What to look for when buying your first family car

We know that when you’re expecting your first baby it’s an exciting time while you wait to meet your precious bub. It can also be daunting with all the new equipment you need to buy and everything you have to learn.

It’s a time when a lot of parents realise the car they’ve been cruising around in carefree may not be the most practical for family life.

Whether your budget means you are looking at a brand-new or a second-hand car, there are some things to look for that will make parenting life easier.

As parents there is a lot to consider; we need our car to be practical, easy to use and not make our parenting life harder.

So a large boot, legroom in front of child seats and flexibility to accommodate enough child seats for your planned family – not to mention friends, cousins, etc – are all important factors. And is it easy to install the child seats?

Consider whether you need seven seats or can make do with five. Do you have pets that need to travel in your car, as well as bub? Are you planning on having more children?

Comfort for all passengers is important: ceiling height, having air-conditioning vents in the rear (preferably that you can control from the front), as well as convenient storage in the cabin for all passengers and a nice big boot for prams and bassinets for now and scooters and bikes as the family grows.

Is there somewhere convenient for school bags and the weekly shop, even with all seats occupied?

Don’t underestimate the value of doors that open nice and wide to allow easy access when putting kids in and out of the back and loading bulky child seats into as well.

Of course, safety is of utmost importance to parents as they start a family, so looking at cars’ ANCAP safety ratings and their performance for child occupant protection, the presence of third-row airbags if choosing a seven-seater, and what driver assist systems are fitted is also important.

There are some fantastic cars and SUVs out there that I have tested with my family over the past seven years as a mum of two, family car journalist and founder of BabyDrive.com.au.

So when looking to purchase your first family car, we’ve narrowed down the key criteria to:
• Safety – ANCAP ratings, child door/window locks, airbags for every row of seating.
• Rear seat accommodation – roominess, comfort, seating arrangements, child seat provisions.
• Boot area – cargo space, flexibility, convenience features.
• Cabin comfort – climate control, amenities, ride comfort and refinement.

I’ve also named my two top vehicle picks in each category.

Safety is of utmost importance when buying the car you are going to be carrying your precious cargo around in, something you never feel more than during that first trip home from the maternity ward!

A good place to start is looking at the ANCAP crash test rating for cars you are considering. ANCAP breaks its test results down to show an adult occupant protection rating for front passengers and, since 2018, one for child occupants in the second row too. (They do not test the safety of third-row occupants.)

Obviously, the higher the adult and child occupant protection rating, the better. ANCAP also considers vulnerable road user protection and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) – such as lane keep assist, rear cross traffic alert and autonomous emergency braking (AEB): all things that will help keep you safer on the road.

Most new cars have at least six airbags, including head-protecting side curtain airbags for front and rear occupants. Many of the latest cars also have a central front airbag that prevents head-clash between the driver and front passenger in the event of a crash. It’s a case of the more airbags the better.

If you are looking at eight-seater models for your family then check if the curtain airbags run all the way to protect the passengers’ heads in the third row because some stop just short of there and don’t offer full protection.

Other safety features within the car that are helpful for families are window and door child locks in the driver’s door control panel. Sometimes they are together in one button so you can easily stop kids fiddling with them while driving along.

Two family SUVs that major on safety:

Under its maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating, the Ford Everest seven-seat large SUV currently has one of Australia’s highest rankings for child occupant protection at 93 per cent. It also achieved 86 per cent for adult occupant protection.

Nine airbags come as standard in the Everest, including dual frontal, side chest-protecting and side head-protecting curtain airbags, the latter covering all three rows of seats. Driver and front passenger knee airbags, and a front-centre airbag, are also included.

You can lock the doors and windows separately on the driver’s door to stop fiddly-fingered little passengers opening them.

The Ford Everest also comes with a full suite of crash prevention technology – and, most importantly, they are effective and smartly calibrated, working as intended rather than annoying the driver, as can sometimes be the case.

If it’s a five-seat family SUV you are looking for, the Mazda CX-60 also has an outstanding 93 per cent child occupant protection score under ANCAP safety testing, along with 91 per cent for adult occupant protection.

The CX-60 has seven airbags as standard including dual frontal, side chest-protecting and side head-protecting curtain airbags, as well as a driver’s knee airbag and a front-centre airbag.

As well as a tonne of safety technologies, you can lock the doors and windows of the CX-60 on the driver’s door control panel, making it easy to stop curious fingers from tampering.

Having never given much thought to them before kids, the rear seats become all-important when shopping for your first family car!

There is a lot to look for as not only will bub travel back there but, trust me, you may well find yourself travelling back there too.

A flat rear footwell will give a roomier feel for rear passengers and they’ll be able to move around easier in the back too.

Wide-opening rear doors make it much easier for passengers to get in and out and for you to install child seats too. High ceilings give child seats space and a roomier feel for rear passengers and allow you to lift bub in and out of their child seat easily.

This may be baby number one for your family, but if you are planning on having more children then considering rear seat space and the ability to fit in more than one child seat becomes important.

Legroom is an important issue. Babies are rear-facing in restraints for at least the first six months of their lives and ideally much longer. This uses a lot of space in the cabin of the car and often compromises the legroom of the front passengers. Check all adults will fit in the front of your car with child seats installed in the back – both rear-facing and forward-facing.

If you are planning on buying a seven-seater SUV and having more than three kids, then you’ll likely need to use the third-row seats. Check if you can get through to the third row without having to uninstall a child seat from the second row. In some cars this could mean you end up removing and reinstalling a child seat multiple times a day!

All child seats need to be attached to the car with a top tether anchorage and either ISOFIX or the seatbelt. So make sure the rear seats of the cars you are looking at have enough top tether anchorage points and ISOFIX anchors as well.

