Much like that snappy suit or dress you buy on sale that’s completely perfect other than being one size too small for you, there’s no point in buying a car that’s affordable and sexy but completely impossible to squeeze your family into, no matter how hard you try.
If you’re going to buy a family car, the ideal scenario is finding one that’s small enough to park with ease, yet big enough to fit mum, dad and the kids without anyone having to keep their knees parked in their nostrils.
Family cars, like families, come in all kinds of shapes and sizes, but if you’re going to buy a family car that ticks all the major boxes - affordability, first-class safety features and ample room for both the family and any luggage requirements - a compact SUV may be the perfect fit.
Family cars: why a compact SUV?
If you’re buying a car that’s on the heavy side, it’s going to cost more to run - it’s as simple as that (and it’s not just the fuel chewed by bigger engines but the expense of bigger tyres, too). As anyone who has a family can attest, the aim is to keep your costs down, not hike them up by making ill-informed decisions.
Compact SUVs make sense when weighing up which family cars are right for you, since they’re usually a far more economical option than beefier cars that are more prone to guzzle petrol.
Bigger cars can often be harder to see out of as well and can also cause unwanted stress if you’re not used to driving a car that feels like it’s part tank and taking up three-quarters of the road.
And with the clever interior packaging on offer in vehicles like the Subaru XV, there's ample space for the entire brood, too.
Why the Subaru XV ticks all the boxes if you want to buy a family car
Family cars don’t come much more well-rounded than the Subaru XV, which manages to be both compact and spacious, as well as incredibly safe, thanks to Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive, which can offer traction that’s twice the capacity of a regular two-wheel drive car.
As for the space to fit your brood, the XV has you covered there, too.
The Subaru can seat up to five adult-sized people comfortably, offering surprisingly ample knee and headroom for a family car of its size.
If you’ve got children of the smaller variety, there’s also a combination of ISOFIX anchors and top-tether points to accommodate two child seats across the back seat while not sacrificing the leg room you need up front.
Luggage space is also catered for, from a sizeable 310 litres of boot space, or a whopping 765 litres if you fold the rear seats down.
In short, a compact SUV like the Subaru SUV is one of those family cars that can fit a whole lot into its insides while still looking sleek and compact on the outside.
CarsGuide
Paid Partnership
25 May 2021
