The best MPVs and people carriers – driven and tested

Best for: Daily driving

While many van-based cars can look a bit derivative, the PV5 Passenger is a much more striking option in the MPV class. Indeed, its futuristic styling will catch your eye, but you will buy it for its endlessly practical and versatile interior. 

It's impressive just how normal the PV5 feels on the road, considering it's anything but.

Charlie Martin, Staff Writer

Being an electric MPV, Kia has been able to maximise interior space, which means there’s generous amounts of head and leg room throughout. Adults will have no trouble getting comfortable in the second row and with the seats fixed there’s still a staggering 1330 liters to play with. 

Prices start from a very reasonable £32,995, which makes the PV5 much cheaper than the Volkswagen ID Buzz. 

Real-world range for the larger 71.2kWh battery (51.5kWh is also available) is around 200 miles, which is better than many other electric vans. 

Best for: Interior versatility 

The Transporter-based Multivan is arguably the most stylish and car-like version to appear in ‘T’ history, which you can trace back nearly 80 years.

For vans, it’s usually what’s inside that counts, but the T7’s car-derived platform and electrified powertrain make it surprisingly composed and comfortable on the move.

Illya Verpraet, Road Tester

Underpinned by the Volkswagen Group's MQB car platform rather than a commercial vehicle one, the Multivan drives with all the assurance, comfort and refinement of a very large Golf.

You can have it with either a 2.0-litre diesel or as a petrol plug-in hybrid, which has a claimed electric-only range of up to 55 miles.  

Inside, the Multivan is simply vast and offers the sort of flexibility that other MPVs can only dream of. There are seven individual seats (you can have fewer if you wish) and the ones in the back slide, swivel and fold.

Remove the seats and you could run a removal service on the weekend. Just be prepared to pay more than £50,000 after options. 

Best for: Character

The Volkswagen ID Buzz was one of the industry’s most hotly anticipated vehicles before it arrived. 

The ID Buzz is a surprisingly wieldy, manoeuvrable and composed drive when nipping around urban environments, and it maintains respectable body control out of town.

Matt Saunders, Road test editor

It sits on the Volkswagen Group’s MEB platform, which means this big bus shares the same underpinnings as the ID 3, ID 4 and ID 5 electric cars. 

A seven-seat, long-wheelbase version with a larger, 86kWh battery has been available since mid-2024 too, improving its versatility further.

SWB models have a 79kWh battery, with the range dependent on whether you go for a five-, six- or seven seater. Real-world range is around 200 miles, while a peak charging speed of 185kW makes top-ups quick. 

Entry-level models are driven by a single 281bhp electric motor, but a sporty GTX variant adds a second motor for four-wheel drive and a combined 335bhp. 

Whether you’re a devotee of Volkswagen’s traditional camper van or after a conventional people carrier, the ID Buzz offers a likeable package of versatility-first electric family motoring. 

Best for: Handling

The latest Tourneo Connect picks up where its underrated predecessor left off. That car delivered Citroën Berlingo-style space and utility with genuine dynamic polish, and the latest version is no different.

The ride is generally comfortable, even if it is prone to thumping when it encounters a particularly difficult intrusion (hardly a surprise for a big, empty, 1.7-tonne metal box), and you can corner with confidence.

Kris Culmer, Chief sub-editor

Based on the Volkswagen Group's MQB platform, it has been tuned by Ford’s engineers to give it a poised and plush feel that allows it to scythe through corners as effortlessly as it soaks up bumps.

There’s a choice of two bodystyles: a standard five-seater and a longer seven-seater. Both deliver acres of interior space and loads of handy storage, while the sliding rear side doors boost an already versatile package.

Go for the seven-seat Grand Tourneo Connect and, with both rear benches removed, there’s a cavernous 3100 litres of carrying capacity.

Best for: Interior space

More than two decades and almost two million sales ago, Citroën pioneered the van-based MPV with the Berlingo, and the third-generation model returns to the original's charm and oddball likeability.

A vast interior, which is used intelligently with an array of storage spaces and solutions, sliding rear doors that improve access in tight confines and robust furnishings make this a fine choice.

Keith WR Jones, Contributor

A facelift for 2024 gave the Berlingo a new lease of life, with its styling brought into line with the rest of Citroën’s cars. The engine line-up comprises a 1.2-litre petrol and 101bhp and 129bhp 1.5-litre diesel. Then there's the ë-Berlingo EV, which gets a 134bhp front-mounted electric motor and a 52kWh battery for a 212-mile range. 

Whatever the motive force, there are stout reasons to buy a Berlingo instead of a more conventional MPV. The interior is truly cavernous, particularly in XL form, which gets seven seats. Opt for the five-seater and you get a huge 1050-litre boot. 

It’s also super cheap, with prices starting from a hair over £24,000. 

Best for: Technology 

It’s somewhat surprising that in such a declining sector, premium player BMW has stuck by the MPV.

It’s a more dynamic, better-equipped and versatile choice than its only real remaining rival, the Mercedes-Benz B-Class.

Murray Scullion, Digital editor

You can now get this classy and composed hatchback only in five-seat form after BMW dropped the seven-seat Gran Tourer version, but still, it serves up plenty of space for most growing families, with generous room in the rear, where a sliding bench allows you to choose between extra space for luggage or legs. 

The fit and finish is excellent, plus it gets BMW's latest slick infotainment and advanced driver aids. It feels like a BMW on the move too, with just enough agility and engagement to satisfy a keen driver. 

There’s a pair of smooth and responsive 48V mild-hybrid petrols and a diesel, plus the option of four-wheel-drive plug-in hybrids.

Both PHEVs claim an impressive 54 miles of EV range and the 230e makes a hot-hatch-humbling 322bhp.

Best for: Load-lugging

If maximising the amount of space and passenger-carrying capacity is your top priority, you need to be looking at the passenger versions of medium-sized vans.

It feels above all like a van with no pervading sense that it shrinks around you, but it’s absolutely competent enough.

Illya Verpraet, Road Tester

The best van to drive is the Transit Custom, and the Tourneo Custom is the same but made more habitable for carrying passengers.

You can have the Tourneo Custom with a variety of powertrains: there’s a choice of two 2.0-litre diesels which can be had with either a manual or eight-speed automatic gearbox. The plug-in hybrid pairs a 2.5-litre petrol engine with an 11.8kWh battery for an EV range of up to 32 miles. You can also have the electric E-Tourneo Custom, which can travel up to 202 miles on a charge. 

Pleasingly there are different bodystyles to choose from, too, with the long-wheelbase version offering up to nine seats. 

Best for: Style

Mercedes has got the electric seven-seater market pretty well served between the EQB crossover and the larger and more expensive EQV MPV.

The MPV is generous in size and tall, so a big battery (90kWh in this case) slips underneath it a treat, with little to no sacrifice in floor height or head room.

Richard Lane, Deputy road test editor

Effectively an electric V-Class, the EQV is a big, tall, van-like vehicle with sliding side doors and captain's chairs in the second row that can spin to face either forwards or backwards.

It's powered by a 204bhp electric motor and has a usable range of just over 200 miles. And with air suspension and plenty of mass rolling along, it's quiet, comfortable and handles well for something so large and heavy.

You would be lucky to pick up an airport transfer in an EQV – and, allowing for the tax advantages, your chauffeur would be pretty happy to run one, assuming they have easy access to a charger.

The EQV will soon be replaced by the new VLE, which boasts a range of up to 435 miles thanks to its large 115kWh battery.