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Seven 7-seater cars that aren’t MPVs

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SINGAPORE — Nothing says “family man” like an MPV (or Multi Purpose Vehicle) with seven seats. Unfortunately, nothing says “uncle” like one, too.

But thanks to clever space packaging and a general rise in popularity of crossover cars — those that mix attributes of an off-roader with a regular machine — there is now no shortage of cars on the market that can haul seven people around without looking like boxes on wheels.

They do it to varying degrees of success (and suit varying budgets), but if nothing else, these seven cars show that the start of family life needn’t spell the end of driving a car that looks fairly cool.

Family men, get ready to cross over from MPVs.

VOLVO’S NEW XC90

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Where better to start than the car that taught the world to put seven seats into an MPV, way back in 2002? Volvo launched its all-new XC90 here yesterday, and with prices starting at $330,000 it’s not cheap, but it’s the finest car that the Swedish carmaker has ever made.

READ MORE > Here’s our local review of the new Volvo XC90

It’s also quite possibly the most sophisticated seven-seater SUV around, too, with a suite of anti-crash systems, a tablet-like touchscreen interface (the dashboard only has eight buttons), and an engine with a supercharger and a turbocharger.

There’s even a 400 horsepower plug-in hybrid version that’s intended for launch in Singapore.

MITSUBISHI’S FACELIFTED OUTLANDER

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The XC90 is something of a comeback car for Volvo, and it wouldn’t be outlandish to say that this car did the same for Mitsubishi.

The Japanese manufacturer sold only five cars in the first half of 2014. Then the Outlander was launched in October. Now sales have leapt to roughly a hundred a month, largely on the back of the seven-seater SUV’s popularity.

MORE> The Outlander is the biggest car you can buy with a 60% loan

Here it is in facelifted form, costing $133,999 with COE and looking noticeably different with a handsome new face that includes plenty of chrome in great, swishing strokes.

There have been changes under the skin, too, and a plug-in hybrid version will be launched next year.

LAND ROVER DISCOVERY SPORT

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Who in their right minds would park a quarter-million-dollar car in a pool of water, open the doors to flood the interior and let it soak there for half an hour, only to come back to see if it’ll start up and drive away?

The chaps at Land Rover, that’s who. That’s just one of the many tests of ruggedness the Discovery Sport is subjected to before it can go on sale. That gives it some authenticity, since Land Rovers are supposed to be unstoppable.

READ MORE> Our Disco Sport review finds it a little lacking

Apart from that, though, it’s tough to see why the pricing for these starts at $240,000 with COE. It’s a nice enough car, but it’s priced like a luxury one.

KIA SORENTO

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Cars like these don’t win glamorous awards from car magazines, but we would give the Sorento one for value-for-money. It’s big, well-equipped and very modern, and costs $152,999 with COE

READ MORE > How Kia’s Sorento shows that the Koreans have come of age

Family men are well served by the Kia, too. It’s rated very highly by safety body EuroNCAP for crash protection, for both adult and child passengers; there are six airbags, after all.

It should be a reliable car to run, too — or, if it isn’t, at least problems won’t cost much to put right because there’s a five year bumper-to-bumper warranty, and a 10-year engine warranty.

Few cars, Japanese, German or otherwise, come with that sort of backing.

BMW X5

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Here’s where things get a bit exciting. BMW didn’t invent the SUV, but it made it sporty. There’s a version of the X5 that can hit 280km/h (though that one only has five seats. Sorry, mums and dads!), and even the slowest X5 can hit 100km/h in 6.5 seconds. That’s the X5 xDrive35i, which costs $343,800 with COE.

READ MORE > Our review of the 4.4-litre twin-turbo X5 that jets to 100km/h in 5 seconds flat

It’s actually decent off-road, too — we’ve driven one to the base of an active volcano.

NISSAN X-TRAIL

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The first X-Trail was launched in 2001 as a rugged 4x4. Nobody remembers it. Now it’s a seven-seat crossover. Suddenly you’re interested, aren’t you?

READ MORE > What does the X-Trail offer for the money?

For $132,800 with COE, the X-Trail is one of the cheaper offerings here but isn’t lacking in sophistication.

HYUNDAI SANTA FE

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Surely you don’t need us to tell you by now that the latest generation of Korean automobiles have taken a big leap from their predecessors?

This 2.4-litre machine is a compelling choice for anyone looking for a large, seven-seater family SUV, given its excellent value, striking looks and superb refinement.

READ MORE > Take a deeeep breath, then read the Santa Fe’s long equipment list

It even parks itself, and we challenged its abilities with the help of a Miss Singapore Universe.

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