Best family cars 2024: top choices for you and your children
What makes a great family car, and which models should you be considering? Here we count down the 10 best family car models – and name the one to avoid...
You might think that every family looks for an SUV these days, but there are still thousands out there who prefer a more traditional family car. And for these buyers there’s still a huge choice available.
Family cars are often more than simply transport for you and your children, though. The best family cars are brilliant all-rounders, providing practicality, economy and safety in equal measure, while also being enjoyable to drive.
With dozens of family cars on the market, testing them all is no mean feat, and our reviewers have spent hundreds of hours poring over every one. They test everything from performance to rear-seat space, and from the technology on offer to efficient they are to run. Plus, they examine each car's reliability rating.
Below, you’ll find the ten very best family cars, plus the one to avoid. If anything takes your fancy, you can click through to read the full in-depth review or view the very best offers on our new family car deals pages.
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Our pick: 1.8 Hybrid Icon 5dr CVT
Strengths
- Low CO2 emissions and great fuel economy
- Comfortable ride
- Loads of standard kit
Weaknesses
- Cramped in the back
- So-so infotainment system
- 12.3in digital instrument cluster could be easier to use
The best family car is also one which could help you save money. That’s because the Toyota Corolla is a hybrid, which means it can run partly on electric power. It can’t go as far without petrol as plug-in hybrid cars, but on the plus side it doesn’t need to be plugged in to recharge its battery. It is incredibly efficient, too – in our real-world fuel tests, the Corolla averaged an impressive 50.5mpg.
There’s plenty of room in the front of the Corolla, and while the Ford Focus and Peugeot 308 offer more room for your rear passengers, the Toyota has a softer ride than the former and better body control than the latter.
Entry-level Icon trim is our pick of the range, and comes with a long list of standard equipment, including adaptive cruise control, heated front seats and sat-nav.
“I think the Corolla’s new 10.5in touchscreen marks a massive improvement on the previous model’s.” – Lawrence Cheung, New Cars Editor
Read our in-depth Toyota Corolla review
Our pick: 2.0 eHEV Sport 5dr CVT
Strengths
- Impressive fuel economy
- Big boot
- Lots of luxury and safety kit
Weaknesses
- Quite pricey
- Rear head room isn't great
- Road noise intrudes
The Honda Civic is a superb all-round family car , striking a wonderful balance between practicality, quality, efficiency and driving pleasure.
It feels refined and precise, thanks to a combination of good handling, a comfortable ride and excellent performance. In fact, during our testing we found it could sprint from 0-62mph in 6.8sec, which is quicker than its official figure – and faster than the Toyota Corolla can manage.
The hybrid set-up also allows it to drive using the electric motors alone at low speeds, and achieve impressive fuel economy figures (it returned 49.5mpg in our Real MPG test).
So much useful kit is included as standard that we recommend sticking with entry-level Sport trim.
“The Civic corners very neatly — in fact, I found it nearly as much fun to drive as some hot hatchbacks.” – Chris Haining, Sub-editor
Read our in-depth Honda Civic review
Strengths
- Great to drive
- Loads of space in the back
- Well equipped
Weaknesses
- Firm ride on FR models
- Road noise
- Fiddly infotainment system
A former Family Car of the Year at our annual What Car? Car of the Year Awards, the Leon is a good buy for anyone looking for fun and practical family transport.
On the fun side, the steering is well-weighted and the suspension performs well on twisty roads. Plus, the 128bhp 1.5-litre petrol engine has plenty of punch, the driving position is highly adjustable to suit nearly any driver, there's plenty of leg and head room in the rear, and the boot is a good size.
The Leon comes well equipped as standard, but we’d recommend upgrading to FR trim, which adds an auto-dimming rear-view mirror, rain-sensing wipers and more.
“I found the Leon's soft-touch dash materials and some metal-effect trims really lift an otherwise sombre interior.” – Will Nightingale, Reviews Editor
Read our in-depth Seat Leon review
Our pick: 40 TFSI e Sport 5dr S Tronic
Strengths
- Sharp handling
- Excellent driving position
- Strong and frugal engines
Weaknesses
- Audi's unimpressive reliability record
- Fiddly infotainment system
- Plug-in hybrid is currently off-sale
The current A3 Sportback isn't as posh inside as the 2013-2020 Audi A3 but it’s still plush and well built, as well as great to drive. The driving position is fantastic, and the car handles well without sacrificing comfort.
Engines are plentiful, with diesel, petrol and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) options available. Our favourite is the 40 TFSIe PHEV, which can officially travel 40 miles on electric power alone. Its low CO2 output keeps company car tax rates low, too.
We recommend Sport trim for the PHEV, because it comes with smaller wheels that offer both the comfiest ride and the longest electric-only range of the bunch, further reducing the benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax for company car drivers.
