honeymommy

I am looking for opinions on car that seat 6 or more people in the UK. I am currently driving a ford explorer here and the previous car was a chevy suburban both 8 seaters.

What I want is a cheap economical car in the UK. Nothing flashy and it doesn't matter if it's old, just not clapped out.. lol

I have done a few searches and found some ideas but not knowing names and makes of the cars it is hard to see a full picture.

So can someone who knows lots of makes and models help me out so I can do a decent search and be better informed.

Oh and being a woman it has to be Red or black...... ROFLMAO!!!!

Just messing.....

way86

hi vauxhall do a seven seater called zafira
hope thise helps

dugongs

a lot depends on your budget.

volvo xc90 is the best large 4wd with 7 seats as standard.

toyota do an avensis based 7 seater people carrier which is well regarded.

renault do the espace and the scenic which are very popular people carriers here although quality is an issue with all renaults.

fiat do the multipa which is cute in an ugly way and seats six across 2 rows of seats and is good value used if you can handle the looks.

ford, vauxhall and peuguot also have people carriers of various sizes to match most budgets.

tiredwithtwins

A friend of mine (who has TWO sets of twins!!) has just bought a brand new chrysler people carrier....will let you know its name when i remember! but its a fab vehicle!!!

sue

Englishmum

Is it called the Chrysler Voyager? I have seen those in the UK. They are of course manufactured in the US and also known in the States as the Dodge Caravan, Plymouth Voyager and the luxury version is the Chrysler Town & Country. I know the Chrysler Voyager has been on sale in the UK for at least four years (Virgin Atlantic had some and I tried to book one when I had a load of large suitcases in transit when we moved from Singapore to the US - they sent us two Volvo saloons instead!). You should be able to find a decent second hand one I imagine.

We had the Dodge Caravan (short wheel base version) when we moved to the US and it was very economical....found it to be a bit 'tinny' though. We now have a Volvo XC90 (with the 7 seat option) but it's very thirsty....I wouldn't like to drive one in the UK with the price of petrol there.

tiredwithtwins

Voyager? yep, thats the one!!
Just out of interest, we fit 3 kids in kiddy seats in the back of our skoda........its much cheaper!!!!! We have a felicia, its about 6 years old and has never caused us any problems (touch wood)!

sue

dingbat

I drive a Plymouth Voyager in Canada and would highly recommned the space for big families. Nippy vehicles too and not bad on the petrol.

honeymommy

Thanks to all for your replies...

I have done a few more searches and have found some very good deals on the voyager.

The Fiat..... OMG!!!! I wouldn't be seen dead in one of those things... LOL

I loved my surburban.... Had 8 roomy seats and was a great drive anywhere. Yes a gas guggler, but with US gas prices it was fine.
I hate minivans mainly because I drove a friends Toyota Previa and felt like I was going to fall out the front window as I drove... LOL.. It felt very uncomfortable for me.... BUT.... I know we can't afford anything other than a minivan in the UK, and I will get used to driving one in very little time.... Now going back to driving on the other side of the road again.... hahahahah... Thats another issue....

Oh OH... Just had the pleasure of driving round a roundabout here!!!!!! MANY TIMES! As hubby was actually driving and thought the kids would enjoy going round about 6 times before we turned off.... Now it was hillarious... BUT.... We were taking our son to a party at DL hugleys house in this huge gated community.... HUGE!! Armed guard etc...... A few looks were directed our way I can tell you!!!! hahahahahah....

I have said I am going to pick him up, and no the other 3 kids/4 if you count hubby are not coming along..........

So Cars in UK....

Volvo xc90..... Way out of our price range at GPB 32000.00
Voyager.... Sounds good at about GPB5000.00 for a 1998.
Loads of renaults from 2000 to 6000 but not reliable????
Toyota Avenesis... I can't find it... just a saloon type with 4/5 seats..

Great help though..... Anymore ideas for me?????

