[Closed] People carrier MPV options and opinions

Personally, I'd worry less about the MPG and more about reliability.  < £2k + older diesel (probably) = big bills.  Get the Mazda, but the petrol version.

We had almost the same criteria but didn't exclude any brands prior to looking. Ended up with a Zafira B. That think is massive. Uninspiring to drive, but huge. 50mpg, pretty reliable but easy to fix if it's not. Cruise control, heated seats and its massive in back for the bikes once the rear seats are stowed.

Woody2000 I get what you mean about an older car and reliability is a huge criteria. I want the best MPG possible as I want to do a lot of miles in this and I don't want to not go places because I know how expensive it will be to get there. Something I was doing in the Elgrand as it was so thirsty.

Onzadog really appreciate your comment but I don't think I will ever buy a Vauxhall. In my opinion they are just really awful cars. Shame as the Meriva and Zafira look good though. I always heard bad stuff about Renault and Citreon but don't have any evidence to back that up but there people carriers like the Espace look good for size. Kia Sedona looks goods for size too but same again I don't have any knowledge on them.

I have a Eurovan2 (Citroën C8/ Pug 807/ Fiat Ulysse) - don't, just don't.

Thirsty, flawed and unreliable would cover most bases.

If I was to get another I'd be hard pressed, I like the flat floor with seats out and sliding doors, best of both worlds (car and van).

Out of the MPVs you want one that shares common parts, is well documented and doesn't need expensive diagnostics kit if you do decide to work on it. So avoid PSA.

Sharalhambralaxy.

"Out of the MPVs you want one that shares common parts, is well documented and doesn’t need expensive diagnostics kit if you do decide to work on it"

Try the 90s.

I do 25k miles a year. Reliability is waaaay more important than mpg. Besides which, all cars lie about real world mpg, and how you drive is more important.

Touran - was the most practical, compact mpv I could imagine. Ok comfort, good space. But, it cost more to maintain than I wanted. DPF, DMF, ABS unit, are suspension parts, windscreen wiper motor, screenwash tubes, rear tailgate lift - it all went. That said, ours was 2005 1.9tdi, we took it from 30k to 138k just over 4years.

Galaxy or smax are another League of space over the Touran. Not as comfy, cheaper to fix and more reliable. Better stereo, better seat arrangements. Huge. More agricultural engineering underneath compared to VW. We bought 2006 at 70k and ran to 160k - just a couple of wheel bearings and two broken springs over 'normal' wear. Did I say how big it was? 5 of us, 4bikes on rack, two canoes on roof, one bike in boot and a fortnight's kit down to South of France from Scotland.

A warning - I sold Touran for £2k with dodgy turbo and clutch on way out to a mechanic who knew the issues. I sold Galaxy as trade in with all sorts looming - from clutch (110k on replacement, and it's a heavy car) to electrical gremlins - for £1300. IMO, you're in deep danger territory there with maintenance unless you know your onions.

TR - by that I mean at the minimum a Haynes manual, something without unique parts that are prone to going tits up and doesn't require proprietary hardware to perform basic tasks (or a lottery on Chinese clones).

Ford's work fine with a modded ELM scanner, VAGCOM is cheap, neither use diesel heaters underneath joined to the matrix by mild steel pipes and have Haynes for both. Neither do they have computers in every corner with a susceptibility to just shit the bed if there's a 'y' in the day or a list of design flaws that makes the Glasgow Science Centre Tower look like a flawless masterpiece. And more importantly they share more than a handful of parts with their common floor pan brethren.

Adding to what Matt said, you really need to go in with your eyes open, £2k can get you a Vag on its last legs or a Eurotrash in good fettle.

I have crapped all over my bus but despite its many flaws I am willing to live with them as it is a second car and I can fix or mod things to suit. If it was my daily I would have got rid long ago.

Avoid anything french.

i get what you mean about vauxhalls generally, but I’d advise you to at least consider the zafira, it’s a decent enough motor.

avoid anything french.

