7 seater for family, occasional trip to north. MPV or SUV?

[Enye]

For 6 people (4 adults 2 kids), I hope WISH is sufficient and comfortable for trip to as far as phuket?

 

Wish might be a little too small.

 

in your case, cars like estima, grandis, presage, Mz8, sharan, galaxy(in other words, big size MPVs) will be more suitable.

 

[Karu]

If you are getting a used one, then avoid conti... High chance of it being a lemon!!

 

I'll go for a full sized one. Drove Estima in Australia, good enough for 6 with one back row seat collapse for extra luggage room. Definitely not enuff for 7 adults + luggage though. BTW, is it legal to tow a small trailer for extra cargo space in S'pore / M'sia. Seen many in US & Australia.

[Mangos]

If you are getting a used one, then avoid conti... High chance of it being a lemon!!

 

I'll go for a full sized one. Drove Estima in Australia, good enough for 6 with one back row seat collapse for extra luggage room. Definitely not enuff for 7 adults + luggage though. BTW, is it legal to tow a small trailer for extra cargo space in S'pore / M'sia. Seen many in US & Australia.

 

never saw trailer here.

did see quite a few in US and some house trailer. must be very nice travelling in one of those to exotic places (if not the driver).

[Deranged]

In my opinion only:

 

But Touran is from VW, is it reliable?

 

No issues so far on the Touran, been in the family since 08 ... only gripe is the last row of seats, not suited for adults.

 

 

[Tayspiderx]

Haha imagine break down in a conti along NSHW toward phuket....

 

Toyota got plenty of stockist along the way to tom yam land...no worries.

[Angchug]

I had a Fortuner for 5 years. It is truly a solid and stable car,other then normal servicing i only changed the battery and wipers. Good for long trip too but FC is the main killer especially on long highway at high speed. FC is around 8km/ltr but dropped to 4-5km/ltr if above 150km/hr. 2nd hand price should be quite reasonable. I sold mine after 5 years for $48k.

[Colin03]

You can also consider Proton Exora (Althought is a Malaysia make) , good service support across the island and good space in the 3rd row. Is only a 1.6 and turbo(new version) therefore road tax is lower - just my feel only if you do not mind the branding.

[Brendon1980]

I used to take wish up north to Kedah pretty often (about monthly once), very reliable car, FC is pretty ok, speed max till 180km/h also no issue.

The only concern if you ask is the space, if you are fitting 7 adults chances are the rear will feel pretty uncomfortable, boot space is compromise if you raise the last row of seats.

As some bros mentioned, perhaps a roof rack might be useful. However for myself, I do not like to use the roof rack as I have the fear of items dropping off during the drive.

In terms of performance, no worries, Toyota seem to make to last, as I rarely service and I drove like all the way to Kedah with stopping for fuel once at Taiping only.

 

Currently utilising Odyssey, well generally not much issue, perhaps the longer wheel base makes the passengers more comfortable as well as slightly more spacious. Rear aircon is also a plus. Boot space, same thing if you raise those magic seats at the rear, the boot space reduce significantly. However I can assure you the passengers will be more comfortable. Tried driving up with 8 adults to Penang and stopping over 2 times once at Pagoh and KL (for fuel), passengers no complaint.

Stable at high speed. But FC sucks abit but not too bad perhaps on highway not much stop and pickup. Well mine not absolute so no gears to paddle around with but good enough with decent pickup for overtaking.

[Unitek]

If Estima is out, then i think Wish is probably a better bet.

As for the roof rack, i am sure is available from ebay. Thule has very nice design but can be a little ex.

 

No matter which model you choose now, they are all very expensive!! i got my new wish way below today's coe pricing!

[Holdenutessv]

Wish! Can fit 10 people (squeeze)

[Tayspiderx]

You can also consider Proton Exora (Althought is a Malaysia make) , good service support across the island and good space in the 3rd row. Is only a 1.6 and turbo(new version) therefore road tax is lower - just my feel only if you do not mind the branding.

The proton 1.6 turbo boost is like no boost at all...

138hp and 205Nm

[Angchug]

If Estima is out, then i think Wish is probably a better bet.

As for the roof rack, i am sure is available from ebay. Thule has very nice design but can be a little ex.

