Renault Grand Espace anyone?

M

Manuel

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We need to move to a 7-seater, and I have to admit I have a bit of a hang-up about Renault regarding reliability (I've never owned one). Functionally the car is great, and I'm a fan of the full-size seats.

Would anyone care to share their experience?

Thanks.

P.S. At the moment my preference is probably for Galaxy or S-Max, but I'd appreciate any feedback on this particular model. Thanks.
 
Never owned one. Anyone I know with one hasn't had any major problems. That I know about. I test drove one and was impressed with features though it didn't seem as robust as other 7 seaters. Had some issues with I would have expected the dealer to have fixed before putting it out for test drives. Has a spare which many don't. Lots of reports of problems on the web which makes me wary.

The Fords 7 seaters, have reports of electrical issues and the VW has problems ABS. Basically theres few cars with no problems. I still say go Japanese if you want reliability.
 
The Espace can cause alot of problems.

I would go with the bigger Ford if you can afford it.

One consideration is a Citroen C4 7 seater. A family member has one for over a year with no issues and they are significantly cheaper to buy. If you can set aside a budget for repairs (as you shoudl anyway) it might be worth a punt.
 
My other half has an Espace, it's the second one we have had and for a short period of time we had the Grande Espace. We had the choice of picking the other brands but opted again for the Espace.

The cars have never ever broken down, ever, they are very strong, reliable and feel very safe. Great for loading bikes at weekends and lots of luggage for holidays. The Grande Espace was too big. Really difficult to park. But I don't like parking anyway. Really smooth to drive. Perfect for long journeys. If you are going to use all 7 seats then you may need the Grande Espace for luggage space unless you put it on the roof. Having used the car in Ireland I wouldn't have thought it wasn't justified due to the lack of motorways and difficulty parking.
 
Assuming you need a Full Size 7-Seater, rather than a more compact 7-Seater like the C4 Grand Picasso or the Opel Zafira (where the 2 rearmost seats are really only for small children), I would recommend driving the Galaxy first. There is a larger Citroen -- C8, I think. Work colleagues in France claim that Citroen is the best of the French Brands, ahead of Renault and Peugeot. Toyota used to have a large 8 seater -- Previa, but I do not think they sell it here any more. I have driven many 7-seaters and currently own a 5 year old Toyota Landcruiser 8 Seater, which sucks up the whole family + 1 or 2 extra. I use a roof box for the holidays, a bike rack for up to 4 bikes, a trailer for the dogs and it takes us places many other vehicles cannot. Can't beat it but you get killed on road tax. The price to pay for comfort.
 
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