The 5 Best Family Vehicles

Leasing or purchasing a family-friendly vehicle can be a huge decision. To help families choose which vehicle is right for them, we put together a list of the best affordable family vehicles on the market, we’ve taken a look at Kelley Blue Book’s take on this and put together a short list based on a number of factors such as safety, technology, comfort, and overall value.

Chevy Equinox

Price: $23,800

Fuel Economy: 28 City/ 39 Highway

4.5/5 Kelly Blue Book

The Chevrolet Equinox comes standard with keyless entry and push-button start, a vehicle suitable for families of older kids (and therefore less things to schlep). Consider having options such as Apple CarPlay or Android Auto when choosing your infotainment system.

Bonus: Parents of teen drivers can find peace of mind in Teen Driver mode, which offers auditory and visual notification alerts and provides parents with an in-vehicle report card to monitor driving performance.

 

Honda Pilot

Price: $31,450 

Fuel Economy: 20 City/ 27 Highway

4.7/5 Kelley Blue Book

The three-row Honda Pilot is an excellent choice for families who want three rows of seats and the flexibility of a crossover. Kelley Blue Book also refers to it as the "SUV minivan". For extra possessions, the driver has ample space behind the third row. The basic LX model comes bundled with the safety feature of the Honda Sensing, which applies automated brake pressure when an imminent crash is sensed, as well as other safe driving technology.

 

Toyota Highlander

Price: $31,330

Fuel Economy: 21 City/ 27 Highway

4.4/5 Kelley Blue Book

The Toyota Highlander may have a smaller cabin than the other two vehicles mentioned on this list, but the attention to safety on this car is second to none adding onto its overall appeal.

The cabin is spacious and according to critics, the ride is smooth. With their Driver Easy Speak app which utilizes the built-in microphone of the SUV to enhance the driver's speech through the rear speakers, Toyota has also made it easier for parents who need to interact with young children seated in the back row.

Toyota Safety Sense also comes standard in the Highlander, which includes steering aid when changing lanes, adaptive cruise control which lets you keep a safe distance from the car in front of you and automatic high beams when you sense the path is dark (and turn off when another driver approaches)

 

Chevy Tahoe

Price: $47,900

Fuel Economy: 15 City/ 22 Highway

4.5/5 Kelley Blue Book

One of the larger offerings in the full-size SUV space is the Chevy Tahoe. It can not only tote around two parents and five to six children, it can also tow boats and campers that are required for lake trips.

It has a similar construction to the Silverado pickup truck from Chevy, but with the added comfort of a high-end SUV. Tri-zone climate control, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and lots of USB ports are available even at the standard level.

 

Chrysler Pacifica

Price: $27,235

Fuel Economy: 19 City/ 28 Highway

4.5/5 Kelley Blue Book

Chrysler's minivan, is the ultimate family vehicle, and is extremely practical for a large family.

The Pacifica is spacious and affordable with excellent basic features including Apple CarPlay as well as security features such as a backup rearview camera, blind-spot monitoring and cross-path rear detection.

There is plenty of space behind the third row and the third row folds down if more space is needed.