Alex Robbins is a motoring journalist, used car expert and consumer champion. In this regular CarGurus column, he serves up gems from the used market: this time, it's MPVs.
I’ve always had a certain fondness for the first-generation Renault Espace. It arrived in the UK in August 1985 – just a month after I did. Its wedgy, futuristic styling, reminiscent of the French TGV trains of the time, today feels about as redolent of the 1980s as its possible to get.
And this was a car of real cleverness, bringing versatility, flexibility – and, it goes without saying, space – to the European family car market in a way never before seen.
That said, it wasn’t until around a decade later that the Espace’s groundbreaking form began to be widely imitated. Rivals from Citroen to Volkswagen came up with their own ‘vans with windows’ – better known as multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) or people carriers – and suddenly, they were all the rage with family buyers, who loved the versatility and flexibility they offered.
Fast-forward 20 years, however, and all that has changed. MPVs’ dumpy profiles meant they fell out of fashion just as quickly as they had fallen into it in the 1990s; today, their place has been taken by seven-seat SUVs, which don’t suffer from the dowdy image.
As a result, MPVs in their traditional sense have all but completely disappeared from the new car market. Which is a shame – for while they aren’t the most handsome machines in the world, their usefulness far outstrips that of the SUVs that have replaced them.
You see, because MPVs might be boxier, they usually offer more interior space. Even a seven-seat SUV will normally only have room for two small, cramped seats in the third row; by comparison, MPVs offer much more space for their rearmost passengers.
In some models, all five of the rear seats can even be folded away, or sometimes removed completely, resulting in a cavernous load space ideal for carrying large, awkward items. Just try taking that three-seater sofa to the tip in anything less than a massive SUV; you’ll see what I mean.
So what’s to be done? Well, if you’re a savvy buyer, it’s not a bad idea to look again at MPVs. And now’s a good time to do so – because while new MPVs are all but extinct, there are still quite a few good quality second-hand examples on the used market.
What’s more, because such cars have fallen out of favour with buyers, they’re often pretty good value. These cars are only getting older, though – so if you want to grab one while they’re still relatively new, it’s now or never.
Take the Seat Alhambra, for example. It’s one of the last of the big, roomy seven-seat MPVs, and it’s also one of our favourites. You get a classy, well finished interior and lots of space, and while you could never call it sporty to drive, the Alhambra handles tidily and rides bumps comfortably.
You can now pick up a five-year-old example with the excellent 2.0-litre diesel engine and just 35,000 miles, for £16,495 – a huge amount of car for the money. And the one I found is in top-of-the-range Xcellence trim, which means it’ll come with loads of toys – leather upholstery, heated seats, adaptive cruise control, and so on.
Or how about something even newer? The Ford S-Max soldiered on until 2023, gaining the well-regarded 2.5-litre hybrid engine from the popular Kuga SUV. But you’ll get loads more room in an S-Max than in a Kuga – and it even looks pretty sleek for an MPV.
Go for a Titanium model, if you can – they’re harder to find, but their softer suspension and smaller wheels makes them more comfortable than the sportier-looking ST-Line. I found a two-year-old hybrid with 28,000 miles on the clock – a little on the high side, but at just £22,990, easy to forgive.
If both of those options feel a little too big for you, why not have a look at the Volkswagen Touran instead? Like the smaller Golf, the Touran is comfortable, well made, and crisply styled, and comes as standard with seven seats, so it’s extremely practical.
It’s also one of the few MPVs still left on sale, so you can still find relatively new ones around. That said, there’s more choice if you’re prepared to opt for a slightly older car – £18,500 gets you into a 2021 example with the frugal 2.0-litre diesel engine and a very reasonable 34,000 miles on the clock.
But what about if you want something… a little sportier? If that’s the case, the BMW 2-Series Active Tourer should fit the bill. It’s surprisingly sweet handling for such a practical MPV, and in 223i M Sport form, it comes with a punchy 215bhp petrol engine that gets it to 62mph in just seven seconds dead. That’s pretty quick for an MPV.
Granted, the one downside is that you can’t have it with an extra row of seats, so you’ll only ever have space for four passengers. But it’ll still return 45mpg on a run, and the roomy rear seats and big boot allow for all manner of family adventures.
Brand-new, you’d have to pay £41,225 for one of these cars – but I found a two-year-old example with barely 10,000 miles on the clock and £3,650 of optional extras fitted to it, going for £26,290 – a massive saving. So… still want that SUV?
