Picking up an MPV (multi-purpose vehicle) or a people carrier for less than £5,000 means you’re getting a whole lot of car for not much money.
Practicality is definitely at the top of the list of attributes for such car buyers, while the best also have real flexibility with how the back seats can be moved to optimise the available space.
You'll also want a car that is comfortable for you and your brood, and plenty of toys and gadgets to keep everyone relaxed and entertained.
Don’t get us wrong, we can’t work miracles. There are some cracking high-end seven-seaters out there that we’d love to recommend and would be truly lovely to live with, such as the BMW 2 Series Gran Tourer or Mercedes Viano, but these sit outside of our budget. There are also some very compelling seven-seater SUVs out there from the likes of Audi, Hyundai, Honda, Nissan and Land Rover, but as the title says, this guide concentrates on MPVs and people carriers. Here, we reveal our top picks of cheap MPVs for 2024.
The Best MPVs and People Carriers Under £5,000
- Seat Alhambra (2010-2020)
- Kia Carens (2013-2022)
- Volkswagen Sharan (2010-2022)
- Ford Galaxy (2006-2015)
- Ford S-Max (2006-2015)
- Vauxhall Zafira Tourer (2011-2018)
- Volkswagen Touran (2003-2015)
- Peugeot 5008 (2009-2016)
- Toyota Verso (2009-2018)
- Citroen Grand C4 Picasso (2007-2013)
Seat Alhambra (2010-2020)
The Alhambra shares a platform with the Volkswagen Sharan, so many of the same mechanical parts are used on both vehicles, but its combination of practicality and Spanish design flair underlines why it is one of the best seven-seat MPVs on the market.
Expect an early 2010s second-generation model with a six-figure mileage at this price point, but don’t be put off by the latter, because the engines are tough and will happily eat up miles. You can also find first-generation models for £3,000 or less. Whichever model you buy, the Alhambra’s interior is incredibly practical, with seats that move and fold, and the later model will fit three child seats in the central row.
There are petrol-engined examples, but they aren’t easy to find, because cars fitted with TDI turbo diesel engines were the most popular among original buyers, and they also have lower running costs.
Seat Alhambra Review
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Kia Carens (2013-2022)
Kia Carens models on the market for less than £5,000 will tend to be the second-generation cars that were built between 2006 and 2013, and they make for cheap and cheerful seven-seat motoring.
You can also find some post-2013 models with high mileage, which are much more sophisticated, because they were launched after the Korean carmaker applied a more European focus to the design and engineering of its model line-up. As a result, you’ll find a people carrier with attractive styling, a comfortable, high quality interior and decent boot space.
They will more than likely be fitted with Kia’s 1.7-litre CRDi diesel engine and come in mid-level ‘2’ trim, which doesn’t skimp on standard equipment.
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Volkswagen Sharan (2010-2022)
The Volkswagen Sharan has been perennially popular over the last couple of decades, so there are loads of examples on the used car market and, just like the Seat Alhambra with which it shares an awful lot (we actually still find it surprising that Skoda never offered a version, too), a budget of £5,000 will get you an early second-generation model.
The Sharan has a sense of solidity and decent reliability, with hard-wearing materials, which make it well suited to being a family car. There’s also immense practicality; the five individual rear seats fold down to create more space for luggage.
Most used Sharans will be fitted with Volkswagen’s TDI diesel engines, which are far better on fuel economy than their exceedingly rare petrol equivalents.
Volkswagen Sharan Review
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Ford Galaxy (2006-2015)
The Ford Galaxy is so commonly used as a taxi that it could be described as a people carrier in the truest sense of the word. It’s frequently used for London airport pick-ups and drop-offs, transporting groups of friends to and from nights out, and school runs. Private-hire qualities aside, the Ford is also an ideal family car.
As a spacious seven-seater with a high roof and a clever seating system, it’s about as practical as family transport gets.
For less than £5,000, you can easily pick up a late-2000s or an early 2010s second-generation Galaxy with around 100,000 miles on the clock. Titanium trim levels, the best specification, are worth seeking out if you can find them if only for the sat nav, but Zetec cars do the job as well. Petrol-engined cars are few and far between and expensive to run, so the TDCi and Duratorq diesel engines are the powertrains of choice.
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Ford S-Max (2006-2015)
Buying an MPV used to mean that you had given up on driving a car with any sense of involvement, but then came the Ford S-Max. It’s one of the best cars to drive in its class – if not the best – and proof of how Ford could make anything feel sporty.
While some critics noted that its low roofline could hamper practicality, it was still roomy and versatile, and there were other qualities that offset that concern. The design, for example, is eye-catching, while the cabin is solid, functional, and attractive, containing technology – such as voice recognition – that was new at the time.
