Had a test drive today

[lozz]

Had a test drive today in a 7 seater vw Shazzan derv Auto
Nice looking motor ,
iwas thinking of buying it and scrap the 406 as ive had a gut full of it,

well it sounded like chitty chitty bang bang with a bag of nails thrown inthe rocker cover,
it was a slow norris and the aircon didnt work,
so ithought feck it iwill pass on that me thinks

is there any decent 7 seaters out there that actualy drive well pref deisel ?

any ideas

[FarmerPug]

i dont like the vw sharon.
the toyota previa is a much better machine, sliding doors, quiet inside, comfortable, good dash layout for passengers, 2.4 PETROL sounds nice, the auto is smooth and on LPG its easy to run.
The chrysler voyager 3.3 v6 petrol is good if you get a good one on lpg again because its got a smooth auto, nice ride and sliding doors.
Both the previa and voyagers have diesel options but the Petrol engines are nicer.

[waue1978]

My old Zafira wasn't too bad to drive, but diesel ones aren't cheap. To be honest my 406 is probably the best 7 seater I've found. All the proper MPVs seem to come with built in faults.

[FarmerPug]

Mercedes w124 e300d estate, 7 seats, automatic, comfort and built like a tank.

[steve_earwig]

The first time I saw one of those Sharons it reminded me lots of a vacuum cleaner, now there's millions of them about I guess I'm kind of used to it.

[sirwiggum]

Don't like these MPV egg shaped van things.

Only useful if you have 5 kids.

406 estates and Renault 21 estates can be used as 7 seaters.

[waue1978]

The Renault 21 was great. Still had an Escort sized boot with all the seats up. Not even the full size MPVs manage that trick - apart from the Toyota Previa/Lucida, but they really are huge anyway.

Think the best MPV money can buy really are things like VW Caravelles & the like, but they really hold their money well.

[FarmerPug]

The caravelle is really just a minibus, a transporter with seats in the back.
The 807/c8 never gets a good rating, apart from the fact the electric sliding doors are useless, because they are too slow its not a bad people carrier, you can even get a fiat and lancia version if you want.
Vauxhall did some 7 seat thing about 10 years ago, it had sliding doors but never was a success, hondas shuttle was the same.

[waue1978]

The caravelle is really just a minibus, a transporter with seats in the back.

True, but you try to find one with less than 200k on the clock for under £3000. They hold their money, they last & some of the newer ones are very plush inside.

Vauxhall did some 7 seat thing about 10 years ago, it had sliding doors but never was a success, hondas shuttle was the same.

You mean the Sintra? They fell rapidly out of public favour after a poor crash test if I remember right. Honda's Shuttle (or Odyssey) may not have been popular, but most owners swear by them. The only complaint I've ever heard about a Shuttle was that they guzzle (all 2.2 & 2.3 autos), but they are unbelievably reliable.

A couple of years ago we had to do a trip to Ireland with a load of baby stuff for the sister-in-law so we hired a Vauxhall Vivaro 12 seat minibus & the hire company took the last 2 rows out which left us with 6 seats & a huge boot. If it wasn't limited to 65mph it would have been perfect. Pulled away like a rocket & wasn't too bad on fuel, plus it still managed to fit in a normal car parking space. If they'd been a bit cheaper, I'd have bought one.

[sirwiggum]

The only complaint I've ever heard about a Shuttle was that they guzzle (all 2.2 & 2.3 autos), but they are unbelievably reliable.

I'm finding the same with my Honda, for a 2.0 auto guzzles fuel but for an old cheap used car for banger money it's the first car I've ever bought that doesn't have a list of jobs it needs done immediately.

A couple of years ago we had to do a trip to Ireland with a load of baby stuff for the sister-in-law so we hired a Vauxhall Vivaro 12 seat minibus & the hire company took the last 2 rows out which left us with 6 seats & a huge boot. If it wasn't limited to 65mph it would have been perfect. Pulled away like a rocket & wasn't too bad on fuel, plus it still managed to fit in a normal car parking space. If they'd been a bit cheaper, I'd have bought one.

Would have been an Opel then

Those vans seem to have ridiculous acceleration, the quickest thing on the roads

[FarmerPug]

they are the ones that share the body with the renault i drove a 6 speed renault one it felt more than 115bhp.
the kia cedona, them things are hateful.

[lozz]

well iwont be getting a 7 seater
insurance is a joke on them
and stuff like Voyagers have a n cap rating of about 1 there no Good in a crunch thems jap previas ihate wouidnt have one,
Nissan Serenas are about the cheapest around to insure
strangely there only pennys to insure compared to the 406 and they have 8 seats,

so ithink the 406 will be staying abit longer idont fancy the serena ive been there done that and iwasnt impressed
there vertualy avan and they drive like one,

iwill wait till isee a transit tourino me thinks

[FarmerPug]

the serena they really are like a van my uncle had one before the chrysler, it was as slow as wind erosion. and the engine is inside the car between the two front seats only a carpet between you and it so its very loud, and tail happy because of the RWD layout, but not safe in its tailhappiness.

[sirwiggum]

With 2 kids you can still drive a 2+2 Coupe.

Why does everyone pop out a kid and suddenly buy a van people carrier or a huge urban assault SUV?

[lozz]

ihave 8 kids
well 7 as one didnt make it

so a 7 seater for us will be cheaper than running 2 cars,

people have mpvs for a number of reasons its not just about how many kids youve got,
just because someone as got 2 kids dont mean to say they dont use all 7 seats