The Seven Most Fuel Efficient and Frugal 7 Seaters

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Aug 162011


Lets Look at Fuel Frugality!

In this day and age, as fuel prices have risen to heights that are comparable to putting liquid gold into your car, we have to look at the frugality of each vehicle on the market. Families are becoming larger, laws are changing so we have to fit child seats and group holidays are growing more popular, so even more people are buying 7 seater cars these days. Back in the 80s, the only choice was really just the Renault Espace, but now almost every manufacturer offers a multi-seat vehicle, so we have many more vehicles to choose from.

First Place – Volkswagen Touran

The most frugal and fuel-efficient 7 seater that is available right now (before the 7 seater Prius is available) is the VW Touran 1.6 Tdi Bluemotion. It manages 61.4mpg and is in the tax band D, which means you wouldn’t pay for the first year’s tax and pay only £95 per year thereafter. The Touran might be a little more expensive to buy outright, but if you rarely have to visit a petrol station then it might be worth your while.

Second Place – Citroen Grand C4 Picasso

Next up is the Citroen Grand C4 Picasso 1.6 eHDi VTR+, which can manage 58.9mpg. The Citroen is cheaper than the VW Touran and has lots of fantastic features such as six airbags, electronic e-handbrake, full-length sunroof and lots of headroom. It too is in the same road tax band as the VW, and would be the cheapest choice out of our seven despite not being as frugal as the Touran.

Third Place – Ford C-Max

In third place is the Ford Grand C-Max, which again has a 1.6 Tdi engine and can muster 57.7mpg. For mostly motorway driving anything northwards of 40mpg would see you travel the length of England with only one stop for fuel. Out of our seven cars listed, the C-Max is the last one to drop into tax band D.

Fourth Place – Renault Grand Scenic

Fourth place is kept for the Renault Grand Scenic, which has the smallest engine here, a 1.5dCI but still manages to deliver 55.4mpg. The lower capacity engine can feel a little strained when carrying a car-full of people or a heavy load, but for regular driving it’s whisper quiet and frugal. It falls into tax band E, which means paying £115 per year.

Fifth Place – Vauxhall Zafira

Fifth place goes to the old but effective Vauxhall Zafira. Although it’s seen facelifts and slight model changes, it’s basically the same car as it has been for the last ten years. It matches the Renault for fuel consumption, 55.4mpg, but the larger 1.7-litre CDTi is gutsier and can haul around heavy loads more easily. It does sound quite strained, though.

Sixth Place – Mazda 5

Sixth place is given to the Mazda 5 1.6D, which is very slow but manages to return 54.3mpg. It’s also in car tax band E (£115 per year) and doesn’t have the punch in power that the Zafira does, as it doesn’t have a turbo. It’s a rattly diesel too, and doesn’t have the finesse of the others, but it is quite good at not consuming much fuel!

Seventh Place – Peugeot 5008

In seventh place is the Peugoet 5008 1.6HDi which comes in at 53.3mpg. It’s a big car the 5008, and one that looks like it should sport a 2.0-litre engine at the least.


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Are Sliding Doors a Necessity on a Seven-Seater?

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May 262011

With a large number of seven-seater cars out there right now, there is one almost must-have option that people specify when buying one, and that is for it to have sliding rear doors. There are a few that don’t have sliding doors, such as the Ford S-Max, but its younger brother, the Grand C-Max 7-Seater does.

As cars are becoming larger and larger every year, and car parking spaces seemingly smaller and smaller, it is almost a necessity to have sliding doors on your car. It saves car parking dings and allows for putting bags in the rear passenger compartment without having to hold onto the door. For many people who buy seven-seater cars, it’s because they have children, who will obviously want their friends to come for the ride occasionally, so having sliding doors makes it easier to get in and out of the rear of the car.

There are a good number of cars with doors like this, such as the Fiat Doblo Family, VW Caddy Maxi Life, Kia Sedona, Peugeot 5008 and the VW Caravelle, to name a few. In many cases, those that first experience the revolutionary doors are smitten and wouldn’t buy another car with ‘regular’ doors ever again. It’s worth noting that stepping out onto the street can be a little more dangerous as car drivers are more likely to see a door being swung open than a neat sliding door, and it will be your leg to be the first thing the driver sees. Precautions are necessary.