 

No matter which model you choose now, they are all very expensive!! i got my new wish way below today's coe pricing!

Estima could be problematic if you are unlucky like me. I bought mine from a PI at turf city. After 1 year the drive shaft, fuel injectors, inter walls started giving problems. They only give me one remote key, I chased them for the 2nd key till the day I scrapped the car. I scrapped it after 3 years, cost me $80 for 3 years.

[Spidey10]

Wish might be a little too small.

 

in your case, cars like estima, grandis, presage, Mz8, sharan, galaxy(in other words, big size MPVs) will be more suitable.

 

 

i agree with you bro!!

with 4 adults and 2 kids - basic mini MPV - wish and stream and MZ 5 is not enough!!

 

i just change to a grandis from wish....and loving every min of the space and rear air con!!! If really you need to have 6 persons using the car most of the time, my advise to you is to go for the bigger MPV!!! i made that mistake and now after 2 yrs i need a bigger mpv, as the kids will grow...and they grow really fast!!

Lucky i bought that time COE low....otherwise lose a lot!!!

 

only con is FC - lose out to wish....then again, grandis it's bigger and heavier and much much more stable!!

if budget is not an issue - go for used estima...

 

My 2 cents here!!

[Karu]

 

This is the kind of trailer that I mentioned. Suspect it may not be legal in the region. Otherwise will be perfect for roadtrips up north with MPVs / SUVs.

[Lala81]

This is the kind of trailer that I mentioned. Suspect it may not be legal in the region. Otherwise will be perfect for roadtrips up north with MPVs / SUVs.

 

No landed. where to stow this away.

 

yea never seen this before in malaysia as well.

Edited November 7, 2012 by Lala81

[Furrynadz]

The proton 1.6 turbo boost is like no boost at all... 138hp and 205Nm

 

 

how much power, the brakes cant even handle the stock NA version

[Jktan78]

Bro, look at Exiga GT.

 

I was in same situation. Surprisingly, exiga is spacious even on the 3rd row. Can sit 3 kids or 3 small adult.

 

Importantly is the boot space is bigget than wish, stream or even oddessy.

 

Good power with 0 to 100km/hr in 7+sec

 

Just that fc is not as good. Ard 8km or less per litre

[Thaiyotakamli]

Dear all,

 

Need some advice here.

 

I'm thinking of change from my current sedan (Mazda3) to a 7 seater, to cater my bigger kids and extended family. We also plan to do road trips to Malaysia or even Thailand more frequently in the coming years. Due to budget, I'll only consider 2nd hand.

 

Initially I was thinking of the popular choices, either a WISH or a STREAM, more inclined to the WISH. But I'm not sue whether a SUV will be more suited when drive to Malaysis/Thailand where road conditions may be too rough for an MPV.

Then I'm concerned with the service and fuel costs that SUV may incur more than MPV, and the noise level. So I summarised the pros and cons of the two options:

 

MPV

pros: cheaper, better FC, comfortable(?), quite.

cons: not suitable for bumpy roads when trip to some parts in north.

 

SUV

pros: good for road trip.

cons: rough ride(?), more costly (fuel and servicing), noisier(I guess?)

 

Not sure if my summary is correct.

 

For MPVs, my top candidates are WISH/STREAM, then some other less popular choices such as Grandis, Mazda5, Touran. The former are actually not cheap compared to the later due to its popularity but in the long run I think the overall cost in servicing will be less than later?

 

For SUVs I'm looking at Fortuner, Santa Fe, Captiva, Crossroad.

 

If WISH/STREAM has no problem for road trips to Malaysia/Thailand then I can settle with either one. But if they are not, then I'll probably choose an SUV, with priority given to reliability, quietness, FC in that order. Hope can get more info and suggestions for these cars listed.

thx!

 

ps: a side question, is it possible to install roof racks on WISH/STREAM? will it damage the car in someway or it's a standard add-on for any car?

wish is noisy one..

if you look into suv, u can consider Sorento or captiva. Fortuner maybe abit too high and higher FC.

ride wise you gotta test drive as each person may have different opinion. like me i prefer suv than wish

if looking for spacious, estima is the answer

Edited November 7, 2012 by Thaiyotakamli