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Family Cars

Three seats across, a boot for the buggy and cake in every seam.

A family car is measured in car seats, boot litres and how quickly the back can be wiped. This section covers SUVs, vans and estates, the electric question, child seats and the cars that genuinely work for families of every size.

Try it: Car seat checker

5 topics · 4 quick answers below
Interactive

Car seat checker

How many seats, which stages and which car class fits them.

SUVs

Top

SUVs are the default family car and not always the right one. High seats help with car seats and bad backs, but many are shorter inside than the estate they replaced. We test them the family way: three seats across, boot with a pushchair in it, doors that open wide in a tight car park.

Good to know

  • Take your car seats to the test drive and fit them. Every one of them.
  • Boot volume figures lie. Put your pushchair in it.
  • Sliding rear doors on vans beat any SUV door in a supermarket car park.

Guides in the works

  • Family SUVs that actually fit three child seatssoon
  • Compact SUVs for city familiessoon
  • Seven seat SUVs compared: the third row that adults can usesoon
Tell me when they land

Vans

Top

Nobody dreams of a van and everybody who has one loves it. Sliding doors, flat floors, seats you can remove and a boot that swallows a holiday. We cover the family van market from compact MPVs to full size people carriers and camper conversions.

Good to know

  • Removable individual seats are worth more than a fixed third row.
  • A van with a low floor is easier for grandparents and toddlers alike.
  • Campervans are the best family holiday and the worst daily drive. Rent before you buy.

Guides in the works

  • The family van guide: MPV, people carrier or campervansoon
  • Living with a seven seater: parking, fuel, school runssoon
  • Campervan holidays with children: what nobody tells yousoon
Tell me when they land

Electric cars

Top

Electric family cars are quiet, quick and cheap to run, and they raise new questions: where do you charge, how far can you go with the boot full, and what happens on a long holiday drive with two children asking when we get there. We answer them from experience, not brochures.

Good to know

  • Home charging changes everything. Without it, think twice.
  • Plan holiday drives around forty minute charging stops that double as lunch and playground breaks.
  • Range figures are for a summer day at eighty. Winter with a roof box is thirty percent less.

Guides in the works

  • Electric family cars compared by real range and bootsoon
  • Charging at home: what it costs and how to set it upsoon
  • The electric road trip with children: our route to Mallorcasoon
Tell me when they land

Car seats

Top

Child seats save lives when they are fitted right and rarely are. We explain the rules across Europe, rear facing versus forward facing, ISOFIX, when to move to the next stage and how to fit three seats across when the car was designed for two and a half.

Good to know

  • Rear facing as long as the seat allows, ideally to four years. It is the single biggest safety gain.
  • Move up a stage when the child outgrows the seat, not when they reach the minimum for the next one.
  • A seat that fits the car is safer than a better seat that does not.

Guides in the works

  • Car seat rules in Spain, Germany, France and the UKsoon
  • Rear facing seats explained: why, how long, which onessoon
  • Three across: seats and cars that make it possiblesoon
Tell me when they land

Family cars

Top

Not every family needs an SUV or a van. Estates, hatchbacks and even small cars work for many households, especially in cities. We rank cars by what families use them for: school run, weekly shop, motorway holiday and the occasional grandparent.

Good to know

  • Estates have longer boots than most SUVs and cost less to run.
  • Buy the engine for the motorway, not the school run. The small engine struggles with a full car.
  • Leather or wipeable seats. Cloth seats and children is a losing battle.

Guides in the works

  • The best family cars under 30,000 eurossoon
  • Estate cars: the family car that quietly winssoon
  • Used family cars: what to check and what to avoidsoon
Tell me when they land
Quick answers

Questions parents ask about family cars.

Until what age does a child need a car seat in Spain?

Children up to 135 cm tall must use an approved child restraint, and they cannot sit in the front seat unless all rear seats are occupied by other children in seats. Many families use a booster until 150 cm, which is the recommendation in most of Europe.

Can I fit three car seats in the back of a normal car?

In most family cars, no. Three narrow seats fit in some estates and SUVs, and vans with three individual rear seats fit any combination. Our car seat checker tells you what to look for.

Are electric cars practical for a family?

With home charging and a car with over 400 km of real range, yes. Daily life is easier than with petrol. Long holiday drives need a little planning around charging stops, which children need anyway.

Is a seven seater worth it for a family of four?

If you often carry friends or grandparents, a seven seater saves a second car. If it is twice a year, a five seater with a big boot and a roof box is cheaper to buy and run.

Keep going

Sections that usually come next.

Family Travel Holidays that work for every age at the table. Shopping Buy less, buy once, buy the right size. Pregnancy & Baby The first year, starting nine months early.
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