Well off to eat dinner, watch TV and then I may take a quick spin around a Californian roundabout on the way to pick up son..... (Won't tell hubby though)

GillettFamily

Hi There

This is my opinion - we have a Vauxhall Zafira 1800cc elegance - and we find it superb, its got a lot of oomph and space and some refinements too - it is a seven seater with the back two seats being the revolutionary fold down seats (they fold into the bottom of the car, but once they are up they give you good footroom too) when they are down they leave you with enough space to carry the shopping and a large piece of furniture.

We love ours

Hey great idea - we are emmigration to Aus and will be selling ours to go - its silver and very clean with low mileage give us a bell if interested????



We love it

DarrenD

Just to give an idea on costs, I recently bought a 4 yr old 2 ltr diesel Zafira for GBP6000

Englishmum

Hey Honeymommy,

Buying a diesel minivan might be an excellent way to go; it is far more inexpensive to buy diesel in the UK than petrol and they go much further to the gallon compared to a petrol driven car.

Diesel cars are extremely popular in Europe now for this very reason and my two brothers-in-law drive diesels now (one has an Audi estate and one has a Rover) which saves them a lot of money when commuting to work compared to what they paid in their previous petrol-fuelled cars.

DarrenD

Hi

meant to give a quick run down on 6+ seater vehicles

1) Called 'People carriers' over in UK
2) Not very common until 6 - 4 years ago, when it seemed everyone had to have one, incl. Tony Bleugh...
3) Consequently, will be difficult to find one older than 97 / 98.
4) Major marques (go to their websites to get pictures):
* Ford Galaxy (7 seats)
* Seat Alhambra (Spanish 7 seats)
* Peugeot 806 (8 seats)
* Citroen
* Vauxhall / Opel Zafira (part of GM group, Opel is european name exactly the same as Vauxhall), 7 seats / reduces to 5.
* Fiat cr*ppy (6 seats, LOL as discussed before)
* Renault Espace (7 seats)
* New Renault Grand Scenic (wont find second hand ones, only new)

Pay a premium for them over a 4/5 seater car.
A toyota avensis is a standard station wagon /estate (5 seats)

acer rose

Cost per litre of diesel is now more than that of standard petrol due to increases in duty over the last few years. Though I agree, the consumption you will get from a diesel should be better than that from a petrol engine vehicle.

If buying a second hand diesel vehicle, make sure that the service history is complete and oil changes have been carried out at the required intervals. This is MUCH more important on a diesel than a petrol engine car.

honeymommy

Thanks to everyone for you replies.... I now know that MARQUE means brand of car..... LOL (Thanks DarenD)

Looking around I don't think the estates with the fold down seats will be large enough as my youngest two children are now 8 yrs. I have nightmares of the fighting about who gets the leg room!!!! LOL

So it will have to be a minivan.... Probably the Voyager if we can afford one.

QUESTION........

Deisel cars....... Are they much cheaper to run than petrol?

I remember there being talk of deisel cars being noisy and unreliable... Also more expensive to repair?????

Oh and if anyone knows about insurance for minivans that would be a great help... Hubby and I have 7 yrs no claims in UK and 6 yrs USA..... both been driving for 20 yrs+.
I tried to find quotes online but couldn't as not in UK... I just need a general idea of monthly premium for both of us.

Thanks... You lot are wonderful.... I still hope we can stay in USA but with only 6 weeks to go and having not heard anything from immigration still, I will at least be prepared if we do have to return.

Oh and I also had the trip round the roundabout on Saturday night so I am prepared for them.....
OOPS.... Just thought.... Here we drive round them the other way!!!!!!!!

Englishmum

Honeymommy - get your current insurance company to write a letter for you saying that you have a clean record (I hope you have!) and not made any claims (or last made a claim....say five or six years ago etc.)

You will find that most British insurance companies will take this into account and you will start off with a no-claims bonus. What a pity they don't do it on this side of the pond, it might help people become better and more considerate motorists!

There is almost certainly some info on the http://www.americanexpats.co.uk boards, but I think you have to make a contribution to finance some of their forums these days. It might be worth a look though as you have been away so long that it's almost like you're going to be an immigrant! We left over 9 years ago and at that time they were just bringing in the concept that you can buy gas from your electricity board and vice-versa! How weird is that!