Volkswagen People mover Range

It all depends on how you define long and bulky. But no seven-seater is going to be exactly small, is it? That’s because, to accommodate the third row of seats necessary to seat seven a vehicle physically has to be a certain length and there’s just no getting around that.

But I take your point; a lot of the seven-seat SUVs out there do seem pretty big. Again, however, that’s not a bad thing if you plan to fill all three rows of seats and still have some room left for luggage. The smaller seven-seaters aren’t all that good at this as the third row gobbles up the luggage space, making these cars best for those who only need seven seats on an occasional basis. If that’s your situation there are lots of mid-sized seven seaters around, but they’re pretty much all SUVs.

And while it goes against your preference for a smaller vehicle, the very best seven-seaters aren’t SUVs. They’re usually people-mover vans such as the Ford Tourneo, Kia Carnival and VW ID. Buzz. In fact, some of these even seat eight. They’re also a lot better for accessing the rearmost row of seats and they’ll still have lots of luggage space even with all seats occupied. And, yes, they look big, but that’s physics for you.

In the meantime, you could look at slightly less bulky options including the Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Sorento, Mazda CX-80 and Toyota Kluger. There’s also been speculation recently that Subaru’s seven-seat Tribeca might make a return to the Australian market.

If you’ve tried conventional parts stores and online sellers and done no good, the next step is to try a Volkswagen specialist. These are dotted around the country with a handful in each capital city. These shops tend to stock rarer, harder to find bits and pieces and often have suppliers around the world whose aim it is to keep old cars like air-cooled VWs on the road. Even if the part you need is no longer available, a good specialist will possibly know what equivalent part number from another make and model will do the job.

If all that fails, there are also specialist cable makers who can produce one-off cables to order, provided you can supply either the correct specifications or, even better, the old, broken cable to use as a template for a new one.

First suspicion would be that the fuel injectors need either reconditioning or replacing. Rough running, hard starting and excess black smoke are all classic symptoms of worn injectors. That said, the modern turbo-diesel is a pretty complex animal, and you could also have a problem with the emissions system (EGR valve) or maybe a build-up of soot and oil in the intake system (which could also affect any number of sensors around the engine).

Don’t forget the basics, either; something as simple as a dirty air-filter element can also cause problems just like the ones you’re having.