What Is a Good Family Car?

I just recently downgraded from our SUV to a Chevy HHR because of gas mileage. We are now getting on an average 32 mpg on the highway and in city about 24-27mpg.

I have a large car seat for my daughter and was able to also put my neices booster seat and my nephew all in the back. There was plenty of room and this was for a 12 hour drive they were back there with no problems at allwith comfort and there was not even bickering!! lol

I personally would never have considered this car because of the look but I did find one with chrome on the outside that was in my price range that fit all my must haves for a car for the family. The chrome made all the difference to me! I have not spent one minute regretting it! It is a nice smooth ride and extremely comfortable for all of us. My hubby travels over 100 miles a day for work and it is saving us quite a bit of $$$ and nowadays we all could use any extra penny in our pockets!

Good luck to you in finding something you are comfortable with for you and your family!
Many blessings!

1 mom found this helpful

We also have a Honda CRV and are absolutely in LOVE with it. We only have one child (my son is 3 months) but we think we have plenty of room and room to grow with our family. Plus we have found it to be a very reliable car and what we feel is decent gas mileage. And it drives like a car!

I have a CRV and I love it! Plenty of storage space. I have a convertible car seat and an infant seat in the back. There is a small space left-for a child? Not an adult in the back, though.

I hear you, though! And vans are quite roomy, I hear. That might be my next move when I have to have three car seats.

Good luck!

Hey K. - I agree, I am anti mini van - so when I downsized from a expedition, I got a 2008 Saturn Vue and I LOVE it. I have 2 carseats in mine, one forward facing and one rear facing. They also make the outlook which is gourgeous, just too big for me.

Buick Century get good mpg and is an affordable car for a family. A little bit smaller and gets better mpg is the Honda Accord. Still big enough for your needs. About the same size or slightly small tan the Accord is the Nissan Maxima. Gets very good mpg and with the 4 door should meet you needs but just smaller than my fav. the Buick Century.

Just a Thought...
S.

I have a Ford Escape which is basically the same size as the CRV. I get over 20 mpg and that's mostly stop-and-go non-hwy driving. I have 2 kids in carseats in the back and, unlike my husband's Durango which is about the most useless car ever and can only seat 4 when you have 2 carseats (not to mention it gets 10.5 mpg), I can fit the kids next to each other and have a free seat for an extra passenger (or carseat if needed). Plenty of leg/head room for driver and passenger (my husband has no problem sitting in front of the carseat and he always complains about not fitting in cars).

I've heard nothing but good things about the Escape Hybrid which gets over 30 mpg (if I remember correctly) and the space is more than sufficient.

We've been fine with my 2 in the volvo s80. (beware, the newest model is a little smaller than my 2005 model). Mine were in britax marathons so they weren't small seats either! The honda pilot was also comfortable without being too bad on gas.

I would second (or third) the Honda CRV. My older daughter has one (going on 4 years now) and not one problem with it. I have a Honda Pilot. Not quite as good mpg, but it seats 8 and I don't know how I could live without one now. It has 100,000 miles on it, and like the CRV, not one single problem. I probably will never buy a car other than a Honda ever again, and I've had quite a few different vehicles over the years. I have thought about downsizing to a CRV, but I just can't bring myself to do it because I like the 8 seats!

We have a 2006 VW Jetta and love it. We get about 33 mpg on the highway and mid-20s mpg in the city. I have never used an infant seat in it, but we have two boosters in it and the kids have plenty of room (ages 4 and 5). The trunk is unbelievably big and versatile with the backseat down for carrying cargo (w/o the kids). We love this car!

I mainly drive a 2002 Toyota Prius. We bought it while I was pregnant with our first. I used it with an infant seat (in the middle) and then later with a convertible seat and backward facing infant seat (behind the passenger) and we never had many problems. Now we have two boosters in it and the kids are fine. The Prius gets about 45 mpg while newer ones do even better. I never had a problem with this car carrying a double stroller in the trunk or single stroller. I love our Prius, even moreso now with gas prices!

We had to go minivan, Honda Odessey. Hated to, but with 2 carseats we couldn't fit anything else in the car. Perfect for carpooling to camp, school, playdates etc... As far as gas,I only fill up about every other week. There is an automatic Eco setting that conserves gas when you are driving at an even speed. It feels like it really does help. I was so against the minivan, but now I couldn't live without it. I wish there was a true hybrid for the minivan catagory, and not so mom-looking, but it was the right choice for us because now we can fit Grandma and Grandpa+ with luggage for road trips. You'll need to weigh in all the positives and negatives and will there be another sibbling in the near future?!? Good luck with your search.

We just bought a Chrysler pacifica. I LOVE the interior. The front is SO roomy and leg room is awesome. I do not have to move the seats up for 2 car seats in the back. Also has a third row that folds down which works out great when I have my nieces and nephews. With 2 kids in car seats, I have really liked it. the gas mileage is great. (used to have a Durango, so I am THRILLED with this one) We made it to the Dells and back on one tank of gas. that was nice.

I have a '03 nissan maxima and have had it since I had two in carseats, including them being rear facing. LOVE the room I have. Love my car. It gets 23 miles per gallon, but I believe that the "smaller" cars might actually have similar roominess inside.