7 Seater car

I know a similar question was asked recently, but there's a few things i'm needing to know that weren't quite covered. This morning for my school run i used all 7 seats (includes mine) in my Vauxhall Zafria and for the 1st time in about 3 years. Usually walk on my morning school run but drove as it's raining. I have a few new children aswell. I have realised (and forgotten) that my Zafria isn't really ideal anymore. It's a good car but my single buggy only just fitted in the small boot (small due to all seats being up) so i stand no chance if i had to use my double.
All the kids bags were just squashed in wherever and my back is now hurting me from where i had to bend right over to the back to put a heavy 18 month old into the very back seat and a small 4 year old (into the pop up seats.) Kids can't climb into the very back seats through the boot when all seats are up. The car seats that require a seat belt through them had to go in the very back otherwise i couldn't slide the middle seats forward.
It now appears that in 3 years my body has aged and all that bending and lifting in and out of the car has caught up on me! My car is also too long and makes parking difficult and reversing, although my parking sensors that i had fitted 2 years ago are great! It is an estate car.

My questions are: what would be a suitable 7 seater that isn't too long and spacious inside? (Do they come with parking sensors?)

Anyone have a sliding door car? That would be useful and something that i thought about for a while.

My Zafria isn't too bad for petrol ( unleaded) but is high in road tax. I have had it 6 years but it is 8 years old. It is the 1st seven seater i have had and wished i had researched it a bit better before i bought it.
I don't want a massive car and don't want one that guzzles petrol and is heavy to drive, but at the same time i don't want to end up getting one that gives me the same problems as my Zafria. If i change my car i need to get it right this time around! It's not every day that all seats are used, but enough.
I'm after one that is spacious inside and especially the boot for buggies, and easier to put kids into the car seats and not all be crammed in and have trouble doing the seatbelts! I prefer not to have a car where you need to remove the extra seats.
My car also mists up easily and takes a while for the very back to de-mist. (Although that could be the case with every estate car!?)
Thanks in advance

good luck! I don't think there IS a small, spacious 7 seater that is not long!

I have a vw touran .... boot is small with all seats up, you have to fold & tip a middle seat forward to get into the back. depending on what seats I have where, seatbelts can be a hard to do up! I had to buy a new single buggy for the boot, and the double stroller has to stand up in front passenger footwell. if there is a child there ( only my own! ) they get squashed by buggy! not much room for bags!

it does have parking sensors and is a diesel and is pretty economical!

However, I wouldn't have chosen it if I had a choice! ( DH is VW obsessed! )

I had a Toyota verso before and loved it. It didn't feel like a BIG car! but the boot was also small and you had to slide a seat forward to get into the back. mine didn't have parking sensors, but as I don't use them anyway, it doesn't matter! ( they are on silent in the touran! )

I've had friends with the mazda 5 ? with sliding doors ... but it is a narrow car, and they struggle with carseats fitting.

a T5 VW is HUGE, but has a big boot, and decent seats!

I'm debating a landrover - a farmer I know has a long wheelbase one that has 9 seats .... but then it becomes a bus!

Some useful answers there to my questions Loocyloo. Thanks. Be interesting to hear what others say. Good to know what cars to avoid aswell. Yes i think i am living in dream land if i think i can get a small spacious 7 seater!

I had a Zafira. They are good for what they are, and what they cost. I understand your buggy problem. I found a Mama and Papa Aria double fitted in the boot. It went in upright. I used to use that all the time, even when I only had one child. I liked the fact that the middle seat had its own seatbelt, rather than one coming out of the ceiling.

I currently have a Citroen grand Picasso. My single umbrella fits, but not the double. I have to put it in the front. Mine is diesel, and is nice to drive. My parents had a more recent model, and their car tax was only £20 per year. It has sneaky storage under the back seats, and we often stuff school bags here.

A huge Chrysler has a big boot, even when all the seats are up.

A few years ago, most of my local childminders had Zafiras , now many have Citroens.

I'm really getting fed up with problems with cars and not being able to get car seats to fit in properly and hearing that people with 7 seaters are no better off then me with my 5 seater as you either have 7 seats and no boot or 5 seats and a boot - surely with a family car or a family car for a larger family (7 seater) the manufacturers should realise that you then have extra shopping, luggage, double buggies.

It seems that they supply all 7 seats to tick a box but don't actually expect anyone to use them all. The number of times at airports I have seen people turn up to get in their 7 seater hire car and then have to hire a roof rack to put all the luggage on!

I drive a Citroen C8. It has 8 seats. I can easily fit 3 car seats in the middle row. The back row is a long bench and 2 car seats fit with a child/slim adult inbetween. I have sliding doors and they are fab. But no reversing sensors, well not on my model. The boot isn't big when the back bench is up. I wouldn't fit a double buggy in it. I do feel it's thirsty on short journeys and heavy to drive when it's full of teenagers. I like the space and the children sit high up and can easily see out of the windows. I've decided that I'll just run it into the ground as a new car is expensive.

I had a Zafria bit now have a VW Sharan - love it. 7 good sized seats, sliding doors and can fit and double and single in the boot. Had parking sensors as well.

