What Car? Used Car of the Year Awards - Best MPVs

Up to £8000
Vauxhall Zafira 1.6 Club, ’03/03, 26k miles, £7545

If you’re looking for a solid used MPV that won’t disappoint or break the bank, the Vauxhall Zafira is as good as it gets. When it was introduced in 1999 it revolutionised the compact MPV market. Its blend of space, car-like drive and flexible seating made it an instant success.

It claimed the What Car? MPV of the Year award four years in a row, a testament to how good this seven-seater really is.

One of the car’s main strengths is the Flex-7 seating system, which allows a variety of internal layouts. The rear seats fold neatly into the floor, giving good boot space, and the middle row can be folded up to create a cavernous load bay. You need never wrestle with heavy removable seats, because they all stay in the car.

The Zafira is based on the Astra, and has a smooth ride with limited body roll in corners and, even fully laden, it handles well. Add to that the good all-round reliability and build quality and it’s not hard to see why our experts picked it as the class winner.

The latest Zafira was launched this year, and seems to have built on the success of the original car. However, don’t dismiss the older version as out of date – as a second-hand buy, it makes a great deal of sense.

Used prices have now fallen so much that a good one can be found for under £8000. Our panel voted the 1.6 Club the model to go for, because it gives most of the extras you really need, with an efficient and frugal engine.

Main dealers are the place to find the best examples, but also check out independent garages for extra choice, probably at slightly cheaper prices.

Also consider
Citroen Xsara Picasso 1.6 SX ’02/02, 38k miles, £6545
Last year’s class winner just misses out this time around. The Citroën can’t quite match the Zafira for ingenuity, but its main forte is value for money. You get lots of kit as standard, and inside there’s a fair amount of space for the family. It only has five seats, but they are fairly easy and light to remove.

Citroëns don’t have the best reputation for reliability, but the Picasso performs well and is fairly solid. There are plenty of cars to choose from and the best prices are at independent garages and car supermarkets.

On a different budget?
£8000-£14,000
£12,195 VW Touran 1.9 TDI S 7-seat, ’04/04, 14k miles

Also consider
£13,145 Renault Espace 1.9 dCi Expression, ’03/53, 20k miles

Over £14,000
£14,695 Ford Galaxy 1.9 TDI Zetec 130, ’03/53, 20k miles

Also consider
£16,045 Citroën C8 2.2 HDi Exclusive CC, ’03/03, 26k miles