You might have ideas that there’s a car out there that’s the perfect family car. But no such thing exists. Not every vehicle is right for every family. Gone are the days when a family would have to resign themselves to the stereotypical minivan. Today, that just doesn’t work for everyone.
As your family expands, it puts pressure on your car to perform. You need more legroom, more space, and better safety features. But you’ll also want to consider how you’ll be using the vehicle. Maybe you’re a family that likes to drive off the beaten path. In this case, you’d need something a bit more rugged than your typical family car.
So rather than limiting yourself, follow these tips to explore your options and find the best car for your family.
Choose your vehicle type
When it comes to family options, SUVs and minivans are far superior to other options based on space alone. But not every family is large. If you have a three-person family with no plans to expand, you can definitely be comfortable in a sedan.
Small families can use economy size sedans or larger ones. Medium-sized families would probably be more comfortable in an SUV., like the Toyota RAV4, check it out here. And large families often work best in a minivan.
But you should also think about how your car will be used in order to determine which type to get. If you have a small to medium-sized family but are planning to tote around your child’s friends or teammates regularly, you may want to consider getting a minivan. Family size matters but used also matters too.
Define your budget
When you have kids, you know how quickly money can fly out of your hands. So the budget is always important. As part of the process, you’ll need to discuss family planning. Are you planning to have more kids? If it’s a possibility, you’ll probably want to consider that in your car purchase.
Think about the worst-case scenario and what you’d be able to afford them. This is your monthly budget. Now, you have an idea of the size car you want and which price range you’re looking at.
Consider safety
Car safety has come a long way in the past decade. So most cars are safer today than they were in the years before. But still, some models are safer than others. Some are built for growing families while others are built more for speed.
Take the Volkswagen Tiguan, for example. It includes safety features like front and side-thorax airbags that protect the driver and front-seat airbags to protect passengers. It also has electronic safety features like electronic stability control, an anti-lock braking system, anti-slip regulation, and a tire pressure monitoring system. Vehicles like the Tiguan also feature crash-optimized bodies and energy-absorbing front and rear steel center B-pillars.
Think about usability
We touched on usability earlier when exploring car types, but it’s time to dig a little deeper. Now, think about the climate where you live. If you live in a snowy area, consider a vehicle with a 4-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. If you’re the outdoorsy type of family, you may want a vehicle to take you on a dirt road and up a mountain. Even if you have a larger family, a minivan probably won’t suffice. You’ll need an SUV or crossover with higher ground clearance and good traction.
It can be difficult to choose the right family car, but the good news is that if you do this right, you probably won’t have to do it again for many years.
Narrow down the selection to a few vehicle types and start going on test drives. You’ll know your family car when you see it.
Great tips on this. I have recently bought a pickup truck. It’s not the usual family car like most SUVs but I purchased it because I can also use it for my small business. Aside from the truck accessories and parts being functional, the cab area is quite spacious for my 4-year old kid.