“I was told that the Lamborghini Huracán influenced the interior design, but it's a shame the quality isn’t as good as that of the BMW 1 Series.” – Neil Winn, Deputy Reviews Editor
Read our in-depth Audi A3 review
Our pick: 1.5 TSI 150 SE L 5dr
Strengths
- Plush interior
- Huge boot
- Frugal engines
Weaknesses
- Rivals are sharper to drive
- Touchscreen can be tricky to use on the move
- Currently no plug-in hybrid option
If practicality is your priority, look no further than the Skoda Octavia. Taller people will be comfortable in the front and rear thanks to generous leg and head room, and the back seat is wide, which makes carrying three back-seat passengers easier than in many rivals.
The boot capacity is 600 litres, which is colossal for the class – even though the rival Mercedes A-Class comes with seats which split and fold in a more useful 40/20/40 configuration, rather than the Octavia's 60/40 split.
The Octavia’s comfort and frugality make it an excellent car for covering long distances. Even in more expensive trim levels, it's cheaper than many rivals, whether you're a cash buyer or use a PCP finance deal.
“Chrome-effect thumbwheel controls on the steering wheel look good but I found they felt a bit on the flimsy side when used.” – Mark Pearson, Used Cars Editor
Read our in-depth Skoda Octavia review
Our pick: 125kW SE EV 51kWh 5dr Auto
Strengths
- Incredibly well priced
- Competitive range between charges
- Long warranty
Weaknesses
- Bad reliability record
- Slightly unsettled ride
- Infotainment system is fiddly
The first fully electric car to feature on this list is also one of the cheapest around – the MG4.
Everything aside from the range-topping XPower model is powered by a single electric motor, with our recommended Standard Range models drawing power from a 50.8kWh battery. With an official range of up to 218 miles, the MG4 isn't the electric car with the longest range, but it is reasonably quick – covering the 0-62mph sprint in 7.7sec.
We've been impressed with how much kit comes as standard, especially on entry-level SE trim, which comes with everything from adaptive cruise control to rear parking sensors.
The interior is pleasantly spacious, and your passengers will be more comfortable in the back of the MG than they would be in the rival Renault Megane E-Tech.
“There’s plenty of space for me up front, and wide-opening rear doors give good access for my mother, who has declared the back a comfortable place to be.” – Claire Evans, Consumer Editor
Read our in-depth MG4 review
Strengths
- Comfortable ride and tidy handling
- Spacious rear seats and a big boot
- Cheap to buy and run
Weaknesses
- No hybrid option
- So-so reliability record
- Some rivals are more fun to drive
The Scala represents one of the cheapest ways of getting behind the wheel of a great family car. It has a comfortable ride, precise steering and a highly adjustable driving position.
Head and leg room are impressive, whether you're in the front seats or the rear, and the boot is one of the biggest in the class. In fact, one of the only cars that can beat the Scala in those areas is the slightly more expensive Skoda Octavia.
Entry-level SE trim comes with all of the kit you’re likely to need, including cruise control, automatic lights and automatic wipers.
“There are a few squishy plastics and attractive trim pieces inside the Skoda Scala, but I think the overall quality is average for the class.” – Will Nightingale, Reviews Editor
Read our in-depth Skoda Scala review
Our pick: 150kW V1 58kWh 5dr Auto
Strengths
- Good range between charges
- Relatively fun handling
- Quiet cruising manners
Weaknesses
- Much pricier than an MG4
- Awful touch-sensitive dashboard buttons
- Slightly firmer ride than a VW ID 3
If you like the sound of the Volkswagen ID 3 (also on this list) you’ll probably love the Born electric car. It's based on the same underpinnings but gets more angular styling and a more polished interior.
The suspension has been lowered and stiffened for sportier handling, making it sharper and more engaging to drive than its Volkswagen sibling. An e-Boost option temporarily increases the power output from 201bhp to 228bhp, but its impact feels minor from behind the wheel.
Overall, the Born improves on the ID 3, but the volume and climate-control buttons on the dashboard and steering wheel are too fiddly.
“I can honestly say that I don’t know of a model that better suits the stressful business of city centre driving.” – James Tute, Content Editor
Read our in-depth Cupra Born review
Strengths
- Loads of standard luxury and safety kit
- Sprightly performance
- Decent to drive
Weaknesses
- Patchy interior quality
- Fiddly controls
- Tesla Model 3 can use a better charging network
For those who want their next family car to be electric, the ID 3 might still be worth considering. It’s as practical as many petrol-powered models, and has roughly similar dimensions to the big-selling Volkswagen Golf.
Well-weighted steering and fantastic body control help make it genuinely fun to drive too – something that can’t be said of all its electric car rivals. Performance is good, with 148bhp or 201bhp motors available, and the larger of the two battery options gives you an official range of up to 347 miles.