Kia Sedona - 7 Seater with Sliding Doors

Kia Sedona - 7 Seater with Sliding Doors

Sliding doors have been filtered down from vans and minibuses, which help loading as they lock into the open position. Since many seven or eight-seater cars are based on commercial van platforms, the integration has been fairly straightforward, there are even electric sliding doors now so you don’t even have to muster the energy to pull it shut or open, as seen on the Peugeot 1007, which is only a five-seater, but no doubt this feature will make it to the larger models.

Back to those pesky supermarket car parking spaces, in some cases, with large cars, it’s necessary to reverse out of the parking space in order to gain access to the rear doors, if you’re trying to put your child in the rear seats, for example. This isn’t exactly ideal as the child will have to be left while you reverse the car out! Sliding doors are therefore excellent.

There are downsides to sliding doors, though, the mechanisms needed are fairly basic and the weight of the doors is far more than regular doors, which will worsen fuel efficiency and the groove you see in the side impacts air flow around the car. The doors can even come off their runners, which would cause an expensive bill to replace or repair, and due to the way they shut into place, if the large piece of flat metal becomes bent then the door won’t shut properly. Having a sliding door that won’t shut is far more dangerous than a regular door.

The pros do outweigh the cons in the sliding door question, and thankfully manufacturers are adding them to more models. Just remember to double check traffic if you’re stepping out onto the road side!

Posted by 7 Seater Cars - Admin at 5:43 pm Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Peugeot 5008 seven-seater

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Mar 072011


Bouncing onto the scene in 2010, the Peugeot 5008 has wowed the car industry with a fun-looking, ultra practical seven-seater that doesn’t break the bank. The innovative design, high quality and versatile package is a great alternative to the Ford S-Max, which many believe is the number one seven-seater available.

There are three trim levels for the new Peugeot 5008; Active, Sport and Exclusive, all of which have automatic electric parking brake with hill assist, energy saver tyres, ESP (electronic stability programme) and air conditioning as standard. The different trim levels allow Peugeot to have a certain flexibility in how the car is marketed, from luxury leather seats to chrome accents and clever electronic gizmos.

The practicality of the seating arrangement is one of the main reasons Peugeot is stealing Ford’s customers. The rear seats can fold directly into the floor, which maximises the boot space and creates a flat floor to give it an almost van-like carrying capacity. The generous boot is enough for most applications, at 823 litres, but that figure blossoms to a frankly unbelievable 2,506 litres of space when all of the seats are folded neatly away.

Peugeot 5008 - Great 7 Seater MPV

Peugeot 5008 - Great 7 Seater MPV

The Peugeot 5008 is not just a practical car for families; the Sport trim adds a sense of fun and frivolity to the page. Chunky 17” alloy wheels, chrome detailing on the grille, front fog lights and cruise control complete with speed-limiter are available.

For a more upmarket trim level, opt for the Exclusive trim. This is the top-of-the-range model and it comes with more electronic gadgets than you can shake a stick at. Head-up display allows the driver to keep their eyes on the road while their speed, revs and fuel consumption is displayed on the inside of the windscreen – just like in a fighter jet.

Bluetooth hands-free connection, USB port and MP3 player are available. Climate control and air conditioning helps keep passengers cool and to help the driver, there is a rear parking aid and a distance alert tone when reversing. Electrically folding mirrors and a Cielo panoramic glass roof add yet more funky styling cues.

The 5008 is a perfect family car. It handles like a car: the driving position is high up but not van-like high, and the cracking engines make it a real driver’s car, too. Whether you opt for the 1.6-litre 156bhp THP petrol engine or the 1.6-litre Hdi diesel, it’s difficult to fault Peugeot’s latest engines. The choice engine would be the 2.0-litre Hdi diesel with its torque 251lb-ft of raw power – enough to take seven passengers and their luggage up mountain sides without breaking into a sweat. Fuel economy is around 38-45mpg, which is pretty good considering the size of the 5008.

Passengers in the rear are pampered with two seven-inch TV screens that can be used for games or DVD viewing. A decent stereo system is available too, so long drives should be painless. Overall, the 5008 is a great buy for anyone in the market for a seven-seater.

Posted by 7 Seater Cars - Admin at 8:16 pm Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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