Personally, id be looking for a mondeo estate, at least if anything does go wrong with it ford parts are usually reasonably priced, and any independent mechanic can fix a ford.

i’d advise you to avoid anything french.

ps, i have a Renault scenic, it’s french.

it has been the most expensive car I’ve ever owned, by a country mile.

Do not get a Mazda 5 diesel. At the price you're looking at paying it'll be old, knackered and blocking its dpf.

We had issues with ours and a friendly main dealer mechanic said to not touch anything over 7 years due to big bills - suspension and wotnot in addition to the above.

Zafira is the answer here 😉

... in fact the answer could just be an estate car. Mondeo? Several billion threads on here to look at!

isn't the real answer to this 'berlingo'? as spacious as any 5+2 seater (although obviously not as good as a galaxy), cheap to run, cheap to insure, cheap to fix and fairly reliable.

rates much higher on reliabilityindex than anything german

An older Toyota Verso may be worth a look

I have a Renault grand scenic (up for sale, but a tad more than you're after spending) and it's pretty much exactly what you're after.  I may have been lucky, but next to no issues with it, nearly 50mpg day to day (and 55+ on long trips). Fits a MTB or 2 in with both wheels on, fine to drive and can squeeze 7 adults and a few bags in.

Avoid anything french.

I have a 2011 Peugeot 5008 2L diesel

It has been fantastic, though I am expecting the catastrophic electrical failure at some point

a/c has begun to leak and I fear that may be my first big outlay - hopefully not of many

Verso, Kia Sedona (2006 onward)

Don't forget the kia Carens too. I nearly bought a sub 40k 8 yr old one for 3k but got my head turned by an smax at the last minute.

The 2 litre petrol should do mid 35mpg

https://www.classmotors.co.uk/used-cars/kia-carens-2-0-gs-5dr-7-seats-blackburn-201807178545194?at_source=autotrader&at_medium=mobile-web&at_campaign=website-visit

Cheers for the input guys, its good to get a real world opinion. I could get an estate but I was lusting after a van (t5, transit) but decided I could get a better people carrier for the money. Having the Elgrand previously showed me how much more space they really have over an estate, as I had 3 estates before it.

I get what people are saying about budget but I paid sub 2 grand for my Elgrand and while it was an older car (1997) it was spot on reliability wise. With all the new 4x4 style cars they are a bit unfashionable at the moment so I have seen some bargains about but I know what people mean about buying a dog though.

I was half thinking something French or Euro but I had my doubts about reliability, I am glad you have steered me in the right direction.

I looked at the Carens and the Verso but in my head they seem a bit small? I think I need to see one in the flesh.

At the moment I am thinking some type of Ford and maybe lower my mpg expectations, a Mitsubishi Grandis, maybe a Mazda 5 but I need to do more research on them or a Kia Sedona (why did timba mention 2006 onwards? Were there issues before then?)

My Renault hasn’t had any catastrophic failures, hasn’t broken down and left me stranded anywhere, and is a comfy place to sit.

but, it always has something needing done, and any plastic bits inside or under the bonnet etc break if you look at them.

if it was built properly in the first place, and had a 2.0 engine instead of the gutless 1.5 I would probably recommend it.

as it is, i think a similarly priced mondeo estate would have been a much better bet,

my previous mk3 mondeo didn’t need much at all doing in 162000 miles.

the scenic has done half that and probably cost about twice as much.

renaults are fine for the sort of people who get rid of them before 40k.

last french car i will drive.

We had a 1.6HDI  Xsara Picasso (05 reg) for 4 years. No major issues with it beyond wear and tear (there was a replacement clutch/flywheel in there but it was at 130K miles). The main issue was I died a little inside every time I drove it because it was a hideous bubble looking thing, but it was very very practical.

Now got a 1.6HDI 60 reg Peugeot 5008, had it for just over a year (bought at £5.5K) and had no issues with it at all.

