Best electric vehicles for your family

For families that need to fit three child seats in the back, the surprisingly roomy Kia EV3 can do this with three forward-facing seats or a combination of rear and forward-facing. Families with bigger kids out of child seats will fit comfortably, too, without any arguments in the back.

A slide-out table in the front and conventional household style electricity socket in the rear footwell of the Kia EV3 is a game changer, especially if you sit working while your infant is having a day nap.

Yes, this (and running the air-conditioning while parked) uses the battery, but with 436km on the standard range and 604km range on the long-range variants you hardly notice the usage.

The Kia EV3 charges from 10-80 per cent in around 30 minutes at a 150kW DC public charger and 80 minutes at a 50kW charger. This is a reasonable time for a family lunch stop on a road trip. Even with an hour-plus stop halfway through a 1000km day, driving that far with kids on board is a whole different kind of range anxiety.

The boot of the Kia EV3 is practical for family life with a generous boot capacity that features a two-tiered floor, which is handy.

As a good, fully electric hatch for families, the MG4 ticks a lot of boxes.

The NEDC battery range is available in four sizes 405km, 460km, 505km or 590km depending on your family’s lifestyle and budget. The smallest battery version cannot take advantage of fast public chargers, but you wouldn’t buy that one if road trips are a priority.

The bigger battery versions take around 40 minutes to charge from 10-80 per cent at a 150kW DC charger. We drove an MG4 with our family for several months and it was perfect for our family of four.

There are dual ISOFIX points and a trio of top-tether anchorages. We travelled with two child seats permanently installed in the back but added a third child seat when we had friends’ children staying.

Legroom is good with a flat rear footwell. A tall driver can fit in front of a rear-facing child seat, or a 186cm-plus driver in front of a forward-facing child seat. I could fit a side-by-side twin pram in the boot if I removed the wheels.

Just scraping in under the luxury car tax bracket is the Audi Q4 45 e-tron, with its battery range of 524km that is said to charge 10-80 per cent in as little as 28 minutes if you can find a fast charger that supplies at least 175kW.

The Q4 is a surprisingly spacious car for families with young children or grandparents. The rear seats are generous, so three child seats fit across in the back in different configurations. If you are a tall family, then this car has you covered. In testing a 188cm driver could sit in front of a rear-facing child seat.

Boot space is generous too, comfortably fitting a pram with plenty of space for other things. The Q4 also has bottle holders in the rear doors for back-seat passengers of all sizes to comfortably reach.

Big brother to the EV3, the Kia EV5 is an affordable, fully electric five-seater SUV. The EV5 has a range of around 400 kilometres for the standard range Air model, or up to 555km for the long-range versions, depending on which variant you choose.

We found it to be efficient with its range while testing and it’ll charge 10-80 per cent in around 40 minutes at a 150kW DC public charger.

The stand-out feature in the Kia EV5 for me is the extra bit of middle seat between the two front seats. When stationary and charging, or waiting for school pick-up, my youngest daughter loves sitting there to read books together.

Three forward-facing child seats just squeeze across the second row of the EV5 with legroom for a 180cm driver in front of a rear-facing child seat.

The EV5 has clever storage throughout and the boot is no exception. I love its moveable hooks for bags, plastic storage sections in the side walls and the added capacity under the boot floor. It also has a household type electrical socket perfect for your travel fridge.

If you have young ones the Thule Urban Glide 3 twin pram fits easily in the boot, too.

The seven-seat Kia EV9 fits a whopping five child seats, making it a very practical EV for large families.

And in even better news – you can access the third row with three child seats installed across the second-row seats. This makes the EV9 a true five-child-seat SUV for families.

Legroom is good throughout the EV9 with flat footwells for second and third-row passengers giving good access and kickroom. With a forward-facing child seat in the third row and rear-facing in second-row we found a 180cm driver can still sit up front.

Three variants are available with battery ranges from 443km to 505km and 512km to suit your lifestyle. All are compatible with powerful 350kW DC public fast chargers (although these are rare) for a 10-80 per cent charge in 24 minutes.

The Kia EV9 is full of features to make family life easier such as built-in rear window blinds, USB-C sockets, air vents and great storage for all three rows of seats.

Indicator, rear mirror and parking cameras make visibility easier in EV9, while the top spec GT-Line has digital side mirrors which can take a bit of getting used to.

