Which 7 Seat Diesel MPV

B

busman

Guest
With a expected expenditure of ~30K which 7 Seat diesel MPV is the best with respect to : reliability, safety and usage. Possible contenders are: New Zafira, Grand Scenic, Hyundai Trajet, VW Tourang. BTW - I want it to last for up to 10 yrs

Particularly intersted in hearing from current owners:

My opinion:
Zafira - good, pricey, a bit small
Grand Scenic - best design, but quesionable build quality & reliability
Hyundai - god engine, old fashioned design
VW - good, pricey

thanks
 
Have you considered Ford Galaxy TDI - now very well spec'd as will be replaced soon, so good bargains maybe about. Still a very good , comfortable car to drive and a lot more roomy than Scenic/Zafira (its basically a badged VW) - Diesels are very economical and good performers.

Reliability wise, I am on my second and in seven years of ownership I have not had any problems .
 
Scenic and Zafira are small. In 7 seat mode there's practically no boot, and the rearmost passengers sit very close to the back window.

Touran looks good. Expensive new.

Galaxy/Alhambra/Sharan (all the same car really) are all bigger older designs. Some better value around 2nd hand.

Hyundai is good value, and if you are going to keep it forever, residuals won't matter.

None of the above will be a particularly good drive however.
 
Agree with everything RS2K has said.
RS2K said:
Galaxy/Alhambra/Sharan (all the same car really) are all bigger older designs. Some better value around 2nd hand.
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I've an Alhambra 1.9TDi, and I went for it over it the VW/Ford models because — for the same money — it had superior finish/trim/"extras". Some people told me they even hold their value slightly better for this reason. The one small "dislike" I'd have about any of these three clones is that the suspension tends to be a bit soft and over-responsive. There are lots of speed ramps around where I live, some of them unnecessarily high, and if you don't slow to an absolute crawl (like 5mph!) it's very easy to "ground" the nose coming off the ramp...

Thought about the Trajet too, but without having much extra useful space inside, it's a good 5" or 6" wider (and longer, and higher) and we have very narrow gates. The finish inside isn't nearly as nice as the Galaxy/Alhambra/Sharan, either.
 
We have a 2001 Galaxy TDi. It's the 110 BHP version, which is Adequate for the size of the vehicle. The 90BHP one is a complete Dog. Maybe newer ones have improved BHP, so this may no longer be an issue. MPG is great. Wife loves it. Very practical except boot is tiny. Need a Roof Box when going away with all the kids. We have 5 kids and Zafira & Scenic are too small. Might be OK if you have 3 kids. If I was upgrading I would seriously look at the Toyota Previa but they are Rare & Expensive but they will last well beyond 10 years and will seat 8 people. Toyota would be more reliable than Ford. Previous car (before the Twins arrived) was a Fiat Multipla. Ugly as hell but Brilliant. Newer model looks better. Great set up and drove well. Tough to Resell though. If it was my choice only and if the Govermnent did not impose prohibitive taxes on larger engines, I would go for a 7 seater jeep 2.5 or 3L Diesel. Good Luck
 
thanks all - will have a look at the Galaxy 100 bhp. Agree with last chap - my preference is a Landcruiser 7 seater but its really the wifes car and as he siad the tax etc is too much. I also think the multiply is great but she hates it.

Anyone driving a Grand Scenic Diesel ? - any issues with it
 
Busman,

I've been researching the same type of car myself over the past couple of months as the family is expanding. Pretty much agree with most of the posts above. Here are a some other suggestions to muddy the waters:

Toyota Verso range (Corolla & Avensis)
Mazda 5
Renault Espace

This might help:

[broken link removed]
 
My two cent worth. We have a Galaxy and find it great for 4 kids space wise. There is no comparison between mini mpv's ( Zafira, scenic etc ) and the likes of the Galaxy regarding space. Yeah they drive more like a car but the kids wont have nearly as much room which is more important imo. The downside of the 7 seat Jeeps is the big engine and the big price but definitely much sturdier than the full size MPV.
 
demoivre said:
The downside of the 7 seat Jeeps is the big engine and the big price but definitely much sturdier than the full size MPV.
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Big fuel bills too, if you do a lot of miles! Whereas a 1.9 diesel SharaGalHambra will give you close to 45mpg (vs. 30-ish for the 2.0l petrol) :) and road tax is just over €500 (if you pay annually).

