Used 7 seater MPV - Best to get?

[Atrecord]

85% HW.

 

If mostly urban, probably 12km/l.

 

Good if it's mostly HW.

 

Mine is mostly non-HW, until last month. Kid going in sec school meant now i take a longer route daily for school runs, and to avoid slow traffic, i take a big loop on the HW now, so my FC also improves by about 2 km/l.

[kdash]

Got lah, the triplets have both 7- and 8-seater options lah. I think i saw before when i was looking at MPVs leh, couple of years ago. Then there's (or was) Biante, step wagon and Nissan Serena.

 

Stepwagon is 1.5 turbo, so road tax not much higher

 

But sienta is very common now, so the advantage is that sure can get spares when required, and you get peace of mind. And of course good FC if you clock a lot...

i see... but still minimally 20-30k more ex than Sienta/Freed...

 

happy with my choice and the good FC helps

[Atrecord]

i see... but still minimally 20-30k more ex than Sienta/Freed...

 

happy with my choice and the good FC helps

[Heartlander]

Is the Vellfire significantly worse off than Biante in terms of FC? What was Biante yielding?

I got about 9km/L to 9.5km/L for Biante, same travel pattern. Have been getting 8.xkm/L for my Vellfire recently whenever I travel longer routes without jam for that week.

 

And surprisingly, my Vellfire return 10km/L when I took it up North, almost same as previous Biante. So this Vellfire really quite frugal for the size if travel pattern consist of a lot of HW routes with smooth traffic.

[Ngbernie]

VW Caddy MPC is actually very good bang for buck:

 

Pros:

1. Low depre under 10k, even when COE was 47k in my case. Partly due to its high OMV 25k.

2. Tall headroom, individual seats for 2nd row with 2 isofix

3. Alcantara seats (I like them, waterproof yet doesn't scorch your bum after parking under the sun)

3. High sliding doors make for easy entry/exit

4. Last row seating is acceptable, not your "5+2" type. 

5. VW 1.4TSi engine mated with DSG is frugal yet sprightly 

6. The bodyshell is solid (in comparison with your usual Jap makes)

7. Completely removable 2nd/3rd row seats

 

Cons:

1. Van based leaf spring suspension not the most comfy for rear passengers

2. No rear airbags and 3rd row a/c

3. 7 speed DSG is still a "?"

 

 

If you can get past its van-based looks, I feel its more value than the Mazda 5/Sienta etc. Won't get mistaken for a private-hire car either

[Atrecord]

I got about 9km/L to 9.5km/L for Biante, same travel pattern. Have been getting 8.xkm/L for my Vellfire recently whenever I travel longer routes without jam for that week.

 

And surprisingly, my Vellfire return 10km/L when I took it up North, almost same as previous Biante. So this Vellfire really quite frugal for the size if travel pattern consist of a lot of HW routes with smooth traffic.

 

Yup, i would imagine that Toyota engines are decently efficient. Their vvti years ago when new, was touted as very frugal. I remember i got 14-15 km/L when i used to work in Jurong.

 

Going up north - If you are not caught in jams at the checkpoints, I reckon it should be even better than 10 km/L. I think i got about 9 km/L when we rented a Hyundai iMax during our vacations in Australia. Got lots of luggage, plus 6 of us.

[andrewyewkc]

yes, that's why the question posted into consideration is that do you really need a 7 seater all the time?

for me when i had the MPV, kids were growing and need child seat as well, hence fetching the kids to school, CCA, and other activities in the morning...so in the morning is usually pack. Then afternoon to pick them up, again is usually pack and Sat is pack as well....

However, after I have pass this phase of life, kids grown and don't need child seat, and they tend to go out on thier own, I noticed we don't really need a 7 seater all the time....

Now I am on 5+2, the 2 is really rare, as I need the space behind for groceries and the occasional sunday fun out on the bikes...

easirer to meaneaveur and park and save a lot on petrol too...  so a thot....do you really need a 7 seater all the time?

 

haha, well said. 15 years back I had child seat, booster seat, maid, in-laws, etc. to ferry around. So needed a good size MPV.

Even those days, I was driving 90% of the time with the back 2 rows empty, so a bit of waste to lug the space and weight around.

 

Now kids are grown so I can choose more fun cars to drive with just the occasional "4-person squeeze" on the second row.

[Friendstar]

I wanted to get the sienta. My wife totally against it. Cos of the looks.

 

I'm a practical man.

To save myself the nagging...

[Kzone]

I am in almost same situation as you mate. But I get dizzy test driving some of the higher sprung mpvs. Haha. I loved the mazda 5. Its the only mpv in that price range which handled well and didn't make me dizzy. Only thing that put me off was it had only 2 airbags. Please take note.

 haha same here... I ended getting the Wish that has more airbags. Need to do up sound insulation, add some struts/anti roll bars and change to bigger rims and now is handling is not bad. changing to a performance based air filter also improve the response noticeably. Overall, huge improvement over stock which was tuned for fc. Can improve the handling further by lowering the car abit but I like the high clearance for convenience.

