Best used 7-seater cars 2024

Updated: 3 January 2024

Saloons, hatchbacks and estate cars are great, but what if you have a large family or a lot of friends? If you want to carry six or seven people, normal family cars like the Volkswagen Golf or Ford Mondeo aren’t going to be big enough. You’ll want a seven-seater.

You don’t need to have five kids to need a seven-seat car. The flexibility to carry six passengers – our mates from work, your children’s classmates, your extended family – is one of the best things about having a large car. To make things easier, we’ve rounded up the best used seven-seaters you can buy.

Like every Land Rover, the Discovery Sport is engineered to cross rivers, climb mountains and clamber over muddy terrain. But it’s also a great choice for families who just need to get from A to B in a car that’s got everything to make life easier. The Discovery Sport is smaller and more affordable than its namesake, the Land Rover Discovery, but it’s still capable of carrying seven people. In fact, it’s the most affordable Land Rover to offer that many seats.

While some versions are five-seaters, most versions of the Discovery Sport have the full seven, and you can choose from a range of engine choices including mild hybrids and plug-in hybrids. There’s all the modern tech you’d hope for from a premium brand like Land Rover, as well as lots of space. Think of it either as a more affordable alternative to the Discovery or as a more upmarket alternative to the similar-size Peugeot 5008 or Skoda Kodiaq.

The Swedish car manufacturer Volvo has always put safety right at the top of its priorities, and the Volvo XC90 is considered one of the safest family cars you can buy. It’s also one of the most quiet and comfortable, with an upmarket interior featuring premium materials. There are few cars more pleasant for a passenger to ride in, which is one reason that the Volvo XC90 is so popular with large families.

Its four-wheel-drive system and good ground clearance give it some off-road ability, but it’s on the road that the XC90 really shines. All versions are smooth and comfortable to drive and there are plug-in hybrid models that give you enough zero-emissions pure-electric power to make short journeys.

The Peugeot 5008 is one of the most distinctive seven-seaters, with a sharp-edged, futuristic look inside and out. It’s a great choice for families thanks to its smooth ride, comfortable seats and quiet engines. There’s lots of space inside, with room for adults in the third-row seats and a huge boot when arranged in five-seat mode.

Compared with many seven-seat SUVs, the 5008 is a very cost-effective option, with especially fuel-efficient engines and competitive prices. There’s also the reassurance of Peugeot’s excellent reputation for reliability, as highlighted by the brand finishing first among 24 brands in the 2019 J.D. Power UK Vehicle Dependability Study.

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The Audi Q7 is this German brand’s biggest SUV. It’s comfortable, quiet and powerful. You could travel for many hours in a Q7 and still step out of it feeling fresh. It’s a big car, so finding a parking space can be tricky, but it’s very easy to drive. The interior is luxurious, full of high-tech equipment and designed with an attention to detail that makes your life easier.

Although there’s not as much space in the Q7’s third-row seats as you find in some rivals, they're fine for adults on shorter journeys – perfect if a couple of friends or family members decide to tag along at the last minute. In five-seat mode, the boot’s enormous. The Q7 costs more than most of the other cars on this list but its quality, capability and desirability mark it out as a premium option.

Before SUVs boomed in popularity, MPVs (also known as ‘people carriers’) were the seven-seater family car of choice. The Seat Alhambra is a great example, with plenty of space for a large family and everyone’s stuff. 

The Alhambra’s petrol and diesel engines are more fuel-efficient than those you find in many SUVs. It’s comfortable, feels good to drive and everyone gets a great view out through big windows and, in top models, a panoramic sunroof. Sliding rear doors make it simple to load kids in the back. It’s also made from hard-wearing materials, so it should stand up to the rigours of family life.

Kia’s biggest SUV is a great-value family car. There’s loads of space inside and the seven seats are complemented by a seven-year warranty from new, meaning lots of used cars are still covered by it. An all-new model went on sale in 2020, but even older Sorentos make brilliant family transport, with lots of equipment included as standard, powerful engines and four-wheel drive.

The newer Sorento is available as a hybrid or plug-in hybrid as well as petrol or diesel options, and it has an even better interior and more modern technology inside.

The Ford Galaxy is as popular with minicab drivers as it is with families because it’s one of the few cars that can comfortably carry seven adults, plus luggage, on long journeys. It’s a big car yet it's good to drive thanks to responsive steering and great balance through corners. A high driving position, large windows and standard parking sensors make it surprisingly easy to park, too.

Ford has a good reputation for safety and reliability, and what the Galaxy lacks in attention-seeking styling, it makes up for in family-focused practicality. If you want a no-nonsense car to carry lots of people in comfort, the Ford Galaxy is hard to beat.

If you need space for seven but don’t want a very large car, the 2 Series Gran Tourer could be just the ticket. It squeezes seven seats into a relatively compact package, making it easier to drive around town and park in tighter spaces. Being a BMW, it’s also very well appointed with premium materials inside and technology to match.

The third row of seats is best reserved for small children rather than adults, but you’ll get a surprisingly fun driving experience and a choice of different models, with petrol and diesel engines, manual or automatic gearboxes and the option of four-wheel drive.

You’ll find lots of used cars for sale at Cazoo, all available to buy through our trusted dealers.

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