Top Five: Family cars over $30K
A bigger budget broadens the family-car choices for switched-on mums and dadsWhile our sub-$30,000 family car category is dominated by small cars, heading north of this price bracket opens up your options considerably.
Yes, you could opt for a loaded hatch for this kind of money, but it’s difficult to drive past the alternatives from the SUV, people-mover and mid-size car classes.
Or, choose a wildcard, such as Skoda’s more rugged-looking raised Octavia derivative, the Scout. The Czech wagon provides an appealing alternative to a compact SUV. You can have a manual or an auto, a turbo petrol or diesel engine, and the top-spec variant of the roomy wagon costs just over $40,000.
If you can resist the allure of an SUV, Mazda’s 6 makes a logical family car pick in this price region. The line-up opens with a petrol sedan with a six-speed automatic. Looking further up the range brings a brilliant turbo-diesel and a capacious wagon into the picture, as well as extra equipment.
Hyundai’s Santa Fe and Kia’s Sorento are exactly the sort of SUVs lots of families are buying. Solid value, long warranties – five years for the Hyundai and seven for the Kia – as well as fine road manners seal them as excellent choices.
Another left field pick emerges in the form of Citroen C4 Grand Picasso. Think French Tarago, though the Citroen is much cleverer than the Toyota. The badge might over-sell the aesthetic appeal, but in terms of space and functionality, the Picasso has few peers.
RECOMMENDS FAMILY CARS OVER $30K
Mazda6
Big sedans are out of style, but Mazda’s 6 asserts a strong case for giving them a second look. Yes, officially, the 6 is a mid-sizer, but the roomy cabin and cargo bay are decidedly large-car-like.
The range-entry Sport sedan is a fine choice, with a willing 2.5-litre petrol four-cylinder that works well with the automatic gearbox.
Moving up to the Touring specification brings welcome extra equipment as well as introducing the wagon body variant and a torquey, efficient turbo-diesel engine. The wagon adds about $1300 and the oil-burner carries a premium of around $3200.
The wagon rides on a shorter wheelbase, which makes it the sportier pick, and it offers more luggage space – 506 to 1648 litres versus 474 to around 1500 litres in the sedan.
The GT brings all the vital equipment – keyless entry is an unfortunate omissions in the Touring – and looks great on 19-inch alloy wheels (up from 17s on lower grade variants), though there is a trade-off in low speed ride comfort, which is otherwise well-judged.
The flagship Atenza is loaded, yet still undercuts entry-level Euro mid-size alternatives with pricing between $46K and $51K.
The Mazda6 is our overall pick of the post-$30K family car crop, and from the broad line-up we’d highly recommend a turbo-diesel wagon in either Touring or GT spec.
Citroen C4 Grand Picasso
Let's face, once you’ve entered the realm of family cars with seven seats, your options become far less appealing. Thankfully, Citroen has the answer for progressive buyers.
The C4 badge is misleading, because in a practical sense the French maker’s MPV has nothing in common with the C4 hatch. And the Picasso tag is confusing, because it’s patently difficult to apply artful styling to a people-mover, though there’s no shortage of creativity at play, both outside and in.
The Grand designation is accurate, however. This is a grander version of the regular C4 Picasso, and for those prepared to embrace vive la difference, the Grand C4 Picasso is not a quirky choice, but a sensible one.
A single-spec brings a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel engine with a six-speed automatic transmission, which provides precisely the amount of effortless urge this 1440kg bus needs. Meanwhile, Citroen’s family flagship offers much more entertaining handling than you’d expect in such a pragmatic machine.
The cabin is futuristic, cleverly packaged and fully featured; our only reservations are that the third row is quite cramped, and that its use subtracts significantly from the amount of cargo space available.
A six-year warranty brushes aside the only lingering question mark – that of French-car reliability – leaving a fine family car pick from the left field.
Citroen Grand C4 Picasso Exclusive Review
Hyundai Santa Fe
Hyundai's Santa Fe packages seven seats in a format the average Australian family is comfortable with – a large SUV.
The range-opening Active variant represents good value for the sheer amount of sheet-metal – and seats – you get for your $38,490. However, we’d suggest that the extra $3000 it takes to step up into the turbo diesel Active CRDi is money well spent.
You see, while the 2.4-litre petrol four-cylinder is adequate, the 2.2-litre oil-burner is outstandingly accelerative, and more fuel-efficient, too. The diesel has 70 per cent more low-rev power compared with the petrol, yet uses around 20 per cent less fuel!
As well as the straight-line performance, there’s more surprise in store in the Santa Fe, because it handles better than you’d expect for a high-rise family wagon of nearly two tonnes, too.
Curiously, the diesel automatic boasts a slightly higher peak torque of 436Nm, compared with 421Nm for the manual – it relates to the relative torque-handling capability of the transmissions.
Either way, we’d choose the automatic because the manual can be a chore, particularly for city driving, and the auto’s more adept at keeping the oiler on the boil.
The Santa Fe is equipped to a level that’s at least in step with the price points, from the Active up to the mid-level Elite and the flagship Highlander and its warrantied for five years, which is among – but not the best – in the business.
Hyundai Santa Fe II Highlander CRDi Review
Kia Sorento
Drivetrain differences and generosity of warranty separate Kia’s Sorento and Hyundai’s Santa Fe, which share design architecture and a parent company.
The Sorento line-up opens with the Si variant that, at $40,490, is $2K pricier than the base model Santa Fe. The difference is the entry-level Kia SUV gets a potent 3.3-litre petrol V6 driving the front wheels, while its Korean compatriot has a less powerful 2.4-litre four and all-wheel drive.
Fuel efficiency aside – the V6 uses 9.9L/100km on the official combined cycle – it’s a persuasive drivetrain that also does duty in the mid-spec Sorento SLi.
Just as in the Santa Fe, a 2.2-litre turbo-diesel is offered as an option in the in the entry-level variant – and in the mid-level Sorento – and as standard in the top-level Platinum. It’s the same engine, in fact, in a slightly different state of tune that sees it produce 147kW and 441Nm.
However, subtle differences in peak outputs make little difference on the road – the turbo-diesel Sorento and Santa Fe are both powerhouses. The fact there is no manual gearbox in the Sorento fails to present a significant drawback because an auto is a better bet in this role.
Elsewhere, the Sorento’s strengths include its generous levels of standard equipment, enviable versatility, capable handling, and fine interior design, fit and finish. Plenty, in other words.
Skoda Octavia Scout
Skoda's Octavia might equally well fit the brief for a family car, but for an important distinction. The Octavia is an (admittedly roomy) small car, while the Scout fills a desirable middle ground between a compact car and a crossover or SUV, with its raised suspension and all-wheel-drive.
Starting at $33K, the Scout comes well-stocked and powered by a responsive 2.0-litre turbo-diesel paired with a six-speed manual. The three-tiered range then moves, via a 1.8-litre turbocharged petrol variant with a six-speed dual-clutch automatic, to an even more potent 2.0 diesel with the same transmission.
The Octavia’s satisfying steering and more than decent dynamics are part of the package, the Scout losing only a little bit of sharpness thanks to chunkier tyre sidewalls and a raised suspension.
It’s difficult to single out one Scout over another given excellent economy and a solid value-for-money equation at each price and spec level. We like the turbo petrol for its smoothness and rev-ability. The turbo-diesels, meanwhile, use about 45 per cent less fuel based on a comparison of the official test figures.
Interestingly, the high-output 135 TDI variant is no thirstier than the base 110 TDI, despite offering a significant increase in power and torque. Provided the $41K price tag is no impediment, it’s difficult to go past.
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