transporter T4 or T5.

search under vw, caravelle on autotrader.

short or long wheel base.

even the short wheelbase has a boot way way bigger than any range rover, 4 x 4, people carrier etc.

amazing flexible and removable seating systems.

because they are comercial vehicles the build quality is rock solid.

:lol1: my Mrs wants this now:

mile2 ltd : 00 VW TRANSPORTER T4 CAMPERVAN WEEKENDER FVWSH 1 O

She can make a cup of tea and cook dinner whilst driving along.

Volkswagen Multivan 3 „Business“: Hightech im exklusiven Ambiente - Classic Driver - MAGAZIN - News

hope link works- how about this then for an interior !!!

that blue van is over priced by the way- its also a kombi (van) conversion and to be avoided.

a genuine caravelle has all the windows, all the plastic shroudings to the windows, side panels insulated and full rear blown hot air and roof ducted cold air in the headlining.

I could bore you all day long on this one.

you can get 174 bhp diesels, 4 x 4 versions, all sorts.

try also caravelle centre in kent bit of googling you'll find it.

I've had T4's- campers and velles for years.

you're unlikely to get much devaluation on these either- the sell on to camper van convertors/surfers etc is amazing.

Cheers and did look through loads on PH as i'd never seen these before and realised they were so popular! Almost all had alloys and done up in some way. Unfortunately the wife would never drive it, she is saying the discovery is too big let alone one of those.

I've been looking at the VW Touran which looks about as good as you are going to get for an MPV plus it's a VW.

Oh and that interior in that link is superb, I bet that will cost a bit.

I'm still hankering after the discovery td3 but that will cost me at least twice as much so had to look at more sensible options too.

You may buy a D3 but you WILL have whatever courtesy car the garage has far more often than you will ever have the D3. My kids thought we had bought a freelander as thats what we had nearly every week. Read the forums and honest john etc.... get the real picture from owners.They are riddled with faults and constantly let you down. My wife has always had land rovers, 110 County, 2 x discovery 2 V8 ES. And then the D3 4.4v8 SE. The D3 was the final straw, the badge and snobbery is great but they are so problematic. I now have the Nissan Pathfinder Aventura which is aswell equiped as the discovery has the 7 seats but cost me far less, has done 40K trouble free miles which is 39500 more than the discovery. Which on average only lasted 1K miles before something went wrong.

For £8k, you should consider the Mercedes ML with family pack - seats for 7 adults. Most people don't rate the ML - compared to an X5, as a 5 seater I completely agree there's no comparison. But in 7 seater guise, compared to a Discovery TD5, it's light years ahead. For £8k, you'll be able to get an ML270 or an ML500 - your choice between 27 or 17mpg! Make sure you get an Austrian one as opposed to an American built one - the Austrian ones have an X in the chassis number. Mine's a 9 year old ML430 with 7 seats, had it for 2 years and very pleased with it. Main dealer even gives 40% off labour as it's over 6 years old. Final bit of advice, anything pre March 2001 will be much cheaper on road tax for a 4x4, if you can find something with lower mileage that old.

How big ar the rear seats in the ML? I was looking at my sister-in-law's Disco 2 (I mean the facelifted original shape) and the rear seats look pretty crap. There is definitely more room in mid-size MPVs than in most SUVs.
.......the gearbox was on the way out on the Disco too!!!!!

I think you're right about the Touran. Hardly inspiring (and pretty noisy inside when fitted with the diesel lump) but they are more useful and roomy than anything but the biggest SUVs and are far easier to sell on when you get sick of it :).

Ford make the best mass market range there is, I am no Ford Fan Boy but have been seriously impresses with the Galaxy, would be interested to see why you are so anti Ford considering how good their products are, tend to find that people will drive something unsuitable with the right badge or image even if it isnt actually as good, a current Mondeo gets reviewed against the A4 and 3 Series and comes out at least as good if not better.

