Best Family Cars

When it comes to family sedans, there are few competitors that can deliver in the same ways that the Accord does. It’s got the looks, handling and performance to be a reasonable sports sedan stand-in, particularly in higher-performance 2.0T form, but the comfort and practicality that families need. The hybrid model, which loses no space or convenience to its battery pack, also

When it comes to family sedans, there are few competitors that can deliver in the same ways that the Accord does. It’s got the looks, handling and performance to be a reasonable sports sedan stand-in, particularly in higher-performance 2.0T form, but the comfort and practicality that families need. The hybrid model, which loses no space or convenience to its battery pack, also returns up to 48 mpg combined. The Accord boasts 40.4 inches of rear legroom and 55 inches of rear hip room, enough for an adult or a full-size car seat to fit with ease. Its large rear door openings and gently sloping roof both help prevent bumped heads when loading and unloading car seats. The Accord also offers a segment-topping 16.7 cubic-feet of trunk space. Honda Sensing suite of advanced driver-assistance safety-tech includes adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, and more, which helped boost the Accord’s crash-test scores. It earned a Top Safety Pick + designation from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and picked up five stars from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Toyota has made the Camry a more fun and sporty choice, with more aggressive styling and a focused performance model, but it’s still the talented jack of all trades that it’s always been. An available V6 powertrain offers vigorous acceleration, especially on the TRD model, and the hybrid has best-in-class fuel economy with up to 52 mpg combined. All Camry models carry

Toyota has made the Camry a more fun and sporty choice, with more aggressive styling and a focused performance model, but it’s still the talented jack of all trades that it’s always been. An available V6 powertrain offers vigorous acceleration, especially on the TRD model, and the hybrid has best-in-class fuel economy with up to 52 mpg combined. All Camry models carry two sets of LATCH car-seat anchors for the rear outboard seats and an upper anchor point for the middle seat. Coupled with 38 inches of rear legroom and 54.7 inches of hip room, the Camry makes easy work of installing most car seats. Full-size car seats might find a more comfortable home behind the passenger seat so taller drivers can fully adjust their seat position. Storage capacity is adequate with between 14.1 and 15.1 cubic feet of trunk space depending on its configuration. The Camry comes standard with a long list of advanced safety features that helped it earn a Top Safety Pick+ designation from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. It also comes standard with Toyota’s Safety Sense P, which includes a pre-collision system with pedestrian detection, lane departure alerts, automatic high beam headlights and adaptive cruise control. Fuel economy also is a strong point for the Camry.

The Mazda6 is a well-appointed, sharp-handling family sedan with a dynamic design that blurs the line between mainstream and premium. It boasts a robust suite of standard advanced driver assistance tech and available luxury and convenience features, such as wireless Apple CarPlay and a head-up display, at an attainable price point. Rear legroom lands at 38.7 inches, while rear hip

The Mazda6 is a well-appointed, sharp-handling family sedan with a dynamic design that blurs the line between mainstream and premium. It boasts a robust suite of standard advanced driver assistance tech and available luxury and convenience features, such as wireless Apple CarPlay and a head-up display, at an attainable price point. Rear legroom lands at 38.7 inches, while rear hip room stands at 53.5 inches. Trunk space checks in at 14.7 cubic-feet. Like the others, the Mazda6 has full LATCH anchors for the outboard rear seats and a center anchor point. Fashion can somewhat hinder function, however, as its sloping roofline cuts into the rear door opening making loading car seats more challenging. It’s a small gripe in an otherwise excellent family sedan. The IIHS awarded the Mazda6 with a Top Safety Pick+ designation. That includes Good ratings in all categories and Superior ratings for vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention. The Mazda6’s fuel economy ranges from 26 to 29 mpg combined. There is no hybrid option available.

The Ford Fusion is a family-friendly vehicle with attractive offerings. Unfortunately Ford ended Fusion production after the 2020 model year to focus on its trucks, SUVs and crossovers, but many dealers still have some new 2020 Fusions in stock, and thanks to a few updated for its final year, including a more upscale front and rear fascia and a slew of new colors, it remains a competitive

The Ford Fusion is a family-friendly vehicle with attractive offerings. Unfortunately Ford ended Fusion production after the 2020 model year to focus on its trucks, SUVs and crossovers, but many dealers still have some new 2020 Fusions in stock, and thanks to a few updated for its final year, including a more upscale front and rear fascia and a slew of new colors, it remains a competitive vehicle. The Fusion’s  back-row space does lag the Accord slightly at 38.3 inches of legroom and 54.4 inches of hip room, but the back seat is flexible enough to anchor car seats in all three positions. The center seat can borrow LATCH anchors from either outboard seat or can use its own upper anchor. Trunk space is decent at 16 cubic-feet. The Fusion earned Good ratings in all crashworthiness categories from IIHS, but received a Poor rating for its headlights and no score for standard front vehicle-to-pedestrian crash prevention. The Fusion’s fuel economy numbers range from 23 to 42 mpg combined from a plug-in hybrid system. The 2020 Ford Fusion earned Good ratings in all crashworthiness categories from IIHS, but received a Poor rating for its headlights and no score for standard front vehicle-to-pedestrian crash prevention.

