The best family cars for every budget

Family cars come in all shapes and sizes these days, and picking between a sensible saloon or high-riding SUV can leave you scratching your head. Our expert road testers have narrowed down this list of the best options, whatever your budget

The term ‘family car’ covers such a wide range of vehicles and body styles at the moment. Where that would once mean a big, cushy estate car or practical saloon, there are loads of SUVs, hatchbacks and saloons that can easily ferry a family of four around – with all the luggage they could possibly need, too.

That’s why our expert reviews team has put their heads together and come up with this list of the best family cars on sale for a wide range of budgets; whether you’re after something rugged to cope with bumps and scrapes or something posh to turn heads on the school run.

 

Up to £30,000

Our recommendation: Dacia Bigster – £22,095

It may be one of the cheapest large SUVs on the market, but the Carwow Award winning Dacia Bigster is better than a lot of SUVs which will set you back twice as much money. It looks great, has loads of space inside with an enormous boot and it’s rather good to drive too.

You can feel where Dacia’s saved money on the Bigster when you step inside. The cabin isn’t exactly plush and the engines feel unrefined and intrusive when you’re getting up to speed, but it settles into a comfortable cruise and manages to be fun on a twisty road.

If you value interior quality then the smaller – but also very practical – Skoda Octavia is worth having a look at. For a more fuel efficient and more comfortable hauler, the Toyota Corolla Touring Sports makes for a great family estate.

 

£30,000 – £40,000

Our recommendation: Skoda Superb Estate – £37,225

As far as family estates go, the Skoda Superb estate lives up to its name. It really is Superb, managing to be rather comfortable and pleasant to drive – while being practical enough to go toe to toe with enormous SUVs and luxury saloons.

And while the Superb Estate loses out on a lot of boot space in hybrid models and isn’t as comfortable around town as it is on the motorway, both it and its hatchback counterpart are good enough to have won the Comfortable Cruiser category of the 2025 Carwow Car of the Year Awards.

While there are loads of good options for family cars at this price point, those of you after a fancy interior ought to consider the excellent – and oh-so-comfortable – Peugeot 5008 or the more tech-heavy Volkswagen Passat.

 

£40,000 – £60,000

Our recommendation: Volkswagen ID7 Tourer – £51,795

Another car sticking it to the latest crop of family-friendly SUVs, the Volkswagen ID7 Tourer may well be the most practical electric car on sale today. It offers a fantastic blend of stylish looks, a huge boot and properly usable electric range.

Its price puts it in a slightly awkward place, because it’s not all that much cheaper than its posher alternatives – though it is bigger and more practical. While it’s very comfortable in town and on the motorway, the ID7 Tourer doesn’t feel at home on a country lane – even in sporty GTX trim.

The Volkswagen Multivan makes for a left-field alternative, and if you can get past the ‘van’ in its name, it’s a hugely practical choice for a large family. The Kia Sorento is great if you’re after a high seating position and lots of room in the cabin, too.

 

£60,000 – 80,000

Our recommendation: BMW X5 – £68,135

The BMW X5 is one of our favourite cars on sale, and it’s the best posh SUV that money can buy right now. It looks tremendous, the interior is luxurious, it’s very practical and all of the engine options are excellent.

There are far cheaper SUV options on sale, but the X5 actually punches above its price bracket with its plush cabin. It’s the best all-round SUV to drive, too, whether in diesel, plug-in hybrid or range-topping V8 X5 M Competition guise.

If you’ve got access to a home charger then the Kia EV9 might be a more enticing choice, because while it’s nowhere near as fun to drive, it’s even more spacious than the X5, while the Audi A6 e-tron Avant is easier to drive around town and on narrow roads.

 

£80,000+

Our recommendation: Audi RS6 Avant – £120,195

Audi is the king of the high-performance estate car, and the RS6 is the absolute cream of the crop. If your next family car is a money-no-object proposition, the RS6’s blend of supercar-baiting performance, comfortable drive and practicality is hard to beat.

Okay, starting comfortably in the six-figure range is a bit painful on the old wallet, but the Audi RS6 is a car that can really do it all, whether that’s dropping the kids off at school, hammering out blistering lap times on track or taking the whole family, including your pooch, skiing over the Christmas break.

The top-of-the-range BMW X7 is also shockingly fast, while being able to seat seven tall adults in genuine comfort, and the fully-electric Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo offers a similar mix of pace and practicality to the RS6 – without the enormous fuel bill.

Car change? Carwow!

Looking for a new set of wheels? With Carwow you can sell your car quickly and for a fair price – as well as find great offers on your next one. Whether you’re looking to buy a car brand new, are after something used or you want to explore car leasing options, Carwow is your one stop shop for new car deals.

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