Oddly enough, the 115BHP version gives better fuel economy figures than the 90BHP. I guess the 90BHP engine just isn't up to pulling around something so heavy in a fuel-efficient manner.
 
Exactly. Our 110BHP TDI Galaxy easily does 50MPH. It's better suited to the larger heavier vehicle. 90BHP struggles and therefore burns more.
 
After deliberating, test driving etc. .etc. . . for almost a year we are finally
torn between Grand Scenic and Toyota Avensis on petrol only. I don't think we could push more our budget for diesel. We need 7 seater.

But if we are spending 32K, we will definitely go for Toyota Avensis. No doubts about the reliability of Toyota engine. I could probably save 5K for almost brand new Grand Scenic but I'm fully convinced it can serve us in the next 10 years. Style might be outdated after 5 years unlike Avensis which has the classic look.

We are closely monitoring the second hand car market and with luck will get something on low mileage for Avensis.

Goodluck.
 
I had a Galaxy and loved it, very comfortable, roomy etc. However, it is a very powerful car and sometimes I felt it was driving me rather than the other way around. Towards the end I had endless trouble with the starting mechanism, something to do with the key and the electronics of the alarm, which no mechanic seemed to be au fait with (even Ford).
 
busman said:
With a expected expenditure of ~30K which 7 Seat diesel MPV is the best with respect to : reliability, safety and usage. Possible contenders are: New Zafira, Grand Scenic, Hyundai Trajet, VW Tourang. BTW - I want it to last for up to 10 yrs

Particularly intersted in hearing from current owners:

My opinion:
Zafira - good, pricey, a bit small
Grand Scenic - best design, but quesionable build quality & reliability
Hyundai - god engine, old fashioned design
VW - good, pricey

thanks
Click to expand...
Check out the new Seat Altea - VW quality at a very keen price and Alfa like good looks!
 
I think buying a 2 litre petrol engined 7 seater might be an error.

The market is almost 100% diesel.
 
My reasoning is that I would want to only buy one of these and that it should last 10 years plus. So your should be justified in spending the extras and buying a diesel over that period.

I think the petrol versions are quite heavy on fuel but obviously comes down to your willingness to spend
 
busman said:
My reasoning is that I would want to only buy one of these and that it should last 10 years plus.
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That was exactly my reasoning when I bought a 2-yr-old Alhambra, a couple of years ago. A mechanic I trust ventured that the 1.9TDi engine — whether badged Ford, Seat or VW — was renowned for being "unburstable" (I presume that's the correct technical term?)
 
3rd Child on the way, need to change to MPV. Anyone with recent experience ? (MPV that is :)) Mazda 5 seems to be the best looking but want to select a model that is safe, good MPG, good performance. Will spend upto €25K
 
busman said:
thanks all - will have a look at the Galaxy 100 bhp. Agree with last chap - my preference is a Landcruiser 7 seater but its really the wifes car and as he siad the tax etc is too much. I also think the multiply is great but she hates it.

Anyone driving a Grand Scenic Diesel ? - any issues with it
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Go take a test drive in the new hyundai santa fe, they are all seven seater models now and a lovely drive. I'm on my third in 4 years and wouldn't consider looking at another make / model. They are sooooo reliable and hyundai dealers make a decent trade in offer.
 
Have a 2002 Galaxy Zetec 1.9 TDI (115BHP). 40+ mpg (that with a fair bit of short/City driving. Bought new - have 82k miles on the clock (since this evening) - not a moments trouble, regularly ferry half a football team in it, additionally we've taken it across France/Italy, fully loaded, with roofbox and three adult bikes on the back. I'd buy one again, haven't seen the new one that's been released but the reviews are very positive.............

BM

( I have absolutely no connection with Ford, actually know very little about cars..........)
 
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