Which family cars have the best back seats?

We know the back seats in cars are very important when it comes to carrying your family around.

Pre-kids, they have just been where your mates bundled in with little consideration for size and comfort.

Then, suddenly, when you become parents, they take on a whole new meaning!

Will there be enough legroom for front passengers with child seats in the back? Will there be enough room for you to sit alongside or between child seats if you have to travel in the back to soothe your screaming baby or you get relegated when the in-laws come to visit?

You soon start asking whether the middle seat is comfortable to sit in or is there a rock-hard backrest caused by fold-down cup holders?

Is there a huge hump in the central footwell and nowhere to put your feet? Is there a seat belt buckle going to be sticking in my bum?!

Then, once the kids move out of their child seats, is there enough space for three enormous teenagers to sit without invading each other’s personal space?

Some cars have very comfy back seats, some have three individual seats, some have removed the hump in the footwell altogether and some have padded the central seatback.

As a mum of two, family car journalist and founder of BabyDrive.com.au, I have spent many, many journeys squeezed between two car seats in the back!

So I definitely know great back seats when I sit in them!

Here’s my pick of cars with the best back seats…

Comfort was in the mind of the designers of the all-electric 2023 Hyundai IONIQ 5, which was named carsales’ Car of the Year in 2021.

The rear seats are spacious and comfortable for three passengers, or I can sit comfortably between two Infasecure child seats with good shoulder-room.

The IONIQ 5 has a completely flat floor, which means teen and adult passengers can rest their feet down without having to straddle a hump and kids can walk easily in the back to get to their seats.

A 180cm-plus passenger or rear-facing child seat can sit behind a similarly tall driver in the Hyundai IONIQ 5, and to give rear central passengers greater legroom, the front central console box can slide forwards.

Perhaps the IONIQ 5’s most unique function is the ability for the driver to move the rear seats forward and backwards through the media screen to distribute the legroom and save the settings for future journeys.

GWM’s 2023 Haval H6 is a great option for taller families who are looking for generous legroom in an affordable medium SUV.

The Haval H6 easily allows a 180cm-plus driver to sit in front of an equally tall passenger or rear-facing child seat.

Rear seats in the Haval H6 are wide and flat too, allowing three Infasecure child seats to be installed across, or depending on your family’s needs there is room for a passenger to sit in the back between or beside two child seats as well.

Headroom is good in the H6, suiting taller passengers and allowing the driver to see out over child seats.

USB sockets and map pockets in the back allow rear passengers places to store and charge their devices while driving along too.

The 2023 Kia Sportage is a spacious vehicle and comes highly recommended as carsales’ Best Mid-Size SUV in 2022.

The rear seats are comfortable and spacious for passengers both big and small.

Three Infasecure child seats fit across the back and the generous amount of shoulder-room means three adults fit comfortably too.

Legroom is good in the rear of the Kia Sportage and a 180cm-plus passenger can sit behind a driver who’s just as tall.

Rear passengers’ needs have been well considered, with iPad holders in the back of the front head restraints, USB sockets in the side of the front seatbacks along with bag hooks and map pockets in the back of the front seats.

A must-mention for me is the 2023 Peugeot 5008 with its three individual second-row seats.

This means three adult passengers can sit comfortably in the back with their own personal space. The central passenger gets a proper seat and so travels in comfort.

The three seats also move independently so you can distribute legroom according to your family’s needs.

For families with infants, all three seats will hold a child seat (each one also has ISOFIX connectors) and teens or adults can easily sit in any of the other seats beside them without them encroaching on shoulder-room.

Rear passengers also have USB sockets for charging devices and tray tables on the back of both front seats that are perfect for kids to rest their devices, food or arts and crafts projects on too.

The 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee L has enormous luxury rear seats, upholstered with quilted leather in the top-spec Summit Reserve version.

They are ample in size so three large adults, child seats or combination of the two fit very comfortably.

No one will be encroaching on anyone’s personal space in the back of the Jeep Grand Cherokee L.

Shoulder-room, headroom and legroom are excellent in all three rows of seats and full-size adults or lanky teens fit in all five rear seats.

There is a hump in the central footwell but there is so much legroom and space it is not a problem.

Both rear rows of passengers have USB-A, USB-C and 240V sockets for charging devices while travelling along.

As either a spacious seven- or eight-seater, families travel in comfort in the back of the new 2023 Nissan Pathfinder.

The seven-seat models have very comfy captain’s chairs in the second row, with a removable storage box between them so passengers can walk through to their third-row seat.

Eight-seaters have a bench second-row seat that is very spacious and comfortable for three adults to sit across without encroaching on each other’s personal space.

The second-row seats give flexibility of positions for child seats and the five ISOFIX attachments mean you can have two ISOFIX-compatible seats in the outer positions or one in the middle.

There is no hump in the rear footwell so the central passenger can rest their feet comfortably.

The easily accessible third row has two generous seats. Plenty of USB sockets allow all rear passengers to charge devices while travelling along.

For families looking at used cars, get ready for Gold Class!

Discontinued in 2022, after the closure of the Japanese factory producing the long-running people-mover, the Honda Odyssey has two captain’s chairs in the second row which are like Gold Class movie theatre recliners – complete with cup holders and foot rests.

There is a walkway between through to the third-row seats and legroom is very good throughout for tall families.

Third-row seats can hold two more child seats and legroom is good for passengers as there are no humps in the floor.

The king of interior space is the 2023 Hyundai Staria. With an enormous bench of second-row seats, three large adults can very comfortably sit across with heaps of legroom, headroom and shoulder-room.

There is no hump in either rear footwell and a passenger can easily sit between or beside two child seats.

Bag hooks and map pockets on the back of both front seats, a large drawer in the back of the central console box and USB sockets give rear passengers somewhere to store and charge their devices.

Three seats in the third row are also comfortable and spacious with good legroom and kick-room.

For large families, the Kia Carnival is queen. The rear seats are adaptable, whether you want a seven- or eight-seater, with three individual seats across the second row.

Like the Peugeot 5008, the individual seats give great personal space and shoulder-room for either three adults, lanky teens or three child seats to fit across.

The seats can slide independently to distribute legroom according to your family’s needs.

The central seat can also be removed altogether to create a walkway through to the third row or you can turn the seat around and travel backwards if you want to face kids in the third row. (Child seats cannot be put in the central seat while it is facing backwards.)

As there is no hump in the second-row footwell, teens and adults have lots of legroom and little kids can easily walk through to their child seats.

Three across in the third-row seats is comfortable and spacious with good headroom and a 180cm-plus passenger will fit with a similarly tall driver or second-row passenger or rear-facing child seat in between them.