The Family Car has become a truly essential part of everyday family life. Be it taking the kids to school, going food shopping, days out or even family holidays, the car your family uses has to cover a huge variety of tasks. As getting the choice right is so important, keeping in mind a clear list of needs and your budget is vital when exploring the best used family cars.

With that in mind, however, the range of options available when looking for a family car is extensive, regardless of your needs and budget. However, for most families, a used car will be more accessible and affordable than a brand-new car.

In this post, we’ll show some examples of cars on sale now and why they would make a good family car. Because each family’s needs are different, we have included a range of options to help you make a great choice! A number of the cars included on this list are available from I&K Motors and images of those cars are also shown.

The Hyundai i30

One of the first things to note when choosing a family car is that hatchbacks make great options. The Hyundai i30 is one such option and regardless of which year you go for the car has a number of features which make it a good choice for families.

This 2011 model comes with a 1.6 litre engine and an automatic gearbox. The car has also only done around 31,000 miles! One feature which comes with this i30 and is a good option for families is rear parking sensors. These can be incredibly useful when parking in areas such as supermarket carparks.

The i30 has always been a solid and safe choice for a family car with its good reliability history. Reliability should be a critical factor in deciding any family car as your family needs a car it can rely on. You don’t want to be in a situation where you need to take the kids to school in the morning, and your car consistently won’t start.

The Ford EcoSport SUV 

Some families will need a bigger car with more space to transport items and people, and for this reason, SUV’s are a popular choice. This Ford EcoSport comes with a good amount of space inside for passengers which will allow kids to be more comfortable when travelling in the back. The boot space on offer will enable families to pack a large amount of shopping or luggage in without intruding into the cabin.

The ride height on this SUV offers a raised driving position and more ground clearance which is particularly useful for families who enjoy camping trips in the countryside. With any tall car, there is a degree of body roll, but the EcoSport does drive well and will be enjoyable on longer journeys.

This diesel model should offer good fuel efficiency and range. When choosing a family car, this should be a consideration, as stopping for fuel consistently is not only time consuming but costly.

Finally, as Ford makes the EcoSport, there is a degree of comfort in knowing that it’s a well-known brand with a track record of producing good cars. Ford garages, should anything go wrong, are easy to find. This should also be a consideration when choosing a family car, how costly is it going to be to fix, if anything were to go wrong.

Audi A3

If you’re looking for a family car which is slightly more upmarket, you could do a lot worse than the Audi A3. This German manufacturer has been part of the ‘big 3’ with Mercedes and BMW for years now, and the A3 makes a great, albeit more expensive, family car option.

The design of the A3 marks it out from its competitors as a more luxury option, with sharp lines and detailed front-end features. The interior of the car is also a well-designed while remaining practical and comfortable. One of the great things about the A3’s design is that it operates as a mini-estate with four-door options and a hatchback available to increase the space and storage inside the car. Estate cars always make great family options due to their ease of use and load-carrying capability.

As with the Ford, the engine efficiency of the Audi is good, so while it may be a more expensive option in the short term, the fuel efficiency should make it worthwhile in the long run.

Toyota Yaris Hybrid

With hybrid and electric cars becoming more popular, more and more families are looking into them as options. Going for a used version can be beneficial here as hybrids can be very expensive to buy new.

An excellent hybrid option is the Toyota Yaris, a small car or supermini. This works well for families living in busy cities. If you have concerns about the space inside the car, don’t worry, as Toyota has managed to package the battery system in such a way as to not take away space from the cabin. For city driving, like dropping the kids off at school in the morning, the car can be used in its electric mode, which delivers a really quiet and smooth driving experience.

While it hasn’t been mentioned yet, it should go without saying that a family car should be as safe as possible. The car you choose needs to be able to protect as best it can, the most important people in your life. The Yaris comes with a five-star Euro NCAP rating and seven airbags to offer as much protection as possible to passengers in the event of an accident.

As with lots of hybrids, the fuel consumption is very low and official figures show a staggering 91.1 mpg achieved in urban areas.

Overall, choosing a family car can be difficult because of the seemingly extensive range of options available. By viewing this a positive however, it means that no matter your needs or budget, there will be options for you. This increases with used cars due to the variations between years, which will still be available.

Are you looking to buy a used family car? Are any of the above on your list of options? Do leave a comment and share.

*This is a collaborative post

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