I feel like a vw transporter 7 seater would suit your use case, maybe a vw caddy if you want something physically smaller.

I looked at transporters, they are about the same size (although less space in the "trunk"/back) but much more expensive to purchase. Almost exclusively diesels are available (with some rare exceptions), and their taxes are even higher than mine! Don't get me started on the VW Multivan or similar - beautiful cars, but extremely expensive.

VW Caddy we looked at and almost bought, but we had many bad encounters buying from dealers and instead bought from the private market.