Best family cars for 2024: tried and tested by our labs

Once upon a time, needing the most practical family car meant looking for a boxy people carrier (MPV), but thankfully that's no longer the case.

Our experts have selected the best family cars from a range of classes, including SUVs and small cars, as well as the best MPVs on test. All are safe, economical and spacious enough to fit everyone and their luggage.

Whether you'd prefer a high-riding SUV or a more discreet estate, there are plenty of suitable cars on our list. We'll help you choose a car that won't conk out part way through your driving holiday or put your family at risk due to inadequate safety ratings. 

Scroll down to see our round-up of the best new, second-hand and electric family cars. Or, if you want more advice on what to look for in a family car, go to the section below on choosing the best family car.

Which? members can log in to see the family cars we recommend. If you're not already a member, join Which? to unlock our best family cars and all of our independent, expert car reviews.

The best new family cars

Below, our experts have selected the best new cars for your family.

The best used family cars

Buying a used car can be a great way to save money, but you'll want to make sure that the vehicle you buy is going to run for a few years yet.

Every year, we survey thousands of car owners to find out which models are the most and least reliable. The cars we've selected below all have Which? reliability ratings of four stars out of five or more for cars aged three to eight years old, so you can be a bit more confident in their longevity. 

Family cars to avoid

Whether it's due to poor reliability, limited practicality or sub-standard safety, there are some family car models that will prove difficult to live with. Here are the models we recommend you avoid.

How to choose the best family car for you

When you’re blessed with the pitter-patter of little feet, you’re going to have to make sure you have a car that will fit your family and suit your lifestyle.

And ‘your lifestyle’ is the operative term. No family is identical, so it’s important to consider your specific needs. For instance:

• Double or triple buggy? You need to make sure your boot can accommodate it.
• Looking after the last generation as well as the next one? Take extra care when assessing the amount of space the car offers, and how easy it is to get in and out of.

From dealerships to classifieds, discover the best place to buy a car

Tips for buying a family car

See below for our top tips for buying a family car including checking the boot and rear space. 

• Set the front seats first. Before you try and assess how much space the rear seats have to offer, adjust the front seats for you first. This will reveal just how much space those in the back will really have on a day-to-day basis.
• Check door opening angle and aperture. Check how wide the rear-doors open, and how big the aperture is. If either prove to be a bit on the narrow side, it could be a pain to get a bulky child car seat (or a squirming child) into the back.
• Boot space. You’ll be surprised how much you might need. You’ll want to make sure any car you look at has enough capacity to swallow a push chair and several bags. So if you’re headed to a car dealership, maybe take everything with you and see just how well it all fits.
• Drop the seats. It sounds basic, but drop the seats. Firstly, you'll just want to make sure it's easy to do. Some cars even have additional levers in the boot to drop the rear seats, which can be handy.
• Is there a step? When folded down,  some car seats will fold down in line with the boot floor, creating what is called a flat loading space. This makes it easy to load/slide in heavy objects. But if the car seat sits above the boot floor, that is referred to as a step, and means you can't really slide anything in easily.
• 60:40 or 40:20:40? You'll likely come across these terms. Simply put, it describes how the rear seats fold. 60:40 split is the most common. This means that one seat will fold down individually, and then the middle and other rear seat fold down as a single block. Some cars offer 40:20:40 splits, which means that each seat drops down individually.
• Sliding and removing seats. Some people carriers offer greater flexibility in the form of rear seats that slide back and forth, allowing you to prioritise seat space or boot space as needed. Other cars allow you to remove the seats completely, creating the most amount of space and offering the greatest flexibility.

If you're looking for a family car with seven seats, our guide to the best seven-seater cars

Fitting your first child car seat?

Welcome to the dizzying world of age, weight or height-rated car seats, something called Isofix and something newer called i-Size.

Before you head to a car dealership, you’ll want to do a bit of background reading on the different types of car seat and how to fit them. We have separate, simple guides that explain everything you need to know:

• What is Isofix and are they safer?
• Car seat weight groups and height groups explained
• How to fit a baby or child car seat
• Best baby and child car seats

Remember, there’s nothing to stop you taking your seat and/or child to the dealership to make sure both fit.

Need car seats for three or more children?

If you’re looking for a car that can get three or more car seats in, you’ll find that your choice is limited.

But changing your car is expensive. And should the size of your brood increase unexpectedly, the finance needed to buy a new car could be more hard to come by than ever.

But there is an alternative: the Multimac.

The Multimac is a bench of multiple car seats that is designed to fit into most medium-sized cars. You can get a Multimac with either three or four seats, and the manufacturer claims it can carry any combination of children – from birth up to 12 years old.

It's expensive, at £1,500 to £2,000, but is an awful lot cheaper than buying a new car.

We test cars more thoroughly than anyone else

Every car we test goes through a combination of hundreds of lab tests and assessments, plus real road driving to make sure every Which? car review is informed and accurate.

Because our tests are performed in a controlled lab, we can compare the results against different cars and scientifically determine which is better and why. This wealth of reliable information is used in conjunction with our extensive survey data.

Every year, we send our car survey to more than 100,000 car owners who tell us how reliable their car is and how satisfied they are with it. Only Which? uses this reliability data to inform reviews so you can buy with the confidence that comes with knowing the most reliable cars.

You can join Which? to access all of our independent, expert car reviews.