The 2021 Volkswagen Passat continues to balance elegant, if conservative, design with German engineering for everything a family might need in a midsize sedan without dripping with excess. The Passat was heavily revised for 2020, with all-new exterior styling and a much-changed interior (it does still ride on the same platform it has used since 2012). Its back seat is huge, offering

The 2021 Volkswagen Passat continues to balance elegant, if conservative, design with German engineering for everything a family might need in a midsize sedan without dripping with excess. The Passat was heavily revised for 2020, with all-new exterior styling and a much-changed interior (it does still ride on the same platform it has used since 2012). Its back seat is huge, offering 39.1 inches of legroom—almost as much as the generous Honda Accord. Decent headroom and large rear door openings also considerably boost its family-friendly factor. The Passat falls behind in trunk space with only 15.9 cubic-feet. All models are powered by 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine paired to a six-speed automatic transmission that prioritizes a smooth ride and passenger comfort over an involving driving experience. It’s output (that delivers 176 horsepower and 206 pound-feet of torque) than some of the lower-trim models of its rivals. The Passat earned Good scores in IIHS crash testing. On the safety front, the Passat comes standard with blind spot warning, rear cross-traffic alert, pedestrian monitoring, forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking. The Passat is offered with one powertrain that delivers 27 mpg combined. No hybrid option is available.

The Charger is an old stager now, but it’s as big, lively and cool as ever. Every version is huge inside, with comfy seats and plenty of room even for tall adults. The rear offers an impressive 56 inches of hip room, 40.1 inches of legroom (but edged out by Honda Accord) and 37 inches of headroom. Thanks to its size, the Charger’s 16.5 cubic feet of trunk space bests the other

The Charger is an old stager now, but it’s as big, lively and cool as ever. Every version is huge inside, with comfy seats and plenty of room even for tall adults. The rear offers an impressive 56 inches of hip room, 40.1 inches of legroom (but edged out by Honda Accord) and 37 inches of headroom. Thanks to its size, the Charger’s 16.5 cubic feet of trunk space bests the other cars on this list. One downfall of the living space its a dated cabin sprinkled with plasticky materials. Performance enthusiasts will appreciate its powertrain options. Even the entry-level V6 models are fun to drive, and they can be had with all-wheel drive. From there things get progressively wilder, with a quartet of V8 versions offering up to 797 horsepower and an aggressive, widebody look on the top-spec cars. On the negative side, the Charger lacks standard driver-assist tech, and its many options can inflate the price. Fuel economy is a weak spot for the Charger, mostly due to its size and performance-oriented powertrains. Gas mileage ranges from 15 mpg combined for models equipped with a supercharged 6.2-liter V8 to 23 mpg combined for models with a 3.6-liter V6. No hybrid is offered (it’s a Charger, okay?).

The Nissan Maxima is one of the most expensive cars in its class, but the “four-door sports car” also has an excellent V6 engine, solid safety scores and a long list of standard features. Rear legroom is slightly lacking as the back seat is shallow (34.2 inches of legroom) yet wide (53.5 inches of hip room). Trunk space is at the bottom of the segment at 14.3 cubic-feet. The

The Nissan Maxima is one of the most expensive cars in its class, but the “four-door sports car” also has an excellent V6 engine, solid safety scores and a long list of standard features. Rear legroom is slightly lacking as the back seat is shallow (34.2 inches of legroom) yet wide (53.5 inches of hip room). Trunk space is at the bottom of the segment at 14.3 cubic-feet. The Maxima has full sets of LATCH anchors for the outboard rear seats and a single center anchor. While rear-facing seats fit without much of an incursion on front-seat legroom, the Maxima’s sloping roof limits the headroom and can make loading car seats difficult. Thanks to a generous list of advanced safety features that are included as standard equipment, the Maxima earned a Top Safety Pick+ designation from the IIHS. Standard features include automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, rear automatic braking, blind spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane departure warning and high beam assist. The Maxima delivers 24 mpg combined from its 3.5-liter V6. Nissan does not currently offer a hybrid option for the Maxima. Out since 2015, for 2021 it’s down from six to four trim lines including a new 40th Anniversary model.