Hi Sarah,

Ah. The Best. A pejorative term at best and one fraught with danger. After all, one man's meat is another man's poison and all that. Still, there are a few that really do rise to the top in terms of seven seaters. I'll lay out some of the, in my opinion, best and you can let your personal taste steer you the rest of the way.

Toyota Verso: Not the most stylish option but the Verso is spacious, surprisingly good to drive and should prove trouble-free in the long term.

SEAT Alhambra: The best combo of space and price in the seven seater world. Only slightly more expensive than a well-specced smaller MPV and those sliding side doors are a boon in tight car parks. Not a lot of fun to drive but a solid family bus.

Ford S-Max: Up for replacement soon by an all-new model, but the S-Max is still the family seven seater of choice for the driving enthusiast. Huge space on the inside, but it really does drive like a sporty saloon.

Volvo XC90: Posh, rugged and roomy the XC90 has been a solid family pick for more than a decade now. All new model arrives soon so there are keen deals on new and nearly new ones and there are hundreds of good second hand ones. A touch thirsty but good on the reliability front.

Citroen C4 Picasso: The aesthete's choice. About as stylish as a boxy seven seater could hope to be. New one is really cool inside with its multiple touch screens, though the older model still has some Gallic swish about it and is more reliable than you might think.

Opel Zafira Tourer: A posher Zafira that's really underrated. Lots of space inside, stylish on the outside, high-quality cabin and really sharp to drive.