2024's best small MPVs and people carriers – driven and tested

Best for: powertrain selection

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

What’s more, the French family wagon’s appeal has recently been enhanced by Citroën’s reversal of its decision to drop petrol and diesel versions. 

Both the 1.2-litre petrol and 1.5-diesel have been reinstated, albeit only in the five-seat bodystyle. If you need the seven seats the longer XL version provides, then you’re restricted to the 134bhp electric powertrain with its 50kWh battery that provides a realistic range of around 110 miles.

Whatever the motive force, there are stout reasons to buy a Berlingo instead of a more conventional MPV. The interior is truly cavernous, with 186 litres of storage space. The sliding doors are also a great feature.

Best of all, the Berlingo rides with a languid calmness and steers intuitively, making it a relaxing companion regardless of the road. 

Best for: variable bodystyles

Another van-based MPV, but in this case it’s a full-sized job that’s perfect for the largest of families. Based on VW’s new T7, the Multivan is arguably the most stylish and car-like version to appear in ‘T’ history, which can trace its roots back nearly 80 years.

Underpinned by the brand’s MQB architecture rather than a dedicated commercial vehicle platform, the T7 drives with all the assurance, comfort and refinement of a very large Golf. The steering is accurate, body control is good and the ride pliant. 

If you weren’t sitting so high up and the rear of the car wasn’t so far away, you’d never know you were in a van. This is backed up by a punchy engine line-up that runs to a 1.5-litre petrol and 2.0-litre diesel, plus the 2.0 TSI from the Golf GTI. There’s also a plug-in hybrid, complete with a claimed EV range of 31 miles, and sliding doors. 

Inside, the Multivan is simply vast with the sort of flexibility that other MPVs can only dream of. There are seven individual seats (you can have fewer if you wish) and those in the back slide, swivel and fold. Remove the chairs (at 15kg apiece they ain’t light) and you can run a removal service at the weekend.

The Multivan is a spacious, comfortable and brilliantly sorted people carrier. But with prices starting at just over £40,000 and rising to within an uncomfortable biscuit of £70,000, so it should be.

Best for: electric range

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

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. Similarly to the Multivan, the ID Buzz is more of a car, rather than an actual van. 

That makes sense – the Buzz is available as either a five-seat passenger car or as a 2+1 Cargo commercial vehicle variant. A seven-seat long-wheelbase version with a larger 110kWh battery arrived mid-way through 2024, improving its versatility further.

Beneath the metal sits a 77kWh battery offering an official range of 255 miles – not the highest figure in the world, but easily supplemented thanks to a maximum charging speed of 170kW. 

Entry-level Buzzs are driven by a single 201bhp electric motor, but there's also a dual-motor GTX variant, which adds a second motor for all-wheel drive, upping performance to 335bhp. 

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

Best for: driving dynamics

A replacement for the previous Focus-based Connect, the Ford Tourneo Custom picks up where its highly underrated predecessor left off. That car delivered Berlingo-style space and utility with genuine dynamic polish, and the latest version is no different.

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

As before, there’s a choice of two body styles – a standard five-seater and a longer (Grand Tourneo) seven-seat option. 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 version and with both rear benches removed there’s a cavernous 3100 litres of carrying capacity. And if you’d rather have a VW badge on the nose, then there’s also the Caddy version.

Best for: all-round versatility

The Touran feels like a car created from the very core of the MPV textbook, having been born to deliver great occupant space from a fairly compact footprint. And it's still going strong, outliving the larger Volkswagen Sharan. 

It can’t quite match the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer for premium-brand allure or driver appeal, while it also lacks a bit of charm in its design. But like all great VWs, it's functional in all respects, offering a versatile and pretty roomy seven-seat cabin without the risk of dwarfing your three-bedroom semi.

VW only offers the Touran with its 1.5-litre TSI Evo engine, which develops 148bhp but hauls the car along easily enough and with creditable refinement and decent economy. Handling is neat, contained and comfortable.

The Touran scores no less than eight out of 10 in every department, making it a strong all-rounder that does exactly what it says on the tin with fantastic consistency.

Best for: technology 

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

In fact, the latest 2 Series Active Tourer isn’t a facelift of the previous model but an all-new machine built on the current 1 Series platform. And the result is a classy and composed hatchback that offers a decent dose of extra practicality.

The old seven-seat Gran Tourer has been dropped, so it’s only this five-seat model that remains. Sitting within a footprint not much larger than a 1 Series, 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. 

As you’d expect the fit and finish is excellent, plus the 2 Series gets the brand’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 the inner keen driver that family life shouldn’t mean sacrificing too much fun behind the wheel. 

There’s a pair of smooth and responsive 48V mild-hybrid petrols and a 218d diesel, plus the option of the four-wheel-drive 225xe and 230xe plug-in hybrids. The latter offers a hot-hatch humbling 322bhp while both claim an impressive 56 miles of EV range for an 8% company car tax banding.

Best for: actual people carrying

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

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

One of our photographers ran a Ford Tourneo Custom PHEV for six months and found that the versatility fit his lifestyle perfectly, and while it was never going to rival a Focus for driver appeal, it never felt like a chore to drive, either.

We’d recommend a normal diesel, though. The pure-electric range of the PHEV is a paltry 30 miles, which is just not enough for a vehicle you want to take on long trips.

Best for: style

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

Effectively an electric V-Class, this 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 surprisingly quiet and comfortable, and handles well for something so large and heavy.

You'd 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 could charge one up easily.