Thank you!
My family is moving to the Lausanne area soon from the US. We plan to lease a car for the 3+ years of my husband's assignment. Right now, I drive a Honda Odyssey (minivan) that seats 7. I'm looking for suggestions of cars that will seat my family of six ... 4 kids ages 10, 8, 5, 6. Also, are there any cars with a middle aisle so my children can easily get to the third row?
Mercedes -Benz Viano.
Check for rust though as some years ago they were notorious for it.
Better go for the real one: VW Multivan
Youre talking about in the 80 ́s before they started galvanizing them!
All depends on budget!!
The Volvo XC90 and Landrover Discovery deal with the 4*4 class. The Multivan/Viano for those who prefer a more "van" style.
Alternatively the Opel Zafira and Ford Galaxy and more "minivan" in style.
Or a Fiat Multipla for people without style... (on the upside is it probably the least stolen car ever...)
AFAIK, VW Sharan and it's "cousin", the Seat Alhambra are the way to go.
I don't drive either of them, but from people active in car-forums, most who have one are very pleased with it.
Not available as 4x4 and automatic (it's either or).
Some extras you can't get with a Seat, but they can be had for much less money instead.
The VW Multivan is even more expensive than the Sharan (and even larger than the aforementioned Sharan/Alhambra) - but it does offer more space.
Visit a typical shopping-center here, witness the parking-lots made for "compact cars" and realize just how handy sliding doors could come ...
the real issue with any of the 'small' 6 seaters is once you have all the people in, there is no space, and I mean NO space for any bags, we looked at the seat etc I don't remember what the VW we looked at was, with 7 seats, but they where temp fold up seats in the boot, that was terrible, no leg room and again no boot space, and also issues getting in and out - really wouldn't want to try and get out in a hurry if you where involved in a crash, and wouldn't want to be a back seat passenger in a crash.
We went for the viano in the end, cheaper (by 20k) then the vw van, not quite as nice inside, but 7 proper seats, proper luggage space even with all seats used, drives ok, stops ok, fuel use is ok, 4x4 auto, very happy with it so far
as with all german cars if you add a few options the price goes through the roof, we just stuck to a special ed. with no extra options (much to the dealers disgust lol)
I would go with a Discovery 4
reason?
I think she was selling one a while ago!!
Disco is a great car - and the seats are all useable - fairly easy to get into - and is a complete all year round car. And despite its size it's square shape makes it easy to park (IMHO)
However - it is heavy and that shape makes it thirsty; the reliability is still not up to Germanic levels; the cost of servicing can be pretty steep and luggage space is not ideal with 7 people in it. (6 people would allow 1 seat of be tucked under the floor so be exceptable.
No, I did not sell any Discovery. You were wrong.
Good car, a lot of space, 7 seats, very reliable. That is it!
land rover and reliable are not a set of words that usually go together, without an un in there anyway.
We looked at the landi, and it was discounted pretty quickly, with 7 people you have more space then the seat, granted, but its still not enough to get more then 1 suitcase in, and the price!! its shocking, and again, to get anywhere near decent levels of equipment means a long list of options.
I know 3 people that have them from 2004-2006. They are rotten.
I would recommend a zafira. It's true that it might be difficult to get out of the back row in an accident - something I'd not thought of before. Some good points; easy reliable car, not too big, which is good for parking and driving. If you have 6, you need only put up one seat in the back, and then there is room to put some luggage beside. We have done this for going away for weekends. It's true that if you were going for longer, you might not have room. Then it might be interesting to buy one of those luggage carrier things to put on top.
The Toyota Sienna is available in Switzerland. And it has AWD! That might be a good choice if you're leaving behind an Odyssey.
We only have three kids and drive a Ford Grand C-Max. It also offers seven seats and sliding doors bit I think would be tight for a family bogger than ours. The other smaller van of this size with sliding doors is a Mazda.
Friends of ours with four children are happy with their Ford Galaxy. But I think it offers neither sliding doors nor AWD.
I vote for the Sienna!
Nissan Pathfinder was a great car for us, essentially a Japanese Discovery but good in its own right and looks better, not sure how it's priced in CH, seems popular in the more remote mountain valley communities here. Huge amount of internal space, very comfortable, reliable, quite good fuel consumption, can turn the 4WD off to help that too, although access to the last row of seats bit average.
we also looked at the pathfinder, prices are reasonable here (compared to the others in its class) reviews are a bit patchy, space again is a bit limited with all seats in use. comes in around the same price as the 4x4 Viano.
you could also look at the Toyota landcruiser, but again, the latest version of that also has limited space with all seats in use that was my no1 choice before I looked at the new version, we had the previous version in the uk and that was really good with all seats in use.
Also make sure you study the lease vs buy equation. Leases are not very flexible here so if you leave early I'm not sure how you wind it up, there should be advice on the forum on this here, don't expect it to be as easy as back home. If you buy at least you are in control.