Hyundai i800

Our verdict

Simply enormous van-people-carrier thing from deepest Korea. Masses of room for eight, but sadly with all the on-road prowess you’d expect from something with the exterior dimensions of a bijou flat. Could make the ideal hen party taxi

Comfort

Do you like space? Do you like headroom? In that case, you’ll love the spacey-headroomy i800. With eight on board, there’s acres of space – even the rearmost three passengers have plenty of legroom. Back in Korea, they sell it as a 12-seater. Enough said.

Performance

Deceptively perky, given the size of the thing. OK, 14.5 seconds to 60mph isn’t going to win you many drag races, but the 2.5-litre common rail diesel is torquey enough to keep up with traffic. And don’t forget it’s rear-wheel drive. Drifting time? No. Really no.

Cool

No. Not even slightly. Well, unless you spec it with blacked-out glass and employ a gang of large men in suits and sunglasses as passengers. Even then, probably not.

Quality

A bit plasticky, a bit rattly, but what do you expect for a sub-20 grand van with eight seats? Build quality should be sound, though, and Hyundai’s uber-warranty will see you through any significant problems.

Handling

Wallowy, to say the least. We’ve seen steam ships with sharper cornering. The sheer height of the i800 means it tips and leans through bends with all the alacrity of, erm, a ruddy great van. Easy enough to drive, though.

Practicality

Yes. Lots of it. As practical as a big van with eight seats, in fact. There’s a proper boot behind the rearmost row of seats, while the high-spec ‘Style’ version (that’s high-spec, not expensive) gets seriously useful rear parking sensors.

Running costs

30mpg-plus is achievable, while service and maintainance shouldn’t cause too many headaches. Be warned, though – it won’t depreciate well. Especially not with six kids kicking it to pieces from the inside out.