Tourneo Connect 8 Seater (vs another Zafira)

[fightingtorque]

Hi,

Thinking about a Tourneo Connect 8 seat as a replacement for our current family car (02 Zafira DTI) which is throwing out some warning signs ..... oil pressure light flickers at idle when hot.

This car was a replacement for the previous car, a 1994 BMW 530i(V8) touring. The wife kept on about wanting a 7 seater. I was initially sceptical about a zafira, so we bought an 80k miler for about 3k. Up until the current problem appeared,(about 4yrs and now 130k on it) it has been reliable, practical and surprisingly nice to drive.

I was thinking of getting a Zafira B (2006 on) CDTi SRI : its 150bhp, and looks pretty cool. Probably need to put about £6-7k in to get one with about 50-70k on it. 100k milers still seem to be asking 5k which seems a lot for a worn out Vauxhall.

However, the size of the zafira is also marginal for "adventures" - we have 3 kids and a dog, and after filling it with all that plus camping gear, then decorating the outside with 3 bikes on a tow bar rack, 2 more on the roof and a big top box, it looks pretty full.

So:
1. How much bigger is a Tourneo Connect LWB, compared to a Zafira, or S-Max etc?

2. How would travelling in a Tourneo Connect compare - especially ride comfort for the people in the back, I used to use a Tourneo transit (not a connect) as a company vehicle when I lived in China, admittedly the roads weren't as good but definitely you noticed the solid axle and leaf springs compared to a normal car. Will they be winging and throwing up all the way?

3. The Zafira DTI we have is only 100bhp. My daily driver is a V6 Alfa with 190bhp, I also have a Lotus Esprit (that sometimes works). I actually find the 100hp Zafira quite adequate for the sort of driving you do with your wife sat next to you, but what concerns me is that when you've got it all loaded up, you have to spend quite a bit of time on full load, say on those hilly French motorways, and so I'm not too surprised that the engine may be worn at 130k which I would otherwise call premature. SO the question is what about the connect engine, it is only rated at 90bhp for a 1.8, so I was thinking it must either be old technology or maybe it is low rated to make it super durable? What have been the experiences of the Vantuner people who have opened them to 115bhp or whatever. I would really like to be able to maintain 70mph+ when loaded without fear that it'll blow the lid off.

4. 8 Seater ones seem quite rare, but LWB 5 seater quite common, is it possible/ practical to install the extra row of seats into a 5 seater or are there techno/paperwork issues?

5. Any other comments? Sort of expecting to get a few "I love my tourneo connect" responders on here!

Thanks,

Gav

[Altransit]

If you're looking for bigger, and more practical, then I would consider the full sized Tourneo to be the best.
I found all of the smaller 8 seaters to be lacking in luggage space, that's why I ended up with the minibus with a row of seats removed, but then I couldn't find a suitable Tourneo at the time

[g-man]

X2

[fightingtorque]

Thanks for the suggestion, but my wife uses / would use it as a daily driver, she wouldn't accept the full size one.

Gav

[Altransit]

Thanks for the suggestion, but my wife uses / would use it as a daily driver, she wouldn't accept the full size one.

Gav

My Mrs is five foot nothing, and drove our minibus(s) daily, for over 10 years till the kids all got older and learned to drive themselves. She whinged a bit when I first bought it, but ended up loving the high driving position, and how safe she felt when she had the kids in it.

Whilst the Connect is a cracking vehicle, I don't think the Tourneo will have the space that you want/need

[fightingtorque]

Hmmm. Having run a full size transit I don't think it's what I want for this job. To be clear, sometimes we need the 7( or 8 in this case) seats, and sometimes we need 5 seats plus a load of stuff, but we wouldn't normally/ ever need both.

How easily does that last row of seats in the connect go in and out?

Gav

[g-man]

have a look at one in a ford dealers.....should give u a clue