Two family SUVs that major on rear seat accommodation:

The Nissan Pathfinder large SUV has very flexible rear seating for families. It is available as a seven- or eight-seater with either a three-seater bench or two individual captain’s chairs in the central row.

Both versions of the Pathfinder have really wide-opening rear doors and no hump in the rear footwells so passengers can move around easily and central seat passengers on models with a bench have more comfortable legroom.

In the eight-seater model, the second-row seats have five ISOFIX points: two for each of the outer seats and a central one so you have flexibility of positioning child seats in any of the rear seats using ISOFIX (although not all at once as the central ISOFIX is shared).

There are top tether anchorages in the back of all three second-row seat backs. In the third row, there is ISOFIX and a top tether anchor point for the passenger-side seat only. You can access the third-row seats easily even with three child seats installed in the second-row seats.

Legroom is good throughout all three rows of seats, even when using rear-facing child seats. The ceiling is high in the back too, so passengers are comfortable in both rear rows of seats.

The new Honda CR-V mid-size SUV has nice big flat seats in the back, which make installing three Infasecure child seats easy.

There are ISOFIX points in the two outer-rear seats and top tether anchorages in the back of the two outer-rear seat backs. The central top tether anchorage is in the boot ceiling.

The rear doors of the new CR-V open nice and wide, so putting kids in and out and leaning in to do up harnesses is easy. The ceiling height is good and the footwell is almost flat so it is comfortable for adults to travel in the back too.

We found it spacious enough for a 186cm driver in front of a rear-facing Infasecure Adapt More Infant Capsule, so legroom is very good for both rows of seats.

For such little things, babies and kids need A LOT of stuff! So boot space will suddenly become very important to you.

Being able to ensure your pram fits easily in the boot is one thing, future-proofing to fit a double pram if multiple children is your plan is another. Along with room for the weekly grocery shop too!

After the pram comes scooters, bikes and then school sports equipment and musical instruments, so make sure your car’s boot will be up to the future challenges! Some boots have underfloor storage which can be super-useful for parents.

Other good boot features include dividers so you can separate prams and shopping, for example. Another is hooks for hanging school bags.

A favourite of mine is an automatic boot open/close function that allows you to walk up to or away from the car with your arms full of kids and their stuff without having to fumble for the key or put something/someone down to operate the boot lid or tailgate.

If you have a fur baby then you need the boot to be suitable for carrying the family dog too!

Two family cars that major on boot space:

The Kia Carnival people-mover has an enormous boot! It is a different in shape to most other cars because it drops down below the car floor when the third-row seats are in use, reducing the compromise you usually get between either having room for people or their stuff (but not both at once!)

Any size of pram will easily fit in there or a kid’s bike. You can also stack high in the boot because it is so deep. Hooks along on the third-row seatbacks allow you to hang the kids’ school bags neatly in the boot and any-size family dog can travel comfortably in there too.

There are shelves up the side of the boot too, which are great for storing wipes, beach stuff, gum boots, etc.

My favourite feature of the Kia Carnival boot is the hands-free tailgate. It has sensors that detect you standing there and automatically opens, then closes again when you’re at a safe distance. This is so good when you have kids that you are carrying to and from the car!

The fully-electric Tesla Model Y mid-size SUV has an enormous boot that can easily fit a double pram with a weekly grocery shop beside it, making it really practical for families.

Also, underneath the boot floor is an enormous hidden storage space. I found this handy for hiding birthday and Christmas pressies you don’t want the kids to see, or separating wet swim gear after the beach.

Being an EV, the Model Y also has a good size frunk (front trunk) for storage too.

Comfort is one of the biggest factors when you have kids and it’s the little things that make a big difference.

The most important for me is rear air vents. Having air vents in the second and third row in family cars enables you to keep your kids the right temperature on every journey, so you are not stressed about them getting cooked in the back by the sun.

In some cars you are able to adjust the rear climate control settings from the front. And to avoid tampering or disputes, some cars even allow you to child-lock the settings and prevent them from making adjustments themselves.

Rear window blinds also help to keep rear passengers shielded from the sun whilst driving so you don’t have to pin up towels in the windows or buy sometimes ill-fitting aftermarket products.

Ample and well-positioned storage is really beneficial for families, so everyone has somewhere for their water bottle and the adults have somewhere for their well-deserved coffee! As the kids get older, a safe place for their tablet or phones is a must.

Since experiencing the sensory overload of parenting, I’ve really come to appreciate cars that are quiet as they make the drive much more enjoyable for everybody. It isn’t as exhausting for the driver or disturbing for little passengers.

Even better is a car that doesn’t constantly beep warnings that disturb babies as they fall asleep!

Two family SUVs that major on cabin comfort:

The Hyundai Palisade is a very comfortable large (and luxurious) SUV for families. There is ample storage throughout all three rows, with cup holders in the rear doors so little passengers can easily reach their drinks or snacks while driving along.

A bridge-style central console in the front also provides handy extra storage below.

Built-in window blinds in the back keep rear passengers cool and air vents in all three rows of seats have controls in the front for the adults to manage the rear climate.

The drive is very comfortable and heated and cooled seats make it a comfortable space for the adults as well.

The latest Nissan X-TRAIL is one of very few five-seater mid-size SUVs to have built-in rear window blinds (in high-series models), making it very desirable for families. Rear air vents also keep rear passengers comfortable on journeys.

Storage is great in the front with cup holders and room underneath the centre console bridge. Rear passengers are well looked after with storage too.

The Nissan X-TRAIL is not a noisy car and it is comfortable for all passengers onboard. The e-POWER hybrid version is even smoother and quieter, especially when travelling at lower speeds, and you can sit with the air-con running using battery power for a while (for example, if bub is asleep) without engine noise disturbing them or churning through fuel.