Looking for a 7 seater WITH a boot

[Thomas-the-Terrano2]

much as i love our 7s r20 the area behind the 3rd row is fit only
for a couple of bags of shopping or at a squeeze an 'umberalla'
stroller pram.

really would love a pathfinder but still out of price range so looking
for alternatives.

like the patrol but not convinced boot any bigger, always had a soft
spot for land cruiser, the original amazon type, anyone have
experience of them ideally in 4.2 diesel auto configuration.

others that spring to mind, mitsi delica, or toyota privera certainly
the import lucida types offered td, auto and road 4x4 options with
their narrower bodies. also transit bus or luxery mpv version tureno?
not 4x4 but know county used to offer a conversion...

otherwise guess stick with trusty r20/t2 and rear luggage rack, a roof
box not being practical round town or for mrs to get tandam pram
up into :roll:

all thoughts greatfully received.

[jims-terrano]

You pack the car and not the wife and then you can keep your trusty steed :lol:

Jim T

[daveg]

I have looked at toyota granvia in the past. another import,but their are a few about. it sits on the landcruiser running gear and has 2 and 4wd options. usually lots of extra,s, but I would go with the top spec versions, the Q spec . come mainly in 3 litre deisel, but there are petrol about as well. manual and auto gearbox. loads of room and lovely to drive.

it is a good option.

dave

[(RIP) PLANK]

mistubishi delicia, wouldn't be on my shopping list they drink fuel and wallow around like a small boat in choppy water!

Do you need 7 seats all the time? does the back row split fold 50/50 or 60/40 ? i have never realy looked

[Deleted Member]

Roof box!! :wink: :lol:

[(RIP) PLANK]

Roof box!! :wink: :lol:

car park height barriers?

[P40MRT]

Mazda Bongo Friendee 2.5TD (available as RWD or 4WD)

[(RIP) PLANK]

I have never had anyhting to do with bongo's but they do look nice, I would like a go if oyu get one! :wink:

[zippy656]

i had a nissan LARGO few years back GREAT BIG BOOT

wonderfull car..

[Thomas-the-Terrano2]

ta dave, heard of those but cant picture, sure google will soon fix that.
sounds like toy's tak on delica which i fond of though does look narrow
compare to height, maybe cut down for home market?

jim, ideally would keep t2, worth nowt trade in wise and still good all
rounder, just times, mainly when mrs is childminding could do with more
space.

plank no dont need 7 all time though at times 8 or 9 would be handy.
thats the drawback with the r20 third row, if it split like a patrol, shogun
and many others would have 6 seats plus half a boot. that said we find
3 up in 2nd row a challange esp. if using baby seats which in turn restrict
access to 3rd row. can feel a transit coming on, go nicely with a roma
too.... :lol:

[(RIP) PLANK]

you cant beat a transit for towing a caravan, not to quick but very stable, fairly economical and will go on and on and on and on, a bit like me really!

get a pre 2000 one a smiley face they are the bset of the lot and the last real transits.

here is some food for thought and a very favourable price compared to a Bongo, and you can allways get parts!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FORD-TRANSIT-TOURNEO-2-5TD-8-SEATER-MINIBUS-2000-W-REG_W0QQitemZ280295090585QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Min ibuses_Buses_Coaches?hash=item280295090585&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1301%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C 240%3A1318


what a long link :lol: :lol:

[floyd500b]

Nissan Largo (Special??)

http://www.evolution.co.jp/preta/v3_largo/img1.jpg
Mazda Bongo

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/1999_Mazda_Bongo-Friendee_01.jpg/800px-1999_Mazda_Bongo-Friendee_01.jpg

[zippy656]

largo WAS A GRAY IMPORT..

Vvery big boot, could take teh double BUGGY STLL UP.

AND STILL STEAT 7

[Terranosaurus]

My sister just bought a transit tourneo to replace the 110 defender that was stolen :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Not had chance to look it over really yet but I'm not sure theres much of a boot in it.

If your wife is using it for child minding purposes etc you might have to stay under 9 seats (8 + driver) or you could end up with her needing a PSV. This is why my sister has the tourneo, the 110 CSW had 3 seats removed but that was always a bit dodgy really. Even though they are not charging for the service of taking kids to school and picking them up etc apparently it does class as professional (or whatever they call it) and with any more seats you need a PSV licence.

[Thomas-the-Terrano2]

My sister just bought a transit tourneo to replace the 110 defender that was stolen :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Not had chance to look it over really yet but I'm not sure theres much of a boot in it.

