A family car is a very specific class – it doesn’t have to have a great track record in acceleration to 100 km, but the list of requirements is long: safe, roomy, comfortable… What else should a car designed for the whole family be?
Spacious and roomy
Setting out on a road trip with the whole family can be quite a challenge. Two parents with, let’s say, two children go on a two-week vacation. They pack only the most necessary things and equipment useful during the vacation. They also take their dog with them. The problem quickly arises: how to fit all four of them in the car with so much luggage? It’s not easy, but a well-chosen family car should be up to the challenge.
Certainly, it must be spacious and roomy. But a large trunk is only half the battle – it’s a good thing that the chosen model also has plenty of interior space. This will make long trips with children, who feel tired during long journeys, much easier.
The size of the cabin should be adjusted to the number of family members. Usually, five seats are enough, but if you have a larger family, you might be tempted to choose an estate car, a large SUV with seven seats or a van. It is also worth paying attention to the issue of adequate space in the family car when:
- you have to install two child seats,
- you also need to transport a baby carriage.
Safe and reliable
The family car also has to keep your loved ones safe while driving, no matter what the road conditions are. It should also be reliable and as fail-safe as possible, so it won’t break down when you least expect it to.
It is therefore worth paying attention to the results that our preferred model achieves in professional safety tests. Airbags and curtains are standard equipment of modern cars – not only family cars. In the case of older cars, especially used models, you should pay attention, for example, to the light indicating problems with the airbags. In older models, which are more than 15 years old, it is worth to replace them. Additional safety systems include technologies such as
- brake Assist,
- blind spot monitoring,
- maintaining the correct distance from other road users,
- to help keep the vehicle on course,
- camera systems.
It is also a good idea to choose a vehicle with a reputation for being as trouble-free as possible. In the case of any model, however, you need to constantly take care of its technical condition. Especially if you are going on a long journey with your family, you should check the technical condition of your vehicle.
Economical
A family car should not be too fuel-efficient. Four-person trips with a full trunk, often covering enormous distances, can in themselves result in increased fuel consumption – so there is no need to choose models that consume a lot of fuel even without this.
Modern and comfortable
Smaller conveniences also come at a price when it comes to a family car. The ability to start the car without a key can be useful when you have a lot of other things on your mind. A hands-free car kit, heated seats in winter or tinted windows are also useful – invaluable when a child in the back seat wants to take a nap during the journey. Additional places to leave a drink or USB connection will also improve comfort.
Air conditioning is now a standard feature in most cars. It will undoubtedly come in handy during long journeys, when four or more people find themselves in a tight space additionally laden with luggage. Even better if the chosen solution is multi-zone air conditioning – allowing you to choose the most convenient settings for each of the passengers of the car.
An important convenience will also be isofix, which is a system that makes it easier to fit a child seat. And later it will allow you to put the child in the right place in a much shorter time