The Volvo EX90 has a hidden surprise that makes family life that little bit easier. Once your child reaches the appropriate size, the EX90 has an in-built central booster seat in the second row.

This seven-seat electric SUV will fit five child seats in the back two rows with good legroom throughout. With a forward-facing child seat in the third row and rear-facing in the second row a 180cm driver can sit in front. However, access to the third row requires only two child seats to be installed in the second row.

With a 570km battery range that’s ample for the daily duties, you can add 170km of range in 10 minutes at a 250kW DC public fast charger (around half an hour from 10-80 per cent if you can find a charger this powerful), making it very practical for a family road trip with random bathroom stops.

The interior is beautifully simple and boot space is excellent in the EX90, fitting a Thule Urban Glide 3 twin pram in the boot when using all seven seats.

The Hyundai IONIQ 9 mixes futuristic styling with family practicality.

This seven-seat SUV has a battery range of 600km, which is more than useable for everyday family life and occasional longer trips. If you can find a 350kW public fast charger it will zap from 10-80 per cent in less than half an hour.

With the capacity for five child seats in the back two rows, the IONIQ 9 also has some lovely features for families like rear window blinds and cup holders in the doors for kids. There is also seemingly endless storage throughout the interior.

The teardrop shape of the IONIQ 9 makes the roofline lower at the back, so depth of the boot feels shallower when fitting prams. I was pleasantly surprised when my Thule Urban Glide 3 twin pram fitted into the boot space when using all seven seats.

A luxury five-seat family EV, the Porsche Macan is like the little black dress of electric family SUVs. It is available in four variants with a battery range of 616km and fast charging capability (as little as 21 minutes from 10-80 per cent if you can find a 350kW DC charger).

In the rear, three child seats can be installed with enough legroom for a 175cm driver in front of a rear-facing child seat, or a 186cm driver in front of a forward-facing child seat. The central console imposes a little on the rear central passenger’s legroom, so it could be the best position for a child seat if you have a tall rear passenger to fit alongside.

Boot space is excellent (540 litres) in the Macan EV, with plenty of space for a tandem pram or, for those with newborns, a pram with basinet fits easily in the boot.

What happier way to start your morning school run than the Volkswagen ID. Buzz.

We drove a five-seat, short-wheelbase ID. Buzz Pro and it was like a dose of sunshine every morning. It’s also available with a long wheelbase (the sporty top-spec GTX is seven-seater only).

The ID. Buzz has a 422km battery range, which is less than some of the competition. Volkswagen says it can charge 10-80 per cent in 26 minutes at a fast DC public charger – the five-seater maxes at 185kW but the seven-seater ups that to 200kW).

The ID. Buzz has great access with huge sliding door openings, allowing you to park in tight spaces without the kids flinging the doors into other cars. You can remove the central console so passengers can walk through the full cabin easily, too.

The five-seat model has three pews in the second row and fits a trio of child seats easily, while there’s legroom for a 186cm-plus driver in front of a rear-facing child seat. The seven-seat models add a third-row with top tether anchorages and ISOFIX in both, affording it the ability to secure five child seats with heaps of legroom throughout.

Boot space is epic in the ID. Buzz – you don’t even have to fold your prams down to put them in. For example, a Thule Sleek pram with two siblings seats or basinet fits upright in the boot, which makes life as a parent so much easier than collapsing it every trip.

The ID. Buzz is full of fabulous storage, too, with my kids loving the rear tray tables with cup holders – they felt like they were on an aeroplane.

Famous for its lack of doorhandles and padlock-like code entry system, the Ford Mustang Mach-E is a luxurious and sporty five-seat SUV.

It is available in three variants with the base Select model offering 470km of range, 515km for the top spec GT and 600km battery range for mid spec long-range version.

Styling inside the Mach-E is clutter free and suits its sporty exterior.

The rear seats are very spacious with three child seats easily fitting across or allowing room between two child seats for a passenger to sit comfortably. There’s genuine legroom for a 180cm driver in front of a rear facing child seat or a 186cm-plus adult in front of a forward-facing child seat.

Boot space is generous for families with young siblings or kids. The drop-down boot floor gives extra storage and a big-wheeled running pram fits nicely in the boot.

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