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Originally Posted by lynncjt

I had a Zafria bit now have a VW Sharan - love it. 7 good sized seats, sliding doors and can fit and double and single in the boot. Had parking sensors as well.

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Thanks everyone. So far the VW Sharan looks good. Think my husband thinks i should hang onto my Zafria, but at end of day i'm the one who uses it as he has his own car and i just don't think it's practical anymore. How is the Sharan for petrol and tax?

I also have a sharan. Mine is a "08" plate and I don't have sliding doors. I would love them it would make the car perfect. Love the seats, boot space is small but obviously not as small as you're used to as I can fit 2 doubles in my boot - taking wheels off and putting spare seat and hood between the back seats but is doable. Cost me £65ish to fill with diesel which gets me a good amount of miles- I'll check next time I fill up and am low if you like? Tax was about £200 for the year this year.

Also has parking sensors but I don't feel like I'm driving anything too huge and can park it easily

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Originally Posted by samb

Also has parking sensors but I don't feel like I'm driving anything too huge and can park it easily

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Thanks.
Yes please to letting me know how much next time you fill up, but no worries if you forget! My Zafria costs about £60 to fill up and that also gets me a good amount of miles.

My tax is higher than yours (if yours is about £200.) Mine is £205 for this year, which i think is a lot and it just keeps shooting up in price each year. I opted to pay monthly this year(which actually works out more but at the time of the month it was due it made it easier for me)

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Originally Posted by Snowwhite

Thanks. Yes please to letting me know how much next time you fill up, but no worries if you forget! My Zafria costs about £60 to fill up and that also gets me a good amount of miles. My tax is higher than yours (if yours is about £200.) Mine is £205 for this year, which i think is a lot and it just keeps shooting up in price each year. I opted to pay monthly this year(which actually works out more but at the time of the month it was due it made it easier for me)

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They were probably the same as I know it was just slightly over £200 so that sounds about right. I filled up Sunday and resent the milage thing so will keep you posted!

[QUOTE=loocyloo;1

I'm debating a landrover - a farmer I know has a long wheelbase one that has 9 seats .... but then it becomes a bus![/QUOTE]

If it has 9 seats including the driver, then it's not a minibus-if it has 9 PLUS the driver then it is.

I had a Chrysler Grand Voyager which was my perfect car except in the winter when the sliding doors would freeze shut and I managed to overload the electrics trying to open them!!

I a have a Chrysler Grand Voyager stow and go, it's the love of my life! The most amazing car I have ever owned! Its old 2004 but works great. I love that I can easily get into the back to put seat belts. The sliding doors have enabled me to get into fairly tight Parking spaces and still get everyone in and out. The boot is ginormous and I can fit my double and single in at the same time. Parking sensors make life easier. Of course there are some downsides, it did have some electrical faults initially which are all fixed now with the correct size battery, it guzzles fuel on short journeys but is really efficient on long journeys. Road tax is fairly high. In my opinion all the pro's vastly outweigh the cons.

I have a Ford Smax, has some same problems as your zafira, boot is small with back seats up, but when im using all three back seats I can get the older kiddies to climb in through the boot to the two back seats ( they love the adventure :) ). its deisel (£280 a year on 06 plate) and is fab, I only do short journeys 7 miles to school x4 a day plus add another 10 miles a day for other groups and outings (rough total 250-300 miles a week for running my child around, childminding and family weekends out ). A tank of fuel at the mo costs £65 and I fill up every two weeks. I can get three chunky car seats all next to each other on the back seat, it has three separate good size seats. Maybe look at the ford galaxy, next one up from smax, has the two boot seats as full chairs like the rest and possibly a bigger boot, dont htink its much longer than the smax/zafira. I love my smax, so comfy to drive and ticks all my boxes, ( well i do need a 8th seat on a wednesday, but thinking my dd is a thrill seeker, I could sit her on the roof? :p)

Can I ask what car seats seats you have in your s max on the middle row . We are struggling to find three high backed car seats that will fit . TIA XX

Thanks everyone. Very useful information.

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Originally Posted by Snowwhite

Thanks.
Yes please to letting me know how much next time you fill up, but no worries if you forget! My Zafria costs about £60 to fill up and that also gets me a good amount of miles.

My tax is higher than yours (if yours is about £200.) Mine is £205 for this year, which i think is a lot and it just keeps shooting up in price each year. I opted to pay monthly this year(which actually works out more but at the time of the month it was due it made it easier for me)

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Well I finally had to fill up again - I let it run right down. It says 498 miles and it believes I could get another 24 miles. Obviously that depends on the type of driving so to let you know that most of my driving is small journeys a mile or 2 at a time with approx. 4 larger journeys of about 30 miles each way in that too. Hope that helps. I think that's pretty good mileage. I know the petrol version my friend has is awful compared to mine.

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Originally Posted by samb

Well I finally had to fill up again - I let it run right down. It says 498 miles and it believes I could get another 24 miles. Obviously that depends on the type of driving so to let you know that most of my driving is small journeys a mile or 2 at a time with approx. 4 larger journeys of about 30 miles each way in that too. Hope that helps. I think that's pretty good mileage. I know the petrol version my friend has is awful compared to mine.

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Thanks very much for letting me know