Looking for a new SUV with as many as seven seats? In today’s car market there are some exciting entries in the SUV segment which can offer a practical seven-seater cabin and a versatile drive both on and off the road.
Furthermore, the current British car market includes seven-seater SUVs which can suit a wide range of budgets, including premium-brand entries as well as cheaper alternatives which represent a lot of value for money. In this guide we pick five of the best seven-seater SUVs on sale.
BMW X5
The latest BMW X5 is available in either five or seven-seater specifications and offers a superbly luxurious interior and a sporty, composed drive. When choosing the extra two rear seats, they are far better suited for carrying children than adults.
It’s genuinely impressive how the X5 handles considering its large size and weight. Other positives include its big boot which offers 650 litres of capacity as standard. The standard kit list is also extensive, featuring heated seats, cruise control and parking sensors.
The X5 offers a solid line-up of petrol and diesel engines, such as the 215bhp four-cylinder turbo petrol unit. There’s also front and four-wheel drive powertrains to choose from and with the latter in particular the X5 feels adapt for travelling off-road. Features such as Adaptive Dynamic suspension and torque vectoring help a lot when dealing with loose grip. There’s a good chance you’ll find a powertrain to suit whether efficiency or performance takes bigger priority.
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Range Rover Sport
Whereas the ‘standard’ Range Rover SUV is strictly a five-seater, the Range Rover Sport model offers an optional seven-seater layout. With this option, the third row of seats can be unfolded from the boot floor and gives this particular SUV the sort of versatility that can rival the biggest MPVs.
Furthermore, the Range Rover Sport is already one of the most luxurious entries in the SUV market around. Its handling, four-wheel drive and powertrain mixture of diesels and a supercharged V8 results in a drive that can entertain enthusiasts even though it weighs around two tonnes.
The neatly designed cabin comes with plenty of equipment and high quality trim, cementing this car’s position as one of the classiest SUVs on the market.
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Toyota Land Cruiser
The Toyota Land Cruiser is one of the most iconic SUV names in the world, and it has been used by Toyota for more than five decades.
The latest incarnation of the Land Cruiser offers a big seven-seater cabin. From the inside it feels very well made and well equipped. Not only does it offer much for family motorists, the Land Cruiser remains, as it always has been, a true off-roader.
The single engine choice for the Land Cruiser is a 3.0-litre turbocharged diesel unit with 187bhp. It manages to give you an impressive amount of pulling power and all the torque on offer comes in very handy particularly for towing, hill climbing and other general off-road driving tasks.
One concern with the latest Land Cruiser is pricing, which does come at a premium. With CO2 emissions at 213g/km and a combined fuel economy of just 34.9mpg, running costs will also need to be carefully considered before purchase.
Still, if you plan on doing a lot of off-road driving in your seven-seater SUV, then there are few cars that feel as qualified for the task as a Land Cruiser.
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Land Rover Discovery
The second Land Rover to feature in this guide, the Discovery is relatively speaking a far cheaper alternative for a seven-seater SUV when compared to the Range Rover Sport. Whereas the sport starts at over £61,000, the Discovery starts at about £41,000 and only specifications around the top of the range push close to £60k.
More rugged and less luxurious than the Range Rover Sport, the Discovery is still a very practical model with an impressively stable and composed drive, especially considering its tall and heavy build. The Discovery’s air suspension helps to soak up bumps and can raise the ride height during off-road driving.
Not only easily capable of seating up to seven, the Discovery’s tall stature and large windows gives all passengers a clear view of the surroundings and the ride is comfortable for long journeys. The Land Rover Discovery is more than suited as both family transport and for tough off-road trekking.
Read our full review of the Land Rover Discovery
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Nissan X-Trail
Priced from around £23,000, the Nissan X-Trail is by far one of the more affordable seven-seater SUVs on the current market. If you’re keen to buy a new seven-seater SUV, but the popular options seem way beyond the reach of your budget, then the X-Trail is a decent alternative to settle on.
While previous generations of the X-Trail had a boxy and utilitarian appearance, this latest version is far more curvaceous and modern-looking. In fact it’s now very reminiscent of the popular Nissan Qashqai crossover.
There’s just one engine for all specifications, a solid 1.6-litre diesel unit with 128bhp, hooked up to a two-wheel drive powertrain as standard. In this form the X-Trail feels comfortable enough on the road. There are other large SUVs that have less body roll and feel more engaging on road, but there’s really little to complain about here.
For an extra £1,700, the X-Trail gets adaptive four-wheel drive, although bear in mind this is not available with the standard trim or automatic versions of this car. It makes the X-Trail more effective at dealing with poor weather and most off-road terrain.
It may lack the luxury finish which other SUVs on this list boast, but the latest X-Trail still does the essentials well – including providing a practical seven-seater cabin which is suitable for long distance family trips.
