The multi-purpose vehicle – otherwise known as the ‘MPV’, or people carrier – is one of the most versatile and practical vehicle types you can drive. These cars are designed to be as useful and as easy to live with as possible, thanks to seating capacity of up to 9, loads of helpful interior storage spaces, and a large boot at the back.
All this means that not only does the MPV suit the large families perfectly, but it can be ideal for other types of drivers too. MPVs typically have very easy entry and exit to the cabin through the back doors, making them great for older passengers who struggle to get into lower cars. Or they might suit a big group of younger people who all want to travel in one vehicle, rather than taking two cars everywhere. Or they might even work as transportation for sports teams, such as children’s five-a-side squads.
Are you worried that an MPV sounds like too big a vehicle, then? Well, don’t be alarmed. There are actually many different types of MPV, from smaller, compact vehicles like the Volkswagen Touran and Peugeot e-Rifter, to bigger commercial van-based models such as the Citroen e-Spacetourer.
Here’s our rundown of five of the best MPVs, across different powertrain formats and sizes.
Best MPVs 2023
Dacia Jogger Volkswagen I.D Buzz BMW 2 Series Active Tourer Citroen e-Berlingo Vauxhall Vivaro Life Electric
Dacia Jogger
Dacia offers the most affordable seven-seater MPV available with the Jogger. What’s unusual is that isn’t a typical van-like shape, as with most other MPVs, but is in an estate car with three rows of seats. Whilst the sixth and seventh seats in the Jogger are not the most capacious in the world, on the flipside they are very easy to remove from the car entirely, giving you a huge boot and five seats if you don’t need to carry as many people. With three easy-to-understand specifications and a choice of efficient turbocharged petrol or full hybrid powertrains, this is the most cost-effective and one of the most likeable MPVs you can drive.
View the latest Dacia Jogger lease deals.
Volkswagen I.D Buzz
Volkswagen is one of the few manufacturers left which offers plenty of MPV choices with the compact Touran seven-seat model and also the commercial-based Multivan. But if you want something with a nod back to the classic camper vans of the 1960s, which can carry plenty of people and luggage in zero-emission electric style, then you need the all-electric ID.Buzz.
With a 204hp electric motor and a large 77kWh battery, you get strong performance, in the order of 0-62mph in 10.2 seconds, and excellent range with up to 258 miles on a single charge. Add in a huge 1,121-litre boot and you can see why the latest VW ID car is creating such a Buzz on the streets.
View the latest Volkswagen ID Buzz lease deals.
BMW 2 Series Active Tourer
BMW previously tended to produce seven-seat versions of its popular SUVs rather than offering a traditional MPV, until the five-seat 2 Series Active Tourer arrived in 2014. It’s powered by a range of smooth and powerful turbocharged petrol and diesel engines. And if you don’t fancy those then there are two plug-in hybrid options – one of which, badged 230e xDrive, has up to 326hp!
The 2 Series Active Tourer has lots of fantastic qualities - it’s fast and it has a great chassis, but the most impressive part is the deeply practical, high-quality interior. Everything looks and feels first class, while the second-row seats all tilt, slide and fold individually, meaning you can configure the interior exactly how you want it to balance passenger and cargo space. It offers between 406 and 470 litres of boot space with all five seats in use, depending on which powertrain you go for. This means you’ll have plenty of room for cases, bags and any type of day-to-day cargo as well as a packed car of passengers.
View our latest BMW 2 Series Active Tourer Lease Deals
Citroen e-Berlingo
The Citroen e-Berlingo is a compact MPV which is based on the Berlingo small van. As such, it might not win any design awards for its exterior appearance, but that boxy, upright shape means loads of interior room and practicality. The e-Berlingo is available in regular five-seat, short-wheelbase ‘M’ form, or as the longer seven-seat ‘XL’ version if you need to carry more people.
Either way, you’re getting one of the best MPVs on the market – complete with up to 174 miles of one-shot driving range from its 50kWh battery pack. And if you don’t like Citroen, for some reason? Well, the same MPV is also sold as the Peugeot e-Rifter and Vauxhall Combo Life Electric. Sorted!
View the latest Citroen Berlingo lease deals.
Vauxhall Vivaro Life Electric
Vauxhall’s massive nine-seater, Vivaro Life Electric is also van-based and can be also found under the Peugeot and Citroen brands as the e-Traveller and e-Spacetourer respectively. The Vivaro Life’s van origins are obvious when you’re looking at it, but the benefit of that is a truly cavernous interior. It not only combines plenty of seating space for adults in all rows, but also a gigantic boot volume of up to 4,500 litres of cargo capacity in the nine-seater version. That’s about double what a typical large, seven-seat SUV can offer in the same configuration.
The Vivaro Life Electric also has useful features for loading the vehicle with passengers or cargo with ease. There’s a clever hinged rear window, so you don’t have to open the entire tailgate to load things into and out of the boot and the big rear side doors are sliding – making for the easiest passenger access in even the tightest of parking spots.
As an all-electric MPV, range and charge times are important. The Vivaro Life has a 143-mile range, the ability to replenish up to 80 per cent of its 50kWh battery pack in just 30 minutes at its 100kW maximum charging rate, and of course the usual electric vehicle benefit of zero road tax annually. Combine this with the extreme practicality and you can see why this Vauxhall is such a desirable MPV.
View the latest Vauxhall Vivaro Life lease deals.
Best MPVs FAQs:
What’s better, an MPV or an SUV? While large, luxurious seven-seat SUVs have their own strengths and benefits, usually MPVs are even more practical and spacious inside. You often find that the third row of seating in a seven-seat SUV is really only suitable for younger children or very small adults. In MPVs there is generally enough room for seven average-height adults to get comfortable onboard. MPVs are also designed with families in mind, so their interiors are generally very flexible in terms of seating/cargo space configurations, while there will also be lots of helpful storage solutions dotted about the cabin.
Which MPV has the most space? The largest, van-based MPVs are the ones which offer the most seats, the largest boots which often dwarf the figures that similar cars and SUVs can provide. The Peugeot e-Traveller, Citroen e-Spacetourer and the Vauxhall Vivaro Life Electric and the Toyota Proace Verso are all each manufacturer’s take on the same vehicle.
Which MPV has the most seats? The Vauxhall Vivaro Life Electric has the capacity for up to nine seats onboard, making it the choice for you if you need to carry more people than cargo.
What’s the best MPV for fuel economy? The all-electric Peugeot e-Traveller, Citroen e-Spacetourer and the Vauxhall Vivaro Life Electric offer the ‘best’ fuel economy, as they don’t run on regular fuel at all. However, if you don’t fancy making the move to an electric MPV, then the Dacia Jogger Hybrid can do up to 56.5mpg, while the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer 225e xDrive plug-in hybrid has an astonishing claimed 470.8mpg maximum! However, to achieve anything like that economy from it, you would need to be regularly charging it from the mains and making the most use of its 56-mile all-electric driving range.
What’s the difference between an MPV and a people carrier?
There’s no real difference, to be honest, as the term MPV and People Carrier are often interchangeable. However, strictly speaking, an MPV is generally a two-box shape – that means when you view the vehicle side-on, there’s one ‘box’ for the engine and another for the passengers/boot combined – following the template set by the 1980s Renault Espace, whereas a people carrier is an informal term for anything which can take more than five people (the normal capacity of most passenger cars) onboard. That means seven-seat SUVs could also be termed ‘people carriers’, even though they’re not traditional MPVs.
If you’re looking to drive a brand-new family car with serious passenger and cargo capacity, check out our latest MPV leasing deals. You can also find out more about how car leasing works in out in-depth leasing guides.