If you dont want one, you dont want one, thats fair enough but it seems a shame to rule out some pretty good products arbitrarily.

Looked at the ML's before but not too many with the family pack, in fact none I saw on PH had the family pack at around 8k and more petrol than diesels.

Jacko, had a couple of Fords before, admittedly a long time ago but can't be doing with the plastic interiors. After the ones I had I said i'd never have another Ford and always been Japanese or German cars since and got used to the less plastic interiors. Don't doubt the Galaxy is a great practical car but I just don't like the look of them because the model i'd be looking at is the old one. The new shape one is great but they are Disco 3 money at £15k+.

The Disco 3 craving is purely for the interior and space and not the badge/image but the horror stories of reliability are a concern.

Which Jap cars have you had that dont have plasticy interiors, even Lexus still do acres of plastic, as for that matter do Audi and BMW, they are all plastic, just some is less shiny than others, our Galaxy on the main dash is ok, the lower down bits arent quite as pleasant but its all perfectly acceptable.

I didnt think they were so expensive, would have thought they would be down intot he 8k ish bracket, we paid 20 for ours 8 months old with 10k, wanted a new one but couldnt get one as the diesel engines were in short supply. We had the earlier one and the best I can say (Sharan) was that it did its job, it seemed ok at the time but the new one just craps on it in every way, I used to avoid driving the old one but the new one is actually quite agreeable.

Have to agree on the Disco 3, I am not a fan of off roaders but I do like them, the shape is brilliant, purposeful without being bling like the RR sport, doesnt shout flash even though its the same car basically, as for badge and image, I think it has a pretty good image, non confrontational as its a Land Rover, havent heard the reliability concerns, what are they ?

I admit its a great looking car well specd etc... BUT the probs
Air suspension failure, either drops the suspension at speed on to its bump stops or just generally stays on the bump stops and puts it into limp mode. Failed sensors, compressor, wiring coroded, ecu unsure what to do.
EPB(electronic park brake) fails alot, leaves the brakes locked on so cant go anywhere Or can lock on at speed. There are a couple locked on the motorway that I know of. The air suspension is quite scary when it drops at 80mph. Numerous loose steering joints. sat nav and ecu failure. Tyres can wear in 5K if you have been unlucky enough to get one thats out of alignment, which landrover appear to struggle to sort due to the air suspensions movement through the park height to super extended mode.The diesels are prone to turbo and injector failure. Sunroofs crack on the surounds and then leave the car when they feel like it. Lots of electrical niggles. Leaks around the split rear door, auto box selector problems.
I had most of these issues during my ownership, I got to know most of the service staff at Land Rover dealership. I gave up after reading the forums and realising 95% of owners are having the same problems. Even the RRS forums report the same problems.

did over 60K miles in a vw T4 caravelle. took it over 100K mark now.

not a single fault ever.

obviously did a full 80k cambelt, water pump, oil pump change at the service point.

try driving one, full ind suspension- they are very car like. I suspect you'll find it better than a 4 x 4 on leaf springs.

Might be worth looking at AutoTrader for this sort of car, I regard PH as a place for enthusiasts cars.

They're full size rear boot seats in the ML, as comfortable as the main back seat, which slides forward to increase legroom for those right at the back. The seats come out too, increasing bootspace. The Disco 2 has a high boot floor so not so good on legroom and the seats are thinner and flimsier. More comfortable though than the Disco 1 which had sideways facing seats which were only big enough for a sub-12 year old but are now illegal for sub-12 year olds who must travel forwards!

Thanks for all the replies. I have set my mind on a Pathfinder now. Looks like I can pick up an Aventura/T-Spec for £12-13k privately so middle ground between 8k on something I don't want or £18k on a Dicso which I can't stretch to or take the risk with reliability.

Also seen they can be remapped for another 35bhp taking them to 210bhp and another 55 torques which I assume would help make it feel more car like.