People carrier.....

[Mike B]

Dog ugly, But Cavernous!

Cheap too!

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/search/used/cars/ssangyong/rodius/postcode/rg145tf/radius/1500/sort/priceasc/fuel-type/diesel/page/2?gquery=used%20cars%20SSANGYONG%20RODIUS#advert201042370990682

[Gwilo]

[Rhoobarb]

Transit Tourneo?

or

Connects Tourneo?

Edited 26 October, 2010 by Rhoobarb

[Gwilo]

Transit Tourneo?

or

Connects Tourneo?

I mnay have to be for the start - can't say I'm too keen on the fixed 3x3 seating arrangement in the rear, but needs must unless I win the lottery between now and March.....

[GentleGiant]

The other option is the old Toyota Previa, we have had 5 of the MkI version, the boot is huge and will take the luggage for 6 people; not bad to drive, but thirsty, 25 on the motorway and 20 at best round town.

They are very reliable though, in over 700,000 miles of driving we only had 1 road side breakdown.

I am not so keen on the MkII, smaller boot even though it is a lot bigger car, and FWD; there are reports it can be a bit light at the front if you have the boot filled; but if you want a diesel, you have to have the MkII; the Lucida and Estima imports are NOT Previas, they look similar but are a lot narrower.

What size suitcase though?? You can get perhaps 3 of the largest size wheeled cases in the Grandis using a cargo net to stop them falling out the boot when you open it; or sacrifice a rear seat and have loads of room.

[ap0gee1978]

XC90 is the only 7-seater worthy of the name (according to Clarkson, at least!)

Starting at just under GBP 7000 for a 7-seater; jodphurs and tweed extra... :p

[Gwilo]

Now that's an interesting proposition.......

I'd never realised it had seven seats and a reasonable-ish boot......plus, as Rob says, there's always the roofbox option.

And it's 4x4......always handy round here come winter.

I'll give them a much closer look.

[GentleGiant]

It's a bit big, you will need a ladder to reach a roof box; and I am not sure how reliable the engines are; I have seen a couple blowing far too much smoke around Malvern.

For the same money as a 7-8 y/o diesel XC90 you can buy a 2-3 y/o diesel Grandis and have something more car like to chuck around corners.

PS 4wd is nothing without the right tyres or snow socks.

[cheezemonkhai]

I'd have an XC90 over a grandis every day of the week

[ap0gee1978]

Considering people carriers (and 4x4s) characteristically hold their value very well, the fact that Grandises (Grandii? Ah-haa!!!) are so cheap could well speak volumes. Of course, it could just be the fact that the models been axed. But that speaks volumes too, I'd have thought...???

FWIW, I think the Grandis was the best-looking MPV made to date, but I'm still not sure I'd have one...

[GentleGiant]

They were never popular, so the prices drop like a comet, I dont know why, they have tons of kit and drive well. read what HonestJohn has to say about them.

[ap0gee1978]

...written in 2005, before the 2.0TDI oil pump flaw became apparent. Don't get me wrong, I'm no more 'for' the XC90 than I am 'against' the Grandis, but to pick engine reliability as a trump card for the Grandis diesel is waaaaayyyyy off the mark, I'm afraid...

But then, just as we got a roofbox to give us the extra room needed for the two weeks of the year we're on holiday, perhaps hiring a Tourneo as-and-when really is the OP's best bet?

[skomaz]

The Grandis is a great value piece of kit - My sisters has tons of toys (top spec) and plenty of room. They can have the occasional issue with wheel alignment and tyre wear but nothing that a re-alignment doesn;t sort. Having owned an old Mistubishi Colt for 11 years and 115,000 miles prior to the Fabia I can also vouch for how reliable and well screwed together they are and how reliable. My dads experience of his Lancer was similar and the Grandis, from my sisters recent experience, is the same.

Value drops beacuse they sold so few and because Mitsubishi has never been a mainstream marque that people recognise and want but they really area a bit of a hidden treasure - much like Skoda is (was?).

[ap0gee1978]

As I say though, if a diesel is required all bets are off as far as reliability goes due to the use of the flawed VW engine. Now it may be that this is a contributory factor in the depressed second-hand cost, just as it (and the ESP issue) has impacted on the resale price of affected VWs - the hundreds of pounds that it will be necessary to shell out for repair / preventive maintenance bills have come off the 'sticker price' of relevant second-hand cars...

['daiking']

Has anyone had some actual real experience of a Rodius? Apart from OMG! It's fugly!

[Gwilo]

........ the flawed VW engine. ........

oh dear......

I may have found a cunning a "third way" ....flog my current motor, get a cheaper daily runner (Golf TDI, MkIV 1.9, so the tough as old boots PD unit IIRC?) and then use the excess cash to rent a Carevelle after all.......

There i was all hoping to don some tweed and annoy the eco-mental vegetablists.........

