Planning ahead, want 7 seats...

Yibis

Member
Hi all,

We currently live abroad and have an Opel (Chevy) Astra station wagon. It's on the small side with technically 3 seats in the back but kinda narrow. We are expecting our 3rd baby in March 2012. I went to a baby store and found a seat combination that works in the car for 3 kids but I know that we'll need an extra seat or two for guests/kids in the near future. We often travel with a grandma or friend now and I know that we'll miss having that extra seat when the baby comes.

So my question is: Which 7 or 8 seat cars are safe (especially in the rear crumple zone), get a good fit for 3 car seats, and have easy access to the 3rd row? Storage is always important too as we travel a lot. Oh! and easy to park as parking lots in Europe are made for compact cars, not big honkers, you know? Not asking for much, am I?? ;)

We had a company car last year, VW Sharan, that was new and seemed great but is expensive for our personal budget. I'd like to start a search, any ideas for us?

Thanks!
 
ADS

Neatfreak

New member
That is sort of a hard question to answer without knowing what 7 or 8-seat models are available in your part of the world! Are there any that you are considering?
 

Yibis

Member
We had a VW Sharan last year for work which comes with 5 full sized seats and you can add 2 more easily. Opel Zafira was a 7 seater I've seen around but it seems hard to get into/out of the 3rd row and has no storage with all 7 seats. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxR0XmpBj3Q"]Opel Zafira Video Review - YouTube[/ame] (from 48 sec)

We have the usual makers Honda, Hyundai, Opel (GM), VW... I think most are similar to what you would have but modified to meet European needs. If you just tell me the favs in the US, I could start there and see if there are comparable ones here from the same makers. Sometimes they just have different names...

THANKS!
 

Yibis

Member
After I sent the last reply, I remember seeing this 7 seater list from a rental company that deals with various European countries.

-Ford S Max 5+2 seater
-Vauxhall Zafira 5+2 seater
-Volkswagen MultiVan
- Volkswagen Caddy 5+2 seater
-Mitsubishi Grandis 5+2 seater
-Citroen C4 Picasso 7 seater
-Kia Sedona 5+2 seater
- Mitsubishi Grandis 5+2 seater
-Mitsubishi Grandis 5+2 seater
-Volkswagen Touran 5+2 seater
-Ford Galaxy 7 seater
- Chrysler Voyager
-Fiat Ulysee
- Citroen C8
- Toyota Previa
-Toyota Ipsum 7 seater
-Renault Espace
- Volkswagen Sharan 7 Seater

At least it's a start :)
 

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