Unfortunately, the ID 3 is let down by a cheap-feeling interior and a fiddly, laggy infotainment system.
“I think the ID Light at the base of the windscreen is a neat touch; it's an animated light strip helps with things like sat-nav guidance.” – Dan Jones, Reviewer
Read our in-depth Volkswagen ID 3 review
Our pick: 1.0 EcoBoost Hybrid mHEV Titanium 5dr
Strengths
- Great handling
- Well equipped
- Roomy rear seats
Weaknesses
- Not that cheap to buy
- Low-rent interior
- Octavia has a much bigger boot
If you want a family car that’s great fun to drive, it’s hard to go wrong with the Focus. No matter how you spec it, Ford’s family car will offer a good balance of handling and comfort. The ride is firmer than in the Volkswagen Golf and other rivals, sure, but not to the point of being uncomfortable.
The entry-level 1.0 Ecoboost 125 petrol engine is our favourite, because it offers decent performance and fuel economy for a reasonable price. Similarly, we'd recommend sticking with entry-level Titanium trim, which comes with plenty of kit as standard.
The reasonable price makes it an attractive cash buy, but its underwhelming interior and faster depreciation compared with some rivals stop it moving higher up our list.
“I like the optional B&O stereo, but it's a shame it robs bootspace. It puts a subwoofer under the floor that makes the boot shallower.” – Neil Winn, Deputy Reviews Editor
Read our in-depth Ford Focus review
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And the family car to avoid...
On paper, the Kia XCeed promises much: an SUV-styled version of the regular Ceed hatchback. Sadly, apart from slightly more rugged looks, there's little to justify the increase in price. Read our review
How we choose the best family cars
When we put a new family car through our comprehensive testing regime, we assess it in dozens of areas, with a particular focus on those which family car buyers consider most important when looking for a new car.
To find out what these are, we conduct an annual survey of more than 20,000 readers, in which we ask them to list the things they look for in a new model. Here are the top three:
In our annual Reliability Survey, we ask thousands of owners if their cars have let them down, how serious the faults were and how much they cost to put right. We then use this exclusive data to produce an overall reliability score for hundreds of models aged up to five years old.
A wide range of adjustment in the seat and steering wheel is important, because it increases the odds that everyone can get comfy behind the wheel; that consideration becomes all the more important in a family car which often needs to be driven by multiple family members. Plus, a supportive driver’s seat – ideally one with adjustable lumbar support – can make a huge difference on a long family road trip.
From the basics like electric windows to nice-to-haves such as adaptive cruise control or a panoramic glas roof, our expert road testers pore over manufacturers’ sales brochures to work out which models give you the most kit for your money.
We don’t stop there, though. Every car undergoes a rigorous programme of testing, and you can read more about that in our how we test cars feature.
FAQs
While every model in our list of the best family cars offer good interior space, the Ford Focus, the Seat Leon and the Skoda Scala stand out in particular for offering a good amount of space for three rear-seat passengers. However, if you regularly carry four passengers, it's worth considering models in the family SUV and large SUV classes – and for the best comfort for a family of five, have a look at our list of the best seven-seaters.
A typical family car is a mid-sized hatchback that's bigger than a small car and has seating for five adults plus a useful amount of boot space. The best-known family cars in the UK are the Ford Focus, the VW Golf and the Vauxhall Astra but there are plenty of others to choose from, including some electric cars. Here at What Car?, we put estate cars in their own class, and while the many SUV models are clearly designed with families in mind, we place those in their own classes too (small, family or large, depending on size).
While our list of the best cars for dogs and dog owners mostly consists of MPVs and SUVs, it's clear that for pet owners, it comes down to needing as much space as possible. And of the cars on this list, none is more spacious than the gigantic Skoda Octavia. Its boot should make sure that you have lots of room for your pet to stretch out, while the ride is comfortable enough to eliminate the risk of your pet's dinner making a return visit to the car's carpet.
Thanks to the What Car? Reliability Survey we have a very clear picture of which car manufacturers do best in this area. The top family car performer in the 2023 survey – compiled using data from our readers – was the previous-generation BMW 1 Series, which had a reliability rating of 100%, meaning nothing had gone wrong for owners in the previous 12 months.
Other family cars which did well in the survey were the Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid (2017-2022) and Mini Clubman (2015-2024), which both acheived ratings of more than 97% reliability.
Euro NCAP regularly crash tests new cars, as well as testing their safety systems. The organisation currently rates the GWM Ora 3 as the safest family car, with a five-star safety rating acheived in 2022. The 03 (previously known as the Funky Cat) acheived a 92% rating fo adult occupant protection, 83% for child occupant protection, 74% for pedestrian protection and 93% for safety assistance.