 

oh and the wish 3rd row is one of the best in terms of space n comfort. Most 3rd row forces to "squat" cos the seat is close to the floor but the Wish allows normal siting posture with highly adjustable back rest angle. Many others allows only 1 or 2 position.

Edited February 26, 2018 by Kzone

[andrewyewkc]

I wanted to get the sienta. My wife totally against it. Cos of the looks.

 

I'm a practical man.

To save myself the nagging...

Haha, bro, many of us here in the same boat.

Can improve the handling further by lowering the car abit but I like the high clearance for convenience.

Nowadays it is quite common to get "once in 50-year" flood, so higher clearance is better.

Edited February 26, 2018 by andrewyewkc

[kdash]

Yup, a good choice you made, for this phase of life.

 

But when your kids reaches upper pri to sec sch, and if they are tall (like mine), then you might need more space. Do you need to fetch parents/in-laws too? If yes, then you bo-bian and might need to consider other bigger MPVs liao.

 

wah, 27 km/l... is it better than vezel hybrid? PHVs will love it...

 

will drive the Sienta as long as i can, open to changing to a bigger MPV if need be in future... currently not fetching parents too often, and car space is sufficient (me, wife, 2 parents, helper, 2 kids). 

 

i believe most 1.5L hybrids should achieve similar FC... 

I wanted to get the sienta. My wife totally against it. Cos of the looks.

 

I'm a practical man.

To save myself the nagging...

 

waa heng ah...

[Atrecord]

 haha same here... I ended getting the Wish that has more airbags. Need to do up sound insulation, add some struts/anti roll bars and change to bigger rims and now is handling is not bad. changing to a performance based air filter also improve the response noticeably. Overall, huge improvement over stock which was tuned for fc. Can improve the handling further by lowering the car abit but I like the high clearance for convenience.

 

oh and the wish 3rd row is one of the best in terms of space n comfort. Most 3rd row forces to "squat" cos the seat is close to the floor but the Wish allows normal siting posture with highly adjustable back rest angle. Many others allows only 1 or 2 position.

 

Yup. Agree that Wish's 3rd row is probably the best in its class. I had tried many other mid-sized MPVs. Many of them have squatting seats for 3rd row. Some even have the 'hole-puncher' 2nd row seats, that are so dangerous to those sitting on 3rd row, when putting the raised 2nd row seat, back into position...

[Sabian]

wah boss... long time no see

 

change car already

 

ð

Simi boss? I shd be calling you boss...wa bo 800k cash tucked under the mattress

[Merrills]

What did you eventually get then?

 

What's with the sound insulation of the triplets? Did you actually test drive it? 

 

I should still keep a lookout for MPV options, in case wife changes her mind and wanna get one in the future....

I bought a 2016 Estima eventually. 

 

I am not saying the sound insulation on the triplets is bad as they are not available for test drive from the PIs I patronized. However, I can attest that the newer Estima did improve on that area over the older model I had.  

 

I believe the Sharan has the best sound insulation.. in fact Sharan was my no. 1 choice if not for the many VW reliability issues I heard from friends.

Edited February 27, 2018 by Merrills

[Victor68]

Yup. Agree that Wish's 3rd row is probably the best in its class. I had tried many other mid-sized MPVs. Many of them have squatting seats for 3rd row. Some even have the 'hole-puncher' 2nd row seats, that are so dangerous to those sitting on 3rd row, when putting the raised 2nd row seat, back into position...

not true, Mazda 5, Honda Freed just to name 2 are just as good or better. best to test it out before deciding

[Atrecord]

I bought a 2016 Estima eventually. 

 

I am not saying the sound insulation on the triplets is bad as they are not available for test drive from the PIs I patronized. However, I can attest that the newer Estima did improve on that area over the older model I had.  

 

I believe the Sharan has the best sound insulation.. in fact Sharan was my no. 1 choice if not for the many VW reliability issues I heard from friends.

 

At one point, i was following the Estima closely, as i felt it has an edge over Ody in that the 3rd row seat can fold 60:40 flat, something that strangely the ody can't do...

 

But so many years never change model, this toyota really jialat... plus wife suddenly preferred SUV...

 

I tot sharan was quite immune from the common VW DSG problem, and that was mostly restricted to the 1.4 engine? 

[Atrecord]

not true, Mazda 5, Honda Freed just to name 2 are just as good or better. best to test it out before deciding

 

I've actually not seen the Freed up close and personal. Is it better than Sienta? I think Wish is still more comfortable and spacious than Sienta, but Sienta does have a smart way of stowing away the 3rd row seats.

 

Also, i've skipped the current Mazda 5, as the 2006 version was no fight for the Wish of that gen, in terms of space. If it's improved significantly in the current model, then 

[Victor68]

I've actually not seen the Freed up close and personal. Is it better than Sienta? I think Wish is still more comfortable and spacious than Sienta, but Sienta does have a smart way of stowing away the 3rd row seats.

 

Also, i've skipped the current Mazda 5, as the 2006 version was no fight for the Wish of that gen, in terms of space. If it's improved significantly in the current model, then 

Dont skip if you wish to compare. however if you mind is set, then no need to compare hahaha