What Car? Car of the Year 2006 - Best large MPV

Chrysler Grand Voyager 2.8 CRD LX
Price: £25,720
Target Price: £23,934

For once, big really is clever. Whereas most MPVs demand that you leave seats in the garage if you want to trade passenger capacity for luggage space, the Grand Voyager's chairs simply fold into the floor. It's the kind of system which many owners of compact MPVs take for granted, but it makes the Chrysler the most ingenious and flexible big people-carrier around.

The two middle-row seats can be folded individually, while the three-person bench in the rear splits 60/40. Stash all the seats and there's a massive 4690 litres of space to play with – more than double the capacity of our favourite estate car, the Vauxhall Vectra.

Now, here's the really smart bit. When the seats are in use, the space into which they can be folded doubles as extra luggage capacity, solving at a stroke the other perennial problem with big MPVs – coping with passengers and their luggage at the same time. Make full use of these hidden luggage holds and there's an extra 340 litres of space at your disposal.

Chrysler offers the Grand Voyager with two engines: a 3.3-litre petrol and 2.8-litre diesel. Go for the diesel: it's cheaper to buy and fuel, and has more pulling power to cope with a full load.

It's not a cheap car, but even entry-level LX trim offers all the kit most families want – dual-zone climate control, a CD player and cruise control are included in the price, as are twin front and side airbags and curtain airbags stretching the length of all three rows.

Highly recommended
Citroen C8 2.2 HDi SX
Price: £22,995
Target Price: £20,162

Mitsubishi Grandis 2.4 Classic
Price: £18,499
Target Price: £17,126

Renault Grand Espace 2.2 dCi Expression
Price: £25,150
Target Price: £22,282

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