The best seven-seat cars – driven and ranked

Best for: Electric motoring

Electric cars are beginning to muscle in on the seven-seat act, and the striking Kia EV9 SUV is one of the first of the bunch.

It may be all about style, impact and brand-building for its maker, but the EV9 should actually have a surprisingly rational grounding influence on the market for big electric cars.

Matt Saunders, Road test editor

Clever packaging means it can offer six- and seven-seat cabin layouts. The former swaps the second row’s three-seat sliding bench for a pair of swivelling ‘captain’s chairs'. 

Those third-row seats are big enough for small adults and kids with booster seats. Better still, the rearmost seats stow and deploy electrically meaning you won't break a sweat when using them.

With all the seats up, the boot offers a family-hatchback-esque 333 litres of boot space, while five-seat mode makes it a very generous 828 litres.

In single-motor, rear-wheel-drive form, the EV9 can travel up to 349 miles, while the dual-motor, four-wheel-drive variant will do up to 313 miles.

Best for: Interior ambience

The Hyundai Santa Fe has always been one of our favourites in the seven-seat car market, and its 2024 renewal cemented its position as a go-to option. 

The interior is stylish, brilliantly practical and usable. Two small lapses, though: our test car's offside rear side window creaked in its seals and there’s nowhere to store the boot’s roller blind cover when using the third row of seats.

Matt Saunders, Road test editor

It's as practical as ever, with its lounge-like cabin delivery on space, flexibility and storage – plus there’s enough room for adults to get comfy in the very back. 

The Santa Fe comes with either a hybrid or plug-in hybrid powertrain, with maximum power standing at 249bhp. In PHEV guise, it offers up to 33 miles of electric-only range, which is slightly disappointing, but the rest of the package makes up for that. 

Boot size varies depending on specification and powertrain, but the seven-seat PHEV features 985 litres with its rearmost seats folded down or 621 litres with them in place, which is generous on all counts. 

Best for: Desirability

This desirable Land Rover Defender ought to have been a candidate for the top of this chart, because while it's expensive, its cleverly configurable interior presents the option of as many as eight seats.

I know it's big and tall and heavy, but it's such a good motorway car, with great visibility, big comfortable seats, a relaxed driving position and exceptional stability and isolation, even in bad conditions.

Matt Prior, Editor-at-large

In long-wheelbase, five-door 110 form, there's a choice of five, six or seven seats, but you will need to buy the elongated 130 model for its eight-seat (2-3-3) configuration. 

The 110 offers impressive versatility and packs an interior that effortlessly melds utility and luxury. The third-row is perfectly usable for children, teenagers and small adults, but it’s not as roomy as the Discovery. 

It's not the cheapeest seven-seater, with entry-level cars starting from around £60,000, but you will struggle to find a more desirable 4x4 with the same level of off-road ability that's also available with a broad range of petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid powertrains.  

Best for: Third-row space

The Discovery remains a fine full-sized seven-seat option, thanks to likeable charm and genuinely luxurious characteristics. 

The Discovery is a proper Land Rover: modernised, refined and as likeable as ever.

Matt Saunders, Road test editor

It's seriously spacious, with excellent head and leg room for all passengers, and vitally it tops the list for third-row space.

Boot space stands at a cavernous 1137 litres when you're using only five seats, but it drops down to 258 litres when using all seven.

Currently the Discovery is available with a mild-hybrid six-cylinder diesel engine, which makes 348bhp and can hit 60mph in 5.9sec. 

Apart from the Defender, then, the Discovery is probably your best bet on this list for performance and breadth of ability. Off road, there are few rivals that can touch its unstoppable brand of mountain goat agility.

Best for: Versatility 

The Volkswagen Multivan is a traditional MPV: a thoroughly sensible and spacious box on wheels that offers unrivalled space and versatility.

This is a relaxed, easygoing cruiser with a hugely spacious and practical interior. Only because it's based on a car platform, it has all of the capability to be equipped with the latest driver assistance hardware and software.

Matt Prior, Editor-at-large

Despite looking a lot like a van with windows, it actually sits on the MQB car platform, which underpins everything from the Volkswagen Golf to the Skoda Kodiaq. As a result, the slab-sided machine handles like a car, with surprising precision and brilliant ride refinement.

It also gets access to petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid options. The PHEV uses a 1.4-litre petrol engine and an electric motor for 215bhp and a claimed 31 miles of electric-only running. 

The Multivan's trump card, though, is its modular interior, which can be organised just how you want it. Plus it has a sliding door on each side, which makes loading and unloading kids a doddle, especially in a tight parking spot.

Best for: Value hunters

The second-generation Kodiaq has a big cabin and a generous boot for a car of its price and size, and all versions of it bar the base variant get seven seats as standard.

Despite some evidence of cost-cutting and an interior that isn't quite the resounding success we thought it was, the Kodiaq strikes all the chords it needs to play. Even in base SE trim, it's equipped with everything it needs.

Illya Verpraet, Road Tester

The third row itself is pretty snug, and while you can move the middle-row for and aft to create more leg room, adults would struggle to find a comfortable seating position. 

You can have the Kodiaq with either a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol with mild-hybrid assistance and a 2.0-litre diesel. There’s a company car tax-friendly PHEV, too, but it's available only with five seats. 

All Kodiaqs are pleasant and easy to drive, if a little bit firm-riding in some editions. That said, there are plenty of trim levels to choose from which means there should be one to suit most tastes and budgets.

Best for: Luxury

If the prevailing characteristic of your seven-seater must be luxury appeal, then the BMW X7 is the car of choice. Few rivals in the large SUV class can match the X7 for material richness, fit and finish and refinement. 

The X7 would be a fine all-season, all-task companion. I know I could grow to love its laid-back personality.

Matt Saunders, Road test editor

What further sets it apart is its capacious third row. Taller passengers wouldn’t feel uncomfortable back here, thanks to the X7s generous head room and ample leg room. You even get your own climate controls, panoramic roof and USB-C charging ports in the very back. 

Even with the rearmost seats upright you get 326 litres of boot space and a handy split folding tailgate.

You can have the X7 with a silky-smooth 376bhp petrol straight six or a 523bhp 4.4-litre petrol V8, but we would opt for the 347bhp diesel straight six, which blends effortless torque with decent economy.

Best for: Daily driving

The fact that the Volvo XC90 has been on sale for almost 10 years is a testament to its compelling blend of space, practicality, comfort and class.

Volvo's passive suspension has worked wonders. There’s less pitter-patter at low speed on loose surfaces and in general it just feels like a large car, rather than an out-and-out 4x4, absorbing bumps and crests without too much float or wallow.

Murray Scullion, Digital editor

Its greatest strength is its roomy, well-equipped interior, which is of high quality and smartly finished. It has enough space for seven adults to travel in comfort, with the third-row seats serving up good head and leg room. 

Some rivals are sharper to drive, but the XC90 offers a great balance of performance, efficiency and low running costs - especially in its plug-in hybrid form. That said, its 44-mile EV range is pretty short compared with its PHEV rivals'. 

It's comfortable, refined and, while not the most stimulating to drive, a great seven-seater.