On the road, the S-Max manages to reproduce the handling abilities that make hatchbacks such as the Ford Fiesta and the Focus class leaders, while the diesel engines fitted to most used examples provide plenty of power. If you’re not desperate for seven seats, then check out the C-Max, the S-Max’s smaller, five-seat sibling.
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Vauxhall Zafira Tourer (2011-2018)
The Vauxhall Zafira Tourer was greeted with some acclaim when it was launched in 2011, but comparisons with the likes of the Ford Galaxy and S-Max meant it was never seen as a class leader. A few years on, the Zafira Tourer is worth revisiting because values on the used car market have tumbled, which makes it a cheap option for MPV buyers and, for sheer practicality, it’s one of the best used MPVs around.
The Flex 7 seating system means that seats can be folded and stowed away to provide lots of extra luggage space, and they can slide back and forth to adjust the amount of legroom. True, the third row is a little cramped for adults, but that’s the case with most seven-seaters.
In terms of powertrains, the Zafira Tourer is available with petrol and diesel units but. On the used market, most of the cars have a diesel engine, but there are some 1.4- and 1.6-litre petrol units, which will suit short-hop urban drivers. Keep an eye out for the well-equipped trim levels, such as Elite or SRi, which offer plenty of mod cons.
Vauxhall Zafira Tourer Review
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Volkswagen Touran (2003-2015)
The Touran is popular with families because of its practicality, despite its compact dimensions compared to many other seven-seaters. It embodies all the qualities that have made cars such as the Volkswagen Golf so popular: it’s solid, well designed, and has a no-nonsense interior.
The two rearmost seats are a tight squeeze, even for children, so the Touran is arguably a five-plus-two, but it still makes an effective family car.
For less than £5,000, you can pick up a facelifted early 2010s example, and many such models have useful features, including Park Assist, which automatically steers the car into a parking spot. Cars built from 2007, with the upper trim levels, should be fitted with this feature.
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Peugeot 5008 (2009-2016)
Peugeot’s 5008 started life in 2009 as an MPV, before morphing into a crossover SUV for its second generation. Good to drive for a people carrier, the first 5008 has a number of qualities that make it a worthwhile used buy, with plenty of available examples on the market for less than £5,000.
As with all the best people carriers, the 5008 is very practical. With seven seats that can fold and slide in various ways, to provide a range of usability options for seating passengers and carrying luggage, the 5008 has the flexibility to suit most families. There’s plenty of space, too, with enough headroom and legroom for occupants (apart from the third row of seats) and lots of useful equipment, including a smart infotainment system, parking sensors, cruise control, Bluetooth, air-conditioning, LED running lights, and automatic lights and wipers.
There is one petrol engine option, but you’ll be hard pressed to find a used example, because the majority of 5008s sold in the UK were diesels, with the 1.6-litre unit the pick of the bunch in terms of efficiency.
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Toyota Verso (2009-2018)
If you’re the kind of person who thinks that life is far too exciting, then the Toyota Verso is the 7-seater car for you. It’s not a thrilling car to drive or to own, and it belies the adage about not judging a book by its cover, because the exterior is unlikely to raise anyone’s heart rate.
The interior is absolutely fine, as long as you think durable plastics – rather than plush ones – are the sensible option for a family car. We might be damning the Verso with faint praise, but we actually do think that there’s a lot to recommend it, not least of which is its reliability. Toyota has a strong and well-deserved reputation for building cars that last and last; buy one that’s less than 10 years old and have it serviced at one of the brand’s franchised dealers, and you’ll get a year’s manufacturer warranty, too.
This is just as true for the Verso as it is for the brand’s other cars and, if you can find a relatively new car, you’ll get a lot of fizzle for your buck (bang is much too exciting).
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Citroen C4 Grand Picasso (2007-2013)
Spending a chunk of money of an ageing French car might not sound like an awfully good idea, but if you’re going to do it, the Grand C4 Picasso is the one to do it with. Sure, the Renault Grand Scenic is a very capable car, but in terms of design and fitness-for-purpose, the Picasso is a masterpiece (pardon the pun).
Firstly, there’s the ingenious way the seven seats can be manipulated in a variety of ways - through folding, reclining, tipping and flipping - to maximise space and versatility. There’s also the clever indent in the floor in front of the rearmost seats to give passengers more foot spcae, and the super-slim windscreen pillars that give the driver incredibly good visibility. Everywhere you look, there’s a thoughtful touch designed to make family life easier.
At this money, you’ll be looking at a first-generation model (or you might just sneak into a Mk2 if it has a fairly interstellar mileage), and it’ll most likely have either the 1.6-litre or 2.0-litre HDi diesel engine, and quite possibly the EGS automatic gearbox. Well, technically, it’s a robotised manual, so can be a bit jerky as a result, but you can flatten out the shifts by switching cogs with the steering wheel paddles and lifting of the accelerator pedal between changes.
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