Daily-ing a 9 seater?

[BrokenBiker]

So, having had to hire a 9 seater today for a day trip (2025 ford tourneo custom) ive come to the conclusion that a 9 seat van may solve a lot of my logistical problems.

These problems include but are not limited to, too much fishing gear to fit in an x type mondeo, the obvious filling it full of tools and general crap, moving the likes of fridges/cookers as that always seems to be something that falls on me to do and then carrying people varying from 5-9 per trip depending on where we go.

Obviously not looking for anything brand new, would ideally not want anything newer than 2016ish but 1 thing that is a concern for me is ground clearance. I got to a fair few fishing lakes where access is iffy at best, I have bottomed the jag out more times than I can remember and there's a few muddy climbs involved which don't bother me, but ground clearance would help.

So, comfy, good clearance, preferably decent towing capacity and if the rearmost seats come out/fold flat even better. What am I looking for?

Up til now i had my eyes on a pick up, which solves most of the issues, but still only 5 seats and for the amount of times I'd need 4x4, I could lose that feature in favour of more seats

 

[addjunkie]

Used 9-seater cars for sale

Search 56 used 9-seater cars for sale on Parkers. We have a huge range of secondhand cars available from trusted dealers across the UK.

www.parkers.co.uk

 

[Robotstar5]

Mercedes 614D minibus?

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

My neighbour had one for years.

It was simultaneously:
- a work van that didn't have to obey van speed limits,
- a cheap way to take the whole family on european camping holidays,
- a tow vehicle,
- one of only a handful of vehicles able to consistently make it down the private lane to our shared yard without bottoming out.

It eventually rusted more or less literally in half, as transits (and transits disguised as people carriers) are wont to do.

I would also say from experience that pickups are significantly less practical than vans or "regular 4x4's" unless you're regularly loading pallets or loose materials in the back, if I was wanting more than the two seats I have in the Hilux, I would take a Land-Cruiser/Shogun/Patrol/Cherokee/Defender over a double-cab pickup any day.

 

[jmp49]

We upgraded from a mondeo estate 5 seater to a ex hertz 2006 7 seater ford galaxy many moons ago, that had all of those criteria except only 7 seats, in fact you could unclip all but the front two seats and leave them out, the tyres were commercial rating but it still drove like a car and was a mile eater for cross continetal jaunts, had decent power and was fairly economic.
At one point I moved the dipper off a jcb 3c in the back of it...
My mrs still misses that car when we traded it in under a gov disposal scheme against a ev, but it had 260k on it by then, all but 6 k put on by us.
Dunno what the modern equivalent of that is, but had our moneys worth out of that one.

 

[Monkey Harris]

I've got a vw caddy maxi life
7 seater ticks all the boxes for us,
Mini camper, tip run vehicle,

 

[Erie Fred]

Used Cars for Sale Nationwide - CarGurus

Save $7,263 on a Ford E-Series E-350 XLT Super Duty Passenger Van near you. Search over 1,800 listings to find the best local deals. We analyze millions of used cars daily.

www.cargurus.com

Can be had with 4x4 as well.....Gas or diesel.

 

[Barking Mat]

I've had a couple of Peugeot Boxer 9 seaters, I generally remove the rear 3 seats, then they make vans / family cars, really handy.

 

[cheb]

Check insurance costs first, I had one a few years back and it was easier to take some seats out as I didn't need all of them.

Another thing is some have one piece seats, 3 seater units are heavy.

 

[winchman]

I had a Mazda Bongo 8 seater for 5 years it was great thirsty but good.
I found as the factory fitted seats convert to a bed and table if I added a small sink and hob to the boot area I could insure it as a camper and brought the insurance from near a grand to about £300 from memory I was quite shocked at the difference.

 

[Wildefalcon]

Defender 110 station wagon. Or, if you include London in your life, a series LWB station wagon. Avoids the congestion charge too.

 

[BrokenBiker]

Cheers all, seems like a feasible idea then. I have storage for the rear 3 seats when not needed and am really starting to like the idea of it. Have been looking at a vw transporter along with the obvious transits, and a Vito although I had a Vito that was riddled with black death and thats not a job i fancy again.

50/50 whether I want to buy a rust bucket with a bit of test left and do it up while the jag is still roadworthy (test is out at wnd of thebuear and it wont pass, not even for a 1er), or spend the extra and buy a minter and hopefully get a few peaceful years out of it.

Strangely it's the first vehicle ive ever mentioned to the Mrs that has been met with the response of 'thats quite a good idea' so ive gotta take it while it's there, before she changes her mind

 

[BrokenBiker]

Defender 110 station wagon. Or, if you include London in your life, a series LWB station wagon. Avoids the congestion charge too.

After my last td5 I vowed never to touch anything with that green oval again...plus one of the requirements was comfy...and a defender isn't it

 

[bourbon]

I had a Mazda Bongo 8 seater for 5 years it was great thirsty but good.
I found as the factory fitted seats convert to a bed and table if I added a small sink and hob to the boot area I could insure it as a camper and brought the insurance from near a grand to about £300 from memory I was quite shocked at the difference.

I was looking at getting one of those. Then I looked at the MPG. thirsty isn't even close. I think you need to tow a bowser behind you full of fuel!

 

[Ton-up]

T5.1 transporter with CAAC engine. Had mine 13 years, now on 245,000. 30 mpg around town, 40 plus mpg on run. Reliable after taking emission crap off. (Except steering rack, but thats another story!)

 

[BrokenBiker]

T5.1 transporter with CAAC engine. Had mine 13 years, now on 245,000. 30 mpg around town, 40 plus mpg on run. Reliable after taking emission crap off. (Except steering rack, but thats another story!)

There are a few on ebay now that look good for the money, im a ford guy at heart, never had a vw but they are tempting

 

[tom2207]

Defender 110 station wagon. Or, if you include London in your life, a series LWB station wagon. Avoids the congestion charge too.

Id rather inject heroin in my eyes than drive a series every day ,,, but to each their own I guess .

 

[Olderisbetter]

9 seats dead basic but we kept is for years

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

After my last td5 I vowed never to touch anything with that green oval again...plus one of the requirements was comfy...and a defender isn't it

If you want comfort...

Land Cruiser J100/J200 (Amazon) or Lexus LX 470/570.

Weird vehicle, it's absolutely a luxury car, that's also absolutely capable of being used like a Defender.

Based on experience with other models of LC, I would think there's plenty of older examples available on eBay in need of MOT welding but mechanically sound.

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

Id rather inject heroin in my eyes than drive a series every day ,,, but to each their own I guess .

I mean both options are expensive forms of self-harm... But on balance probably easier to quit Landrovers.