If your wife is using it for child minding purposes etc you might have to stay under 9 seats (8 + driver) or you could end up with her needing a PSV. This is why my sister has the tourneo, the 110 CSW had 3 seats removed but that was always a bit dodgy really. Even though they are not charging for the service of taking kids to school and picking them up etc apparently it does class as professional (or whatever they call it) and with any more seats you need a PSV licence.

apprecite input hb, 8 passenger seats is fine, 2 up on present. tbh it would
be nice just to have more room as often have various car seats piled up
in boot in 5s mode for flexability. chances of 8 in use are rare but could
leave them set up. tourneo boot well my thoughts are if was 12s bus ie
3 rows behind driver in swb and 4 th row taken out be good boot but
think in tourneo rows 2 and 3 are moved back to improve leg room and
reduce boot a bit but still better than r20!

good point about licence, i do have a full bus though frozen medically
so down to just a 'b' ticket, no c1/d1 grandfathers as grouped with c
and d these days under vocational and higher med requirements.
ironic then mrs has d1 but dont think would want to run upto 16s though
atleast i've got psv cpc if needed operator licence :roll:

now how about a county style 4x4 conversion for one of these tourneos?
could call me a maverick then and be covered by club still :lol:

[nejones]

We had a Toyota Estima import a few years ago with 8 seats.
Option of 2wd or 4wd models.
Loads of room for passengers and luggage. Convenience of sliding door but only on 1 side.
2.2 diesel auto was an easy drive but you sit on top of the engine when driving and i found it uncomfy on longer journeys.
Inherent engine fault too which leads to overheating and expensive cylinder head replacement in nearly every case.
Mine overheated on the M6, sold it the same week.

[zippy656]

http://www.nissan-largo.co.uk/

some great pics on this site..

[(RIP) PLANK]

county 4x4's were converted by a tractor company and are very agricutural with a chain driven tansmission, I wouldnt fancy driving one all the time or on motorways regullarly. The are pretty capable 4x4's though.

[Thomas-the-Terrano2]

county 4x4's were converted by a tractor company and are very agricutural with a chain driven tansmission, I wouldnt fancy driving one all the time or on motorways regullarly. The are pretty capable 4x4's though.

ta plank, did an ebay last night, no vans, but some wheels for sale.

noted that one was 205x16 on what appeared to be a twin wheel rim
and another newer from think mk5 maybe was 235/75x15 so same
as t2 and 6 stud too. recall originally front end was a solid axle but
on latter ones retained a form of ifs with subframe 'dropped' which
didnt look as capable but still made one tall van. popular with utilities
and fire service. our local fire station had the twin wheeled version
before replacing it with a chevy pickup again with dual rea wheels and
4wd yummy.

perhaps a 2wd tranny could have an lsd or locker fitted to make it all
more all weather. that said one flake of snow puts mrs off driving
anyway :roll: even with t2.

[extreme-4x4]

why not go for a landy country or defender
loads of seats and massive boot
4wd .

you can get a nice petrol and gas convert it
then you'd have the best of both worlds

the transit is nice as is the bongo, given the choice id have the bongo,
i think the tourneo's have all been messed about with, you rarely find one that's original and un molested

also you will find anything over 7 seats the insurance companies dont like due to the fact you could take 9 bread winners to a football match or a concert and kill them all on the motorway

my last paugot boxer bus i used as a van with only 6 seats inc driver and they stung me for a 15seat minibus and extra as i had modified it (removing seats) around 900 a year and max no claims clean license and 37 years old, for what in effect was a 6 seat van

the landrover seems to miss this as its never classed as a minibus

the tourneo will fall into minibus premium's and cost loads to insure
usually minibus plus


get fixed quotes before you buy

[Thomas-the-Terrano2]

i do like the greys, but having had a townace bit wary at same time.

that said there are probably as many delicas on uk roads as terranos
these days. trawling last night saw a nissan el grand or something.
had 8 seats and a 3.2 td, looked well, along lines of a yank mini van.

lr 110 not big enough me thinks, body to narrow. now if had ever
widened it to match rangey running gear instead of just arches would
have been great. plus mrs dont like sideways seats in rear and then
where is boot as full of seats... now if made a hybrid of a stretched
disco on a 110 or bigger chassis would be getting close may be like
those limo/ambulance streched rangies.

now this

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CHEVROLET-SUBURBAN-LT-2500-DIESEL-RIGHT-HAND-DRIVE_W0QQitemZ220331313775QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAuto mobiles_UK?hash=item220331313775&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A7%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

ticks all the boxes and deffo always been on my wish list.
tow just about any oversize caravan too.
rhd, 4x4, 6.5td, 8 forward seats, boot.
drawbacks, 18' long gvw>3500kg for my b licence :cry:

[Terranosaurus]

county 4x4's were converted by a tractor company and are very agricutural with a chain driven tansmission, I wouldnt fancy driving one all the time or on motorways regullarly. The are pretty capable 4x4's though.

I agree the county conversions were pretty rough but chain drive is not to be sniffed at Ford used it for the sierra 4x4s and other bits of the box fail befor ethe transfer

[extreme-4x4]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Volkswagen-T3-westfalia-Caravelle-syncro-4x4-1-6-TD_W0QQitemZ250339602171QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAutomob iles_UK?hash=item250339602171&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A7|39%3A1|240%3A1318


now thats long

[Terranosaurus]

Been told transit tourneo has about a 2ft boot but much wider than t2 of course.

[Tubbs]

patrol has split seats in back if you not going to use all 7

[(RIP) PLANK]

see tubbs has the answer, a patrol!

rbrt, if you could crack fitting a diff lock or lsd to a 'real' transit at a reasonable cost you would make a fortune, I beleive some did come with an LSD as standard but which ones, and how you find them I have no idea!

