When it comes to choosing a car to buy, many factors come into play. Among them are performance, aesthetics, practicality, and overall, just how well the car suits your style and routine.

Having said that, do you need to sacrifice style and performance when choosing a family-friendly car? Or do you have to accept your fate and be resigned to the spacious, practical (read: boring), and under-performing models that you keep seeing on the road with three kids on the second row? (No offence, we love kids!)

Of course not! Never let anyone convince you that you can't look good while being a mum or dad behind the wheel.

These days, family-oriented drivers like you are spoilt for choice. There are loads of vehicles on the Australian car market that can give you the perfect balance between style and substance, and for affordable prices, too!

Things to Consider When Buying a Family-Friendly Car

First and foremost, let's get on the same page about what you should be looking for in a family vehicle. As a family person, your order of priorities is not the same with your single, 25-year-old, never-had-a-kid neighbour.

If you're driving a family with kids or senior citizens in the family, you'll probably be looking for something practical and safe. Features like airbags, anchors for child safety seats and the like should be the first things you look for.

These days, you might also like to base your decision on the tech that's included in the car. Driver assistance technologies can help you drive even safer. At the same time, an excellent in-car entertainment system and climate control will also keep everyone happily distracted while you focus your attention on the road.

In terms of practicality, you're going to want a spacious trunk as well. This space in the back is going to be useful for luggage like bags, groceries, and so on.

Of course, you must get something with a lot of legroom. It ensures that all your passengers will be comfortable, whether you’re taking them to the next block or the next state.

7 of the Most Family-Friendly Cars You Can Find in Australia

We'll go through a few different car categories, so you can get a good idea of what the options are out there. 

Mazda3

First on this list is the Mazda 3. This one has five doors and can fit about three adults plus one child (a baby up to a teenager), or it could fit two adults and two kids. That's quite a bit of space for a car of this size!

Safety-wise, this car's got a 5-star ANCAP rating (that's from the Australasian New Car Assessment Program). ANCAP also gave this car an 89% rating specifically when it comes to its Child Occupant Protection. In simple terms, this car's safe for both kids and adults.

Inside, you'll find a comfortable interior equipped with two ISOFIX child seat anchors. Whenever you're shopping for a family-friendly car, it's a good idea to look out for ISOFIX anchors. ISOFIX is the international standard for attachments used to secure those child seats to the vehicle, so you can trust them to do the job right.

If you're in the driver's seat, you'll appreciate the driver assistance features like blind-spot monitoring, driver attention alert, and smart braking among many other features. 

All of these are great to help you be the safest driver you can be for your family!

Volkswagen Polo

The Volkswagen Polo is another relatively small car on this list that's great for families. Just like the previous one, the Polo has excellent ANCAP safety ratings: 5 stars, plus 85% for its Child Occupant Protection rating. This one even has two ISOFIX child seat anchors, too!

This one's slightly smaller, though. The interior has less space and can comfortably fit three adults and one baby or a teenager.

Beyond that, it does also come with driver assistance features like fatigue detection and reminder and a reverse camera. These are the kind of safety features you'd want on a family-friendly car. Not only does this keep everyone safe when you're driving, but it also keeps people safe when you're backing out of a driveway.

Ford Mondeo Wagon

As the name suggests, this one's got a little bit more length than the last two. The Ford Mondeo wagon is a five-door vehicle. It's got a 5-star ANCAP rating, two ISOFIX child seat anchors, and a long, long list of driver assistance features.

What’s the advantage that this car has over the first two mentioned on this list? It’s got a massive boot size. With the seats folded up, the Ford Mondeo wagon offers 500 litres worth of space or 1,605 litres with the seats down! You could stuff loads of groceries, bags, and your kids' toys and maybe throw in a couple of bags of diapers in there, and still have some extra space left!

Škoda Octavia Wagon

Here's another family-friendly wagon to consider, from the Czech Republic this time around. Like the Ford Mondeo, the Octavia is long, boasts of boot space, and is 5-star rated by ANCAP. Yeah, it's got two ISOFIX child seat anchors and loads of driver assistance features, too.

Let's look a little closer at its interior, though. For starters, it's got a lot of cupholders. Cupholders might not sound like much to a bachelor, but to a family driver with kids in the back, this could be a lifesaving feature to have. In the front doors, the cupholders are big enough to hold 1.5-litre bottles, while the rear doors have enough for 500 ml bottles instead.

What you might appreciate the most about this car, though, is how it looks. While the previous wagon does look slick, this Octavia Wagon has a much sportier look that you may prefer. As mentioned before, you've got a lot of choices to match your personality.

Volvo V90 Cross Country

Now, we're crossing over to the higher-end family cars with more significant price tags. Let's start with Volvo's V90 Cross Country.

This one doesn't have ANCAP ratings yet. However, its close relative Volvo S90, does have 5-star ANCAP ratings with 80% child protection ratings as well.

A long list of driver assistance and safety features? Check.

ISOFIX child seat anchors? You guessed it - it's got two.

Lots of internal space? Check.

A big boot? 560 litres worth, almost as much as the wagons mentioned before.

In my opinion, this is a great family-friendly car on the higher, more luxurious end.

Nissan X-Trail

Of course you recognise the Nissan X-Trail, but did you know that it's a very family-friendly vehicle, too? 

This highly-rated SUV looks great and performs well, but it's also got everything a family man/woman might want. 5-star ANCAP ratings, two ISOFIX child seat anchors, driver assistance and safety features, too. Those features include airbags all around, forward collision warning, and even an intelligent emergency braking feature with a pedestrian assist.

I can't stress this enough: for parents, having pedestrian assist or at least reverse cameras (which the X-Trail does have) is extremely important. Remember: kids (and family pets, for that matter) are small, and you definitely can't see them clearly if they're standing close to your car. Having these features will be of great help when you're backing out of your driveway.

Range Rover Sport

Last but not least, the fanciest one of them all (in my humble opinion): the Range Rover Sport. If you've got the budget for it, I would highly recommend this car as your family vehicle. 

It's got loads of interior space, a massive boot (780 litres worth), ISOFIX child seat anchors (of course), and the usual bundle of driver assistance and safety features.

The Range Rover sport has a soundproofed windscreen and two-zone climate control, which helps minimize the noise and maximize comfort while the kids nap in the back. On higher trims, you could even get rear-entertainment screens to keep the kids entertained as you drive.

Imagine having all of those features wrapped up in the luxury that you'd expect from the Range Rover brand. Expensive? Yes. Worth it? Totally.

By Ray Hasbollah