Which Are the Best Cars for Families? The Parents Best Family Cars Awards Tell All
Not all family cars are created equal, but they do each have their own charm. Here are the best, broken down by category and type.
When it comes to parenting, we turn to Parents for expertise. Which makes our collaboration the legendary content brand all the more special: Each year we partner with Parents.com to evaluate all the new cars and old favorites, as well new tech, features and what determines the best family cars.
And it’s not just us: We also partner with a panel of experts who weigh in on their favorite cars and features, each casting a vote for the year’s winners. They are: Kelly Stumpe, also known as @the_car_mom; Christina Branman, @mobile_mama_reviews; Omar Rana, @omardrives; Teia Collier, @teiacollier; and automotive analyst Paul Waatti.
This story is 100% human-researched and written based on actual first-person knowledge, extensive experience and expertise on the subject of cars and trucks.
The Best Family Cars Are Always a Competitive Field
You might think that sports cars, performance cars or ultra luxury cars are the most competitive in the car business. And you’d be wrong. Family cars are the most competitive, the most profitable and the biggest-selling. That’s because families have proven how important their cars are to them for comforts, conveniences, safety and technology.
That also means that considering all the family cars on the market and finding the best is a challenge.
Read: The Parents.Com Best Family Cars Awards
Winners for Best 3 Row Family SUVs and Minivan
This is the most competitive category overall. Most are built on the platform of a pickup truck and offer either 4 wheel drive or all wheel drive. EVs are new to this segment and do all the things their gas-powered counterparts can do, from towing and accommodating a large family to delivering on full-size comforts. The winners are:
- Best Full-size 3-row SUV: Chevy Tahoe/Suburban
- Best Minivan: Honda Odyssey
- Best 3-row EV: Hyundai Ioniq 9
- Best Midsize SUV: Hyundai Palisade
Winners for Best 5 passenger SUV
These are the Swiss Army Knife of cars; they can do almost anything owners ask of them, from off-roading and conquering messy weather to accommodating kids car seats and gear. They are great for couples before starting a family and can often be great for three kids in car seats. The winners are:
- Best Compact SUV: Honda HR-V
- Best EV SUV: Hyundai Ioniq 5
- Best Adventure SUV: Land Rover Defender
- Best Value SUV: Honda HR-V
- Best Mid-size SUV: Honda Passport
- Best Pickup Truck: Chevy Silverado
Winners for Best Luxury SUVs
If SUVs feel competitive, luxury SUVs are even more so. Buyers not only love being spoiled by all the goodies—Massaging seats? Premium sound? More power under the hood?—but these tend to be more of an investment and people hold on to them for longer so they are often willing to spend more.
The winners for best luxury SUVs are:
- Best Full-Size Luxury SUV: Cadillac Escalade
- Best Luxury 5-passenger SUV: Genesis GV80
- Best Luxury Midsize 3-row SUV: (tie) Infiniti QX60 and Volvo XC90
- Best Luxury 3-row Electric SUV: Cadillac Vistiq
- Best Luxury 5 passenger Electric SUV: Cadillac Lyriq
Winners for Best Hybrid and Plug-in Hybrid Electric SUVs
This might be my favorite category for one reason: more miles to each tank of gas means fewer stops for gas, a very meaningful metric for parents. Here are the winners:
- Best Hybrid SUV: Hyundai Palisade
- Best PHEV SUV: Toyota RAV4
- Best Luxury Hybrid or PHEV: Volvo XC90
- Best Hybrid minivan: Chrysler Pacifica
Yes, Families Like Sedans
Just because you have kids doesn’t mean you have to drive an SUV. Many drivers still love to drive a sedan or sports car. And, many experts advise that a teen driver’s first car be a sedan. Here are the winners for best sedans:
- Best Sedan: Honda Accord
- Best Sports Sedan: BMW 5 Series
- Best Vehicle for a Teen Driver: Toyota Corolla
Best In-Car Technology
Car technology has evolved tremendously in just a few years and the Parents team wanted to recognize this. So we looked at the different types of tech in cars today. Here are the tech winners in each category:
- Best Multimedia System: Cadillac
- Best Rear Seat Entertainment GM (Chevy Tahoe/Suburban, GMC Yukon, Cadillac)
- Best Standard Assist and Safety Features: (tie) Nissan and GM
Car Seat Configuration
This is the brass ring for many families: where to put each child and still have room to maneuver inside the car, to carry the necessary gear and to accommodate a rear seat adult (or two).
The winner for Best for Car Seat Configuration is the Ford Expedition, which took home this award last year, too. The Expedition’s independently moving rear seats make putting your kids where they need to be easy, especially for families with three or more kids.
Many might say the Expedition tops the Best Family Cars awards list, but then again, not every family needs the same things in a car. Which is why our list is so exhaustive. There are a lot of ‘bests’ out there!
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