I have senn LSD axles come up for sale second hand but they sell for a fair old price.

[Terranosaurus]

rbrt, if you could crack fitting a diff lock or lsd to a 'real' transit at a reasonable cost you would make a fortune, I beleive some did come with an LSD as standard but which ones, and how you find them I have no idea!

LSD for older transits are no problem, they use the atlas axle as per capri's and rally escorts

[(RIP) PLANK]

interesting idea, how old are we talking though? the smileys have a square axle I beleive ( i can go ootside and look) and are up to 1999/2000 ( I have seen one on a '52') or are we talking older than this?

[Thomas-the-Terrano2]

plank please define cut off of proper transits and reason.

is it when started offering front wheel drive?

tubbs, how much wider is 2nd row in patrol than terrano
as we find its pretty much a 2 seater if using chunky child
seats.

[Terranosaurus]

interesting idea, how old are we talking though? the smileys have a square axle I beleive ( i can go ootside and look) and are up to 1999/2000 ( I have seen one on a '52') or are we talking older than this?

Not sure if/when it changed, I'll stick my head under a few and see if I can work it out. I just know the atla was used under the transit. The atlas has a rear loading diff, ie cover plate on back of axle. I know at least some trannies had a front loader akin to the T2 one - though laer T2's seem to have the C200 which is also a rear loader.

[(RIP) PLANK]

rbrt - yes the last proper one was a smiley front, up to approx year 2000, the ones that followed have never been very succesfull compare to the older models, another one worth avoiding is a Turbo diesel late smiley transit as they had an 'epic' fuel pump' that was allways problematic and they didn't make many, dont get me wrong they are great when they work, just like the newer ones but when they dont they are a pain and exspensive to fix :wink:

The very latest transits are designed and to a degree made by the psa group parent company of citroen/ peuegeot cars and are the worst yet, very unreliable. if you are going post smiley front you might just as well buy something else, as very few people have a good experience of them and those that do probaly have had new ones and not older high mileage models. After the last of the proper transits they are no better than any other van, and i'm not knocking other vans but transits were the worlds number 1 for a long time for a reason.

And again a proper transit should be RWD this is the best opiton for towing and load carrying as the weight only improves traction hence the larger capacity newer transits still being Rwd.

Apparently UK production of Transits is to cease early next year and they will only be selling their current 'badged up' citroens and calling them transits from now on, but for my money if I were getting acitroen van I would buy one with a citroen badge!

If you need a run down on potential faults with newer transits or any tips with older ones then I am happy to tell all I know, much of it learnt the hard way. Of course I have no 'data' to prove any of this just in case anyone wants to disagree :wink:

[Terranosaurus]

Quaife (http://www.quaife.co.uk/Commercial) - scroll down for commercial vehicle LSD fitments, though these are mechanical gear type LSDs.

[extreme-4x4]

i just looked at my license and i can drive a minibus, cos i have d1 and d1e

i put a link here cos you might find it useful

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/WhatCanYouDriveAndYourObligations/DG_4022498

i loose mine in 2012

if you buy one that has say 10 seats even if you take seats out your still driving something that could have 10 seats you would need to check the law on that... in case there was ever a claim

[Thomas-the-Terrano2]

suspect it would have to be replated/registered as such.

thinking back i used to work for a firm that had a merc 0508 18 seater
mini coach with manual box. nice but most bus drivers only have a
slush (auto) box licence so couldnt drive it even on staff transfers.

boss took out couple of seat cushions to drop it to d1 spec but i suspect
now it wasnt legit.

caught same boss towing in a 25 seat mini bus with a 2wd nissan d22
on a chain, hmm gtw anyone of an optare metrorider, paul332 care
to guess???

[Lee3197]

I've had 2 Transits with work now, an 04 and my new 08, :lol: . Both have been bullet proof. Both were SWB LF FWD. When we just had 2 children, (now 3), we used to go everywhere in the 04. I'd have the nippers up front with me, and my Mrs would get her head down in the rear on our double airbed, with pillows and the duvets. She'd wake up and we were there. I've tried to replace our "family" 51 Vectra with a Tourneo, but she's having none of it ! :cry: .

Lee.

[(RIP) PLANK]

Quaife (http://www.quaife.co.uk/Commercial) - scroll down for commercial vehicle LSD fitments, though these are mechanical gear type LSDs.

the one i think most transits will use works out at £630 plus delivery and any other parts required then you have to do it or get some one to do it for you, so lookingat maybe £1000 all in

its a bit rich for me I would want a new van for that :wink: :lol:

but food for thought i know some of the 'high performance' transit modder out there who would pay it!

[Tubbs]

plank please define cut off of proper transits and reason.

is it when started offering front wheel drive?

tubbs, how much wider is 2nd row in patrol than terrano
as we find its pretty much a 2 seater if using chunky child
seats.

As you know my mrs is child minder and in second row she has 2 chunky child seats and bosster in middle as well as two child seats in third row and still a bit more room in boot than t2