While SUVs are the flavour of the decade, the MPV is still the top choice for outright practicality.
And there are still a good few to choose from. Many are based on vans, which isn’t a bad thing – vans are built to be durable, cheap to maintain and be as practical as possible. And most van-based MPVs get sliding doors for easy rear-seat access in tight car parks.
As a whole, MPVs are typically more practical than SUVs, and generally much cheaper, too. They’re perfect for family life or for taxi duty – and you can pick most of these up from Motorpoint with the benefits of warranty cover and unbeatable prices guaranteed.
Best small MPV – Volkswagen Touran
- Seats: 7
- Boot space (7/5/2 seats up): 137 litres/ 927 litres/ 1,857 litres
You buy a people carrier for its practicality, and the Volkswagen Touran totally delivers. Despite not being much longer than a Golf hatchback, the Touran gives you seven seats and a host of clever storage spaces. The Touran is absolutely ideal as a family car, because all of its six passenger seats have Isofix points – and it's one of the few cars that allow you to install three child seats side-by-side on the middle row. Thankfully, the driving experience matches the Touran's fuss-free vibe.
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Best affordable MPV – Dacia Jogger
- Seats: 7
- Boot space (7 seats up/ 5 seats/ 2 seats): 160 litres/ 565 litres/ 2,085 litres
The Jogger might be peak Dacia – it’s full of sensible and thoughtful touches, yet inexpensive and, to our eyes, even a bit stylish. You can even get a Sleep Pack for it that turns the Jogger into a camper. Petrol and hybrid engines are available; seven seats come as standard, and the middle row has three individual seats. The Jogger is delightfully cheap to buy and affordable to run, giving you more money for family fun.
Shop used Dacia Jogger cars for sale or read our Dacia Jogger review
Best family MPV – Volkswagen Multivan
- Seats: 7
- Boot space (7 seats up/ 5 seats/ 2 seats): 469 litres/ 1,844 litres/ 3,672 litres
Now that the Volkswagen Touran has been put out to pasture, it's the turn of the Multivan to cater for big families and carrying lots of stuff. Even with all seven seats up, there's a genuinely useful boot – just remember to leave space for it to open! The Multivan's sliding doors make ingress and egress really easy, and upfront storage is so bountiful that you'll forget where you've stashed your sweets and sunglasses. Go back a row and your passengers get phone pouches, tray tables and a sliding centre console with fold-out tables and storage. There are diesel and hybrid versions, plus a powerful petrol engine if you really like burning fuel. The Volkswagen Multivan certainly isn't cheap, but it's something you'll want to hold on to like a family heirloom.
Best electric MPV – Volkswagen ID. Buzz
- Seats: 5/7
- Boot space (7 seats up/ 5 seats/ 2 seats): 306 litres/ 1,121 litres/ 2,205 litres
Showing that MPVs can be super cool, the ID. Buzz has all the peace-and-love vibes of the classic VW bus but with none of the toxic exhaust fumes. It can manage between 250 and 300 miles on a full charge, it’s quiet on the move and has nippy acceleration. The seven-seat Buzz LWB isn’t much extra, but adds much more flexibility and outright interior space.
Read our Volkswagen ID. Buzz review or shop used Volkswagen MPVs for sale
Most economical MPV – Citroen Berlingo
- Seats: 5/7
- Boot space (7 seats up/ 5 seats/ 2 seats): 209 litres/ 775-1,050 litres/ 3,500-4,000 litres
The British-built Citroen Berlingo comes with a fully electric option alongside conventional petrol and diesel engines. The e-Berlingo will be cheapest to run if you can charge at home, where you'll regain 200 miles of range for just a few quid. Diesel versions are ideal for longer-distance drivers and are capable of over 50mpg, while the petrol returns low 40s. M or XL versions are available with five or seven seats, with three Isofix points across the middle row, and there are twin versions if you don’t like the Citroen badges – such as the Vauxhall Combo Life, Peugeot Rifter and Toyota Proace City Verso.
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Best automatic MPV – Ford S-Max
- Seats: 7
- Boot space (7 seats up/ 5 seats/ 2 seats): 285 litres/ 700 litres/ 2,020 litres
With diesel popularity dwindling, Ford gifted its S-Max and Galaxy MPVs a hybrid petrol engine from the Kuga SUV. This can’t be plugged in and doesn’t give a meaningful battery-power range, but the electric motor can power the wheels at low speeds and help the petrol engine be more frugal. The S-Max uses a CVT automatic gearbox, which is very quiet and responsive the majority of the time. Like all CVTs, it becomes noisy if you rev it hard, so just don’t.
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Best 4x4 MPV – BMW 2 Series Active Tourer
- Seats: 5
- Boot space (seats up/down): 406 litres/ 1,370 litres
Four-wheel-drive MPVs aren’t a common combination – MPVs are bought to shuttle people around, not to go greenlaning, and four-wheel drive can reduce boot space. The BMW 2 Series Active Tourer, though, comes with all-wheel drive if you pick the 225xe plug-in hybrid model. Despite having a battery on board and two driven axles, the boot space only drops nine litres versus a petrol version, and its 406-litre space is more useful than the number suggests. A fully charged battery enables a 53-mile electric range – plenty for dropping the kids off at their various extracurricular activities.
Shop used BMW 2 Series Active Tourer cars for sale or read our BMW 2 Series Active Tourer review
Best used people carrier – Citroen Grand C4 SpaceTourer
- Seats: 7
- Boot space (7 seats up/ 5 seats/ 2 seats): 165 litres/ 645 litres/ 2,181 litres
Citroen’s seven-seat C4 SpaceTourer showed some ingenious thinking that we’d love to see more of. Managing to make a car so incredibly useful was one thing – with more storage cubbies than an advent calendar – but Citroen also managed to make the SpaceTourer look good!? More importantly, the three middle seats all move individually and have Isofix points.
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Most reliable people carrier – Kia PV5 Passenger
- Seats: 5
- Boot space (seats up/ seats down): 1,330 litres/ 3,615 litres
Admittedly it's too early to see how the Kia PV5 will stack up long term, but what we know so far is promising. Kia's electric cars have proven to be reliable, and its batteries tend to do well for longevity with limited degradation. Electric MPVs should be dependable, anyway, because they have far fewer moving parts than petrol or diesel alternatives. A seven-seat version is coming, which'll make the PV5 much more useful for bigger families than the current five-seater.
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Best luxury MPV – Mercedes V-Class
- Seats: 6-8
- Boot space (8 seats up/ 2 seats): 1,030 litres/ 4,630 litres (Extra Long)
Most Mercedes V-Class models will never be used for family haulage duties – they’re more likely to have celebrities on the plushly upholstered seats than toddlers with a half-eaten packet of Quavers. Even so, if you’re a well-heeled MPV buyer, the V-Class (and the electric EQV) are the best luxury MPVs. They still do the practical stuff immensely well, as you can see from the boot space figures above.
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