I really don't get this hatred of French cars? Yeah, the interior build quality isn't great and they can feel a bit flimsy but they've never left me stranded on the side of a motorway. From what I read it's the German so-called premium brands that are more likely to let you down in a very expensive fashion.

my peugeot partner van went from 38 3 year old to - 125k  and 12 year old  - cost 3800 quid

we had a berlingo from 80-140k till it was from ages 11 - 15 years old  - cost 1200 quid

Liked them so much we just bought a third. - a 2015 peugeot partner with 5500miles for 8900 quid .

My only complaint is that the first gen  was the most robust/least carpeted /most suited to biking

Unlike the mk4 golf that elected to seize up on the dual carridgeway at 70 at night with my wife driving   home on her own - and having had some horrific bills along its way to the scrap yard at less than 10 years old - amaizingly being a VW some mug bought it for cash money and fixed it up. they must have thrown a fair bit at it.

"(why did timba mention 2006 onwards? Were there issues before then?)"

None that I know of, 2006 on was (IMHO) better to look at, 180kg lighter and with a tighter turning circle than the earlier model

but I don’t think I will ever buy a Vauxhall. In my opinion they are just really awful cars.

Have you actually driven any Vauxhall built in the last five or six years? I can assure you that they are a world away from the likes of the Vectra that Clarkson ripped into, and quite rightly, too, the late 90’s/early 00’s were bloody awful. The nature of my job over the last three years or so means I get to drive a very wide range of cars, many are Vauxhalls, and lots of those are Merivas and Zaffies, the latter of which I’ve driven collectively for thousands of miles, and I would have one over many other equivalent vehicles*; they’re easy to drive, the 1.4 Turbo is a lot quicker than a 7-seat car of that capacity has any right to be, they are really very comfy, although that may be just me; I love the Mokka, it honestly feels like it was custom-designed to fit me perfectly, and Zaffies are similar.

I’ve not been disappointed by any Vauxhall I’ve driven recently, I had an Insignia SRi diesel for a while, did nearly 900 miles in it, and I really did not want to hand it back, I’d have one over any BMW I’ve ever driven, and I’ve driven lots of those as well.

Give a Zaffie a try, there are lots around, they’re popular with Motability clients, which is why I get to drive them, and are likely to be available for decent money.

Ford S-Max and C-Max are also worth looking at, really nice to drive, and you get the benefit of a heated screen with Ford as well.

Citröen C4 Picasso might be worth looking at too, very spacious, although the very back seats are for kids only. Pretty quick, too. Spent nearly eighteen months being driven tens of thousands of miles around Britain sitting across the back seats of one. A lot of that time asleep! 💤

*I have no need for a 7-seat car, my Octavia is really too big for my needs now.

1.9 TDi Manual Galaxy, Alhambra or Sharran.

Don’t worry about power outputs, they drive much the same, likewise trim levels. If you find a tidy one, grab it.

Will do 35+ happily chugging round town as there is no DPF, 40-50+ on a run. Try chugging round town in a modern diesel...

Just don’t buy an auto, no matter how cheap, & for gods sake not a petrol.

£2k buys you the best but be prepared to travel. They get snapped up as they just go in forever. (In manual TDi mode only though).

I'm liking people recommendations. I won't lie I am being put off by French and I'm sorry but I will never touch a Vauxhall.

The Sedona is still an options, the new Galaxy is really taking my fancy 2006 onwards with the flat floor. What's peoples opinions of them. I will have a look at what takisawa2 said as well and see how much the older models fetch. I do like those older ones as they have masses of space too.

"Will do 35+ happily chugging round town as there is no DPF, 40-50+ on a run. Try chugging round town in a modern diesel…"

And that's a good thing ?

Rather have a Vauxhall than a Kia anyday of the week, especially a Zafira - absolute bargain of a car. Have you ever driven a Sedona?......

Galaxy do seem to go on for ever and are huge but don't underestimate the running costs - my mate has one and its still going strong after 15 years but it is the 2.3 petrol.

I still reckon a Mondeo is where its at for 2k.