Best seven-seaters coming to Australia in 2024 and 2025

UPDATED, 4 December 2024: If you're in the market for a new seven-seat family car, there's plenty of options on the market – and this list will continue to grow in 2024 and 2025 with new models from established brands, cars from unfamiliar brands, and updates for cars we know already.

Here are the best new seven-seat models you need to keep an eye out for.

The Audi Q7 has received its second facelift as the second generation of the seven-seat SUV enters its 10th year on sale.

Due in local showrooms imminently, revisions for the Q7 include reshaped headlights with high-definition matrix LED technology, OLED tail-lights, a restyled front bumper, different wheel designs, new colours, and updated dashboard inlay options.

The engine line-up remains unchanged, with a 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6 in 170kW/500Nm or 210kW/600Nm tunes for the 45 TDI and 50 TDI, respectively, a 250kW/500Nm 3.0-litre turbo-petrol V6 in the 55 TFSI, and a 373kW/770Nm 4.0-litre twin-turbo petrol V8 in the SQ7.

Ford has returned to the people-mover segment in Australia for the first time since 1990, when the Mazda E-Series-based Spectron was discontinued.

The Tourneo is available in Australia in two variants – Active and Titanium X – with a 125kW/390Nm 2.0-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine, an eight-speed torque-converter automatic transmission, front-wheel drive, and a 2500-kilogram braked towing capacity.

The three-row CX-80 is the fourth model from Mazda based on its new rear-wheel-drive-biased Large Architecture with the choice of inline-six petrol or diesel engines, or a four-cylinder petrol plug-in hybrid.

A successor to the CX-5-based Mazda CX-8, the CX-60-based CX-80 is now on sale in Australia priced in the region of $55,000 and $90,000 before on-road costs across four variants: Pure, Touring, GT and Azami.

The CX-80 is available with a six-seat configuration with second-row captain’s chairs, or a seven-seat setup with a conventional bench seat in the second row.

The second-generation Skoda Kodiaq will arrive in Australia in January or February 2025 with a larger body, revised underpinnings, and more powerful engines.

Now based on the same MQB Evo platform as the latest Octavia and Superb – along with cars from Volkswagen, Audi and Cupra – the Kodiaq will initially be limited to a single 150kW 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine in Australia, with seven seats.

Inside, the new Kodiaq is fitted with a larger 12.9-inch infotainment touchscreen, a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, three configurable dials below the touchscreen to control the climate, media and navigation settings, a column-mounted gear selector, and wireless charging pads for two smartphones.

Under the bonnet, the latest Skoda Kodiaq RS features the 195kW version of the familiar 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine also set for the Skoda Octavia RS, Superb, Volkswagen Golf GTI and Tiguan. 

It represents an uplift over the 180kW/370Nm version of the 2.0-litre engine found in the current Kodiaq RS, after it switched from turbo-diesel power in 2021.

The Volkswagen ID. Buzz is a modern, all-electric take on the iconic Kombi due in Australia in December 2024.

Seven seats will be fitted to long-wheelbase Pro and GTX models, which include an 85kWh lithium-ion battery.

The ID. Buzz Pro includes a rear-mounted 210kW/560Nm electric motor, while the GTX adds a front 80kW/134Nm motor for all-wheel drive and a combined 250kW output.

Due in Australian showrooms by mid-2025, the new-generation Volkswagen T7 Multivan line-up has been confirmed to include a seven-seat Life variant.

The Multivan Life will be fitted with a 110kW/360Nm 2.0-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder matched to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission exclusively sending power to the front wheels. 

While every previous iteration of the Volkswagen Multivan has been based on a commercial delivery van – most recently the Transporter – the T7 model has switched to the same MQB Evo architecture found in passenger cars like the Golf and Tiguan. The Caravelle continues to be based on the Transporter. 

Volkswagen Australia has confirmed a top-of-the-line Multivan Style will launch later in 2025, along with a "different" engine option, and two-tone paint options.

The seven-seat Volkswagen Tayron – a replacement for the long-wheelbase Tiguan Allspace with more styling differences over the standard Tiguan – is expected to arrive in Australia by the end of 2025.

Like the Tiguan Allspace, the Tayron is expected to use the same powertrains as the third-generation Tiguan in Australia – including a 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol, and a 2.0-litre turbo in 150kW or 195kW tunes. 

Local versions of the Tayron are planned to be sourced from Wolfsburg, Germany, which also builds the Tiguan for our market – rather than Mexico where the Tiguan Allspace is currently manufactured, or China.

Xpeng is the latest Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer to enter the Australian market, with its seven-seat X9 people-mover set to arrive in late 2025 – pending any delays – to rival models like the Zeekr 009 and Volkswagen ID. Buzz, along with the Kia Carnival and Lexus LM hybrids.

The brand claims the X9 can add 300 kilometres of range in 10 minutes, with a 702-kilometre total driving range rating according to the China Light-duty Vehicle Test Cycle (CLTC), which is more lenient than the WLTP standard commonly used in Australia.

Available features in the Xpeng X9 include a massive 101.5kWh battery, a 23-speaker audio system, sliding rear seats with one-touch access to the third row, zero-gravity front seats, and a full suite of active safety features.

Zeekr – a Chinese electric car brand from the Geely group – is going against the grain by launching its new 009 people-mover as a flagship offering, rather than a sporty high-performance model.

With a starting price closer to around $130,000, the 009 is aimed at the luxury segment, which includes models like the Lexus LM and Mercedes-Benz EQV, rather than mainstream vehicles such as the Kia Carnival and Hyundai Staria.

It will be exclusively available in Australia with an all-wheel-drive, dual-motor set-up capable of delivering 450kW/693Nm in total with a 116kWh battery enabling up to 582 kilometres of range, based on the European WLTP lab-test standard.

Family Cars Guide

Jordan is a motoring journalist based in Melbourne with a lifelong passion for cars. He has been surrounded by classic Fords and Holdens, brand-new cars, and everything in between from birth, with his parents’ owning an automotive workshop in regional Victoria. Jordan started writing about cars in 2021, and joined the Drive team in 2024.

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