People Movers. Which one is the best overall considering looks reliability fuel efficiency price etc etc thanks for you advice

katndan, Jun 5, 5:01am
Which one is the best overall! Considering . looks, reliability, fuel efficiency, price etc etc. Thanks for you advice.
grangies, Jun 5, 5:07am
A Fiat Multipla of course.
franc123, Jun 5, 5:11am
Looks!LOL, none of them. They're all slow, underpowered, ugly, expensive, bad for the image/embarrassing to be seen in, got seats made for midgets, have poor fuel economy, have no or little cargo space when all seats are used, usually crap at towing anything.In all seriousness if you want one go the whole hog and get the best in the business, a diesel Multiplaor else get a Falcon or Holden wagon instead.
babytears, Jun 5, 5:11am
Toyota Ipsum 2001+. not as bulky looking as other people movers
idolb, Jun 5, 5:24am
I have a v6 toyota estima 2000 it has a full body kit nice factory mags an looks a mean beast in silver.The good news is that it's 4 sale so you should contact me please
grangies, Jun 5, 5:42am
thejazzpianoma, Jun 5, 6:38am
Depends on how much you want to spend and how many seats you need. Give us those details and we can start to narrow things down.
katndan, Jun 5, 9:08am
I need a seven seater, and I'm thinking 6-10k ish.
thejazzpianoma, Jun 5, 9:11am
Thats a tricky price range. If you only needed 6 seats it would be an easy decision to grab a Multipla. What sort of running are you doing i.e school run or mixed town/country!
Do you know roughly how many kms you do in a week!
Also is the vehicle going to have all 7 seats full all the time!
katndan, Jun 5, 9:28am
I'm not too concerned about style, I just need it to get 7 people from A to B. Incidentally, five of the people are midgets, so no problems there. None of the vehicles you suggested seat 7.
thejazzpianoma, Jun 5, 9:35am
Touran seats 7. Plus the back seat folds right into the floor if you have a need to take 5 and a lot of luggage.

Thats the only catch with smaller 7 seaters. You don't get a huge amount of luggage capacity with 7 on board. However the tradeoff is considerable to achieve that as you have to go to a big barge like a previa/estima which is no where near as nice to manouver and you have a significantly higher fuel bill and old technology mechanicals.

Incidentally, a lot of fresh import Touran's come up at Turners on a regular basis.
fordcrzy, Jun 5, 9:40am
TOYOTA IPSUM 2002+
lots of room and lots of intelligent storage like a huge under floor compartment in the boot that fits a stroller or shopping. get the 240s sport model it has all the gear like reverse camera and stability control
thejazzpianoma, Jun 5, 9:51am
LOL I was waiting for that.
Trouble is you lose 80% of the airbags compared to the Touran, then you lose 2 gears and gain a very old technology and comparatively very inefficient transmission. Its just the usual Toyota trick of stripping out as much stuff as possible and using as older technology as possible in an effort to cut costs and make a tiny gain in perceived reliability.
fordcrzy, Jun 5, 10:14am
i do agree that the auto isnt great around town. but i hate autos any way.
when it kicks down a gear while acellerating SLOWLY out of a sharp turn such as turning into a street only to drop back into the previous gear again 2 seconds later drives me nuts. it's not the hardware.its the CRAP transmission ecu programming. but like i saidi HATE autos anyway.
thejazzpianoma, Jun 5, 10:50am
Now thats something you can't get in a Touran. a high performance version!
Agreed, thats mean.

BTW, I suspect the DSG gearbox would really grow on you. I don't like the fake titpronic modes CVT's have. I also don't like traditional auto's and despise those old 4 speed units like Toyota's and Fords. But I LOVE the DSG, even more than a manual once you get to 7 gears.
You can't manually change anywhere near as quick as a DSG can. The economy and "Feel" is just as good as a manual too. because thats what it is underneath. It also works properly with backing and turning etc which is always a challenge with auto clutch transmissions.

Incidentally poster 1, the DSG is whats in the Touran although its the 6 speed one. Its a good unit as its the 'wet clutch' type which is super reliable. They tried to change to a dry clutch pack at one point but it was not as successful reliability wise.

You don't get any of the hassles fordcrazy was mentioning his auto has. The tradeoff though is a little less space in the back with all seats loaded. But personally I would have a top box before I have an Ipsum.

Either way though I would rate the VW and the Ipsum as the best two for the purpose. I think the VW is loads better of course but no harm in trying them both yourself. You know the pros/cons so you can make your own decision.
fordcrzy, Jun 5, 10:54am
the thing that i hate about autos is that even in "hold mode
' or tiptronic it will still kick down a gear un-necesarily. if i wer in a manual id keep it in 3rd or 2nd to round a corner .but oh no not the auto it kicks down just for fun
thejazzpianoma, Jun 5, 10:58am
Yup you would love DSG. It in manual mode it only takes over when it absolutely has to (will grab the next gear after the red line and will give you first gear if you stop).

You also don't get that "mushy" disconnected feeling like you do with an auto with a torque converter which is no fun for accelerating out of bends. The engine feels connected to the gearbox. which it is properly.

Thats the advantage of buying a car made in a country where people actually drive.
katndan, Jun 6, 7:12am
Leg room isn't really a big consideration. It just needs to be able to legally/safely accommodate seven people. We only have my partners kids every second weekend, (and my two full time) and at the moment it really sux not being able to go out together. Kids range in age from 4 up to 12 years. The back seats will only be used by children.
gunhand, Jun 6, 7:30am
We have a Nissan Prarrie Joy, Although why they think having two adults a up to 5 kids in it is a joy I dont know. Its not new or pretty by any means but has two air bags at least. It seats 7 hassle free. Sliding side doors x 2. The boot area when using all seats is small but usefull all the same. So far it has been fault free and stands up well to kids in and out all the time. Its Used everyday by my wifefor work etc. Not super economacal round town but great on a trip. Its simple and gets the job done. Cheap to buy and maintain as well.
We also had a Mazda MPV as well, also great and comfortable but a brick on wheels.
She also drove a 97 Ipsum and loved it but they seemed pricey for what they are now. You can get them cheap privately.
No people movers are rocket ships and I hardly think thats a consideration when you are transporting family. Funny its always the first thing people mention "power"All them will do 100kph easly.
The newer ones are no doubt flash as but do you really want the stress of kids scuffing something or many of the other things kids do in cars. And ours are well behaved in the van but when there smallish its hard for them not to get feet and hands all over everything LOL.
thkl, Jun 6, 10:59pm
Toyota Estima is one of the more safe vehicles for something that has 7 seat the 2 lite moddlewould cost round the same as the wagon to run and look wise not to bad ,but for a female driver they may find the honda eazyer to driver for better vison
idolb, Jun 7, 3:15am
OKmy toyota estima is a 7 seater and you can do a buy asap $9 Phil
mob 0274761520
blue35, May 16, 4:14am
We got a 2003 2.3 MPV just over a year ago, done 30000kms since then, no problems, great vehicle.