The Zafira is good on paper. If you have a baby seat on the middle row you have to unclip it to be able to slide the middle bench forward to get the rear two seats up and down. Very irritating.
We had a Touran, great set up inside but sadly expensive to fix when it breaks.
Ask yourself do you really need a seven seater? If you have 3 children or less then I suggest you look at 5 seater cars, maybe an estate if you're after a big boot.

If you're set on a 7 seater go to some dealers and have a look at what they offer and try the seating configuration, fold, move and adjust ALL the seats to see if it'll work with you and your lifestyle.

 

Mitsibushi chariot. They do an import only version called the GTR i think. It has the same engine that's in the evo 2. Very rare though.

 

After hating big 4x4's "forever" - we got wifey a Disco3 a couple of years back.

7 full adult sized seats.
Huge. Feels "one size bigger" than everything else out there.
Great spec (ours is the ltd edit range-toppng "Metropolis" ) inc 550w Harmon Kardon with sub, 6sp slushbox with manual override, front & rear heated seats, fridge, steering bi-xenons, roof-mounted DVD etc etc. Bit of a culture shock after a scoob....

Expensive to buy and to run (suffer some common issues), and far from fast, but still an event to drive. Unlike every people carrier I've tried.

And the scoob feels like it has an extra 100bhp every time you get in it.

 

Be careful, they can be bought as a five seater. Most are 7 seaters though.
Middle bench is 3 separate seats, with individual forward/backward adjustment. All are removable and tippable etc.
The back seats simply fold in and out of the boot floor. The headrests need to be removed to fold, I just left ours off (theres a space under the boot floor for them)
There is no spare wheel on these, but comes with get you home tyre foam and a mini cig plug powered compressor!

If you can get yourself the 140/170hp tdi sport model, very nippy.

 

If you enjoy breakdowns then yes go for it

 

.......and an interior that feels like its made out of egg cartons....

 

Or you could save yourself some money.

 

I've got a Citroen C4 grand picasso VTR +........ what would you like to know

Is it the 1.6 diesel like mine?

Shaun

 

the new(ish) ford galaxy tdci is a nice drive. ok so its a ford, but they really are a good car to drive.

 

Yep, I looked at the Galaxy befor I bought the Citroen.......nicer to drive, and to look at and seem bigger...... but I am a shed load richer buying the Citroen LOL

Shaun

 

be real carefull on the baggage space matey lots of the 7 seaters dont have room for a crate of beer let alone baggage for a family visiting friends etc
dont forget the chevrolet transporter with a 223 or 232 combo

 

not entirely accurate. yes, if all 7 seats are being used and there is a need for each of them to have a suitcase then it will be a problem. but realistically you can use all the seats and still have space for 2 or 3 holdalls. but, if there is only 5 using the car then there is shedloads of space left over.

 

was looking at it as some one who uses all 7 seats

 

Renault Grand Espace here - we like it - not the biggest boot with all 7 seats up but they come with a roof rack as standard so that can be sorted with a roof box for any long trips.

 

dont buy a citroen c8. a complete bag of $hite

 

we're on to our 2nd zafira,the newest one beig a sri 150cdti...

 

Hired one for my family of 6 for a trip to the IOW. Great car, good on fuel lots of space and very comfy...

 

+1 MATE FORD GALAXY VERY GOOD ON 1.9TDCI

 

even better when you have one waiting in marbella and you can drive to Gibraltar in 40 mins to fill up for about 95p a L and come back with 400 cigs (me and mrs) for around £20

 

Zafira gets my vote too. On an autoroute trip a fortnight ago we were getting 44mpg, five up fully laden. That's the 1.6 petrol.
You should be able to get an 09 / 10 plate for £8k.
Main dealers seem to have the used ones at more realistic prices than independants and car supermarkets.
We're looking for a replacement at the minute.
Ours has been 100% reliable in 83k miles

 

X5, huge rear bench, toys, oh and get a V8.
I would rather have sold my tackle than get a 7 seater.

 

Recently got a toyota corolla verso which we are very pleased with.

 

strangely enough my mate (ex scooby owner) has just turned up in his new motor, 7 seater VW Sharan 4 motion. if you are after performance then this is a real contender! less space than a galaxy but truly impressive performance. full leather etc.

 

Still can't get away from the fact that you have to move the middle bench to get the rear seats up and down. Very bad design, highlighted when you have car seats on the middle bench. (and yes I've owned one in the past)

Don't think an X5 with 7 seats will come in on the OPs 8k budget somehow.

 

He doesnt "need" a 7 seater unless he plans to take granny and granda along too. 5 big seats would be comfier anyway.