What Car? Personal Shopper: best petrol-powered seven-seater for less than £26,000
Buying used
- Our recommended choice: 2018 BMW 2 Series Gran Tourer 218i Luxury Step Auto
- Price: £22,430
- Mileage: 931
This BMW 218i is barely used, with just 931 miles on the clock, and yet it’ll set you back just £22,985 – a saving of more than £6,000 over the list price of a new one. As a rare Luxury version it’s incredibly well-appointed inside – you get leather seats, wood trim and a slew of extra toys – and like all 2 Series Gran Tourers it’s beautifully built, and a pleasure to spend time in.
It’s a 2018 car, so there’s still a huge chunk of the manufacturer’s warranty intact; of course, you can always extend that warranty later on using some of the cash left over from your budget, should you wish to. Meanwhile, the 136bhp 1.5-litre turbo engine is feisty enough to provide you with plenty of get-up-and-go, but also thrifty enough that running it won’t cost you the earth, with a claimed average figure of 51.4mpg.
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Read our used BMW 2 Series Gran Tourer review
- Also consider: 2016 Ford S-Max 2.0 Ecoboost Titanium Sport auto
- Price: £22,292
- Mileage: 6898
Want a seven-seater with a sporty streak? Try this Ford S-Max out for size. With its 237bhp 2.0-litre turbo it’s pretty fast, and it’ll handle particularly well, too. As a Titanium Sport it both looks the part and comes well-equipped, and of course, you get seven full-size seats – so there’s more passenger space on offer than in any of our other contenders, new or used.
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Read our used Ford S-Max review
- Also consider: 2018 Nissan X-Trail 1.6 Dig-T Tekna [7 seat]
- Price: £24,980
- Mileage: 50
If it’s a seven-seat SUV you’re after, this Nissan X-Trail has to be worth a look. It’s a top-of-the-range Tekna with the powerful 1.6-litre turbo engine, which is a rare thing indeed, so it’ll be effortlessly quick and very well-equipped. It’s done just 50 miles, yet it’s on the market for almost £6500 less than its new list price.
View this car in the What Car? classifieds
Read our used Nissan X-Trail review