[2SkodaFamily]

We had a similar dilemma. We bought a brand new Sedona in 2005 (54) in LE spec which was nice, as far as it goes. 2.9 diesel engine was eager, but not quick and not economical either. around 30mpg on a run.....

Build quality was only so-so. At three years old rust was coming through the bonnet, and a p-poor dealer service from Milton Keynes has completely put me off Kia for life.

Plus the seats have to be lifted out (and are heavy) if you want to use it for lugging. Boot space is not worth considering when you have the two back seats in. And, as others have pointed out, you are pulling all that weight around whether you need to or not.

We decided to get rid of the Sedona (trade in was £5k at 3 years, 40k miles, compared to £16k purchase price ) and do things slightly differently. We have three children who live with us, and two others who live with their mum. We decided for the odd occasion we were all together we would go in two "normal" cars. That worked quite well for a while as we ran two cars anyway.

Now we have the Toyota Verso. Rearmost two seats are suitable only for children, and even less boot space than the Sedona when all 7 seats in use. However the two rear seats fold away when not in use, so really convenient.

We use a roof box when we all go away together now. It's a good mixture of what you need day-to-day and what you need every now and then.

The last time we went away on holiday to the US, we hired a Chrysler Grand Voyager. Seated 6 (three adults, three children) easily with one seat to spare (obviously) and took all the luggage in the boot space with space to spare. However, VERY expensive to buy new in this country, horribly unreliable and expensive to run.

[robmawer]

However, VERY expensive to buy new in this country, horribly unreliable and expensive to run.

Not to mention the previous generation Grand Voyager scored very low on the NCAP crash test!

[GentleGiant]

As I say though, if a diesel is required all bets are off as far as reliability goes due to the use of the flawed VW engine. Now it may be that this is a contributory factor in the depressed second-hand cost, just as it (and the ESP issue) has impacted on the resale price of affected VWs - the hundreds of pounds that it will be necessary to shell out for repair / preventive maintenance bills have come off the 'sticker price' of relevant second-hand cars...

Actually I was talking of the Petrol 2.4, not the 2.0 D; the diesels hold their value a lot better; and I have not read of any issues with the engine as fitted to the Grandis; yes the Honest John article is 2005, but they update them with any known problems or recalls, just look at any review for a French car!!!!

I checked out a few Mitsi forums before buying, and nobody on them has complained about the diesel engine, or anything else!!!!

My only concerns are, a few of the plastics feel a little frail compared with my old Toyota "Tank", and the seat covers are very soft and look like they might wear quickly.

[ap0gee1978]

Hmm, clearly anyone with a 2.0 TDI that's suffered oil pump drive failure should source the replacement parts from a Mitsubishi dealer then, rather than a VAG one. :wonder:

Another problem of 2.0TDI PD 140s is failure of the oil pump. The oil pump is driven from a balancre shaft via a short hexagonal shaft. The peaks of this hexagonal shaft locate in six corresponding but minute grooves machined within the otherwise circular-bored oil pump drive shaft. Thus, the oil pump drive relies entirely on an interference fit of little more than 0.010" along the peaks of the hexagonal shaft. After about 50,000 miles, the shaft can round off, resulting in a totally destroyed engine and turbo, plus a bill of up to £9,000. If the danger is known and the oil pump is removed by the garage in good time, a new replacement pump will cost over £500, plus the labour etc to remove and refit it. However, it is also possible to save the old pump and modify the drive at a fraction of the cost of a new one. Many local machine shop already have numbers of these pumps in for such rectification, the drive shaft of each having been on the point of rounding off.

I reckon it's more to do with the fact you can probably count the number of diesel Grandii sold on the fingers of one had. No doubt the petrols are better, but outside the OP's scope...

[skomaz]

...if a diesel is required all bets are off as far as reliability goes due to the use of the flawed VW engine...

Are you sure that comment is applicable though as it's a transverse installation and from what I can tell is the same engine as in the Octavia, not an in-line installation like the Superb?

Next time I get the chance I'll see if I can check the engine code on my sisters...

[ap0gee1978]

Well, according to Wikipedia (so who knows?!?) it shares an engine with the Passat and A6 (and the Octavia...)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Volkswagen_Group_diesel_engines#2.0_R4_TDI_PD_47-103kW

[GentleGiant]

I reckon it's more to do with the fact you can probably count the number of diesel Grandii sold on the fingers of one had. No doubt the petrols are better, but outside the OP's scope...

The majority of Grandii I have seen for sale are the 2.0TDI, the 2.4 PETROL is the rare one, mainly because of the mpg; but having said that, it is a damn sight better than my 2.4 Previa ever managed

[ap0gee1978]

I clearly stand corrected, however much like any car with the Teves Mk60 ESP, it's not a risk I'd be prepared to take...

Nevertheless, it seems the OP has come up with what's probably the best solution all things considered!

[Calomax]

Have a look at Mazda 5s. Old model or new.