How to Choose the Best Family Car in NZ to Suit Your Household

Choosing the best family car NZ is an important decision to ensure the comfort, safety, and convenience of your loved ones. Whether you’re on the hunt for a new daily driver or the perfect car for those school holiday escapes, there's a lot that goes into finding the right family car.

In this guide, we’ll explore what makes a great family car, dive into safety and explain what UCSR and ANCAP ratings are, and highlight the best types of family cars available in New Zealand to help you make an informed choice when it comes time to purchase.

What Makes a Good Family Car?

There's no one perfect car for everyone, and the ideal family car will vary significantly based on the size, needs and lifestyle of your family. For a young couple with a newborn, compact and safe options might offer everything they're looking for, while a larger family with teenagers might need more space for things like weekend sports, school runs, and holidays. No matter the makeup of your family, the key to choosing a good family car is to find a balance between space, safety, and functionality.

For many buyers, safety is the primary factor they consider when looking at any new vehicle. Luckily, comparing the safety of different cars in New Zealand is made easy with resources like the Used Car Safety Ratings (UCSR) and the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP). These systems provide invaluable insights into the safety features and crash test results of vehicles, helping you choose a car that won’t just meet but exceed safety standards.

Understanding UCSR and ANCAP Ratings

UCSR Safety Ratings

The UCSR safety ratings, developed by the Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC), rely on real-world crash data, such as police reports, from New Zealand and Australia. This database spans 29 years and includes about 8 million recorded crashes, providing a robust basis for assessing vehicle safety. These ratings are especially valuable for evaluating used vehicles already on the market.

Key Aspects of UCSR Ratings

  • Overall Safety: This rating indicates how effectively a vehicle protects all road users in a crash, including the driver, passengers, pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists.
  • Driver Safety: Focused on the likelihood of drivers being seriously or fatally injured in a specific make and model, this rating helps assess the relative safety for drivers compared to other vehicles in the fleet.
  • Other Road User Safety: This measure assesses the potential of a vehicle to protect individuals outside of the vehicle, such as pedestrians and cyclists, in the event of a crash.

ANCAP Safety Ratings

ANCAP provides an independent assessment of new vehicles entering the Australian and New Zealand markets, focusing on the level of safety they offer. By conducting various crash tests and evaluating technological safety features, ANCAP ratings offer a predictive insight into a vehicle’s performance in crash situations.

Four Key Areas of ANCAP Testing

  • Adult Occupant Protection: Evaluates the protection provided to adult occupants in the front and second rows during common crash types.
  • Child Occupant Protection: Assesses the safety of child occupants in rear seats and the vehicle's compatibility with various child restraints.
  • Vulnerable Road User Protection: Reviews the vehicle’s front design to reduce injury risks to pedestrians and cyclists and assesses systems designed to avoid or mitigate impacts.
  • Safety Assist: Looks at the effectiveness of active safety technologies that help the driver prevent or minimise the effects of a crash.

ANCAP also updates its testing criteria regularly to encourage continuous improvement in vehicle safety, meaning that a vehicle's test year is crucial for understanding its rating. A car achieving 5 stars in 2015, for example, was assessed against less stringent criteria than a car tested in 2020, so you can feel comfortable in the knowledge that recent model cars really are safer than older models.

Types of Family Cars

Let’s break down the types of vehicles that typically make the best family cars in New Zealand.

SUVs (Sports Utility Vehicles)

SUVs are a popular choice among Kiwi families due to their robustness, versatility and size. With the space for school drop-offs or sports games, and the size to handle towing a boat, caravan or jet ski, SUVs are one of the most practical options for growing families. Plus, the larger size of SUVs often comes with advanced safety features, providing parents with additional peace of mind regarding their family’s safety.

However, while SUVs offer numerous advantages, they do come with certain considerations. Their larger size can make them less manoeuvrable in tight city spaces, while they are also much less fuel-efficient as a daily driver, compared to smaller family cars, which is something to keep in mind if you'll mostly be using it for school runs and trips around town. The cost of maintenance and repairs can also be higher, particularly for models with four-wheel drive or additional features designed for off-road use.

All things being equal though, SUVs are a natural fit for the lifestyle for scores of Kiwi families, with many people considering their increased size and utility a worthy tradeoff for decreased fuel efficiency and increased maintenance costs. Families looking for a reliable and safe vehicle that can handle a variety of needs—from urban commuting to open road driving —will find SUVs to be a great fit, as they provide the space, safety, and flexibility that are essential for a dynamic family lifestyle.

Most-Popular SUVs

  • Toyota RAV4
  • Honda CR-V
  • Mitsubishi Outlander

People-Movers

People-movers cater to larger families that require plenty of passenger and storage space. People movers typically accommodate up to eight or nine passengers comfortably, making them perfect for family outings, school runs, and long road trips. They offer generous legroom and headroom, and many models feature flexible seating configurations that can be adjusted based on whether you need more room for the kids or everything that comes along with them.

With that said, the size of people-movers can make manoeuvring and parking more challenging, especially if you live in the inner-city, and they are also generally less fuel-efficient than smaller vehicles due to their larger size and weight.

Families with multiple children or those who frequently travel with additional passengers and need the extra space for comfort and storage will find people-movers particularly suited to their needs, while smaller families of 3-5 people are better off sticking with more traditional cars.

Most-Popular People Movers

  • Honda Odyssey
  • Kia Carnival
  • Nissan Presage

Station Wagons

Station wagons combine the benefits of a smaller car's handling and size with the practicality of a larger car's storage capacity, making them an excellent choice for families who need versatility but prefer a more conventional car experience. They are easier to drive and park than larger SUVs or people-movers and provide substantial boot space for groceries, sports equipment, and other family essentials without sacrificing passenger comfort.

With that said, the popularity of station wagons has declined somewhat compared to past decades, affecting resale values and the availability of newer, updated models. They are sometimes perceived as less stylish compared to newer SUV designs, which might be a consideration for style-conscious buyers. A station wagon is best suited for families who need extra space but don’t want the bulk or fuel consumption of larger vehicles, and are ideal for those who enjoy road trips but also require a practical vehicle for daily use.

Most-Popular Station Wagons

  • Ford Mondeo
  • Subaru Legacy
  • Mazda 6

Hatchbacks

Hatchbacks are ideal for smaller families or those with young children. Their compact size makes them suitable for city living, yet they still offer enough space to accommodate the needs of a small family. Hatchbacks also offer better fuel economy than larger vehicles, making them cost-effective for frequent use, and their smaller size makes them easy to manoeuvre and park - perfect for inner-city living.

The main drawbacks of hatchbacks are their limited space, which might be restrictive if you're planning long trips with luggage, and can quickly become an issue if you've got a growing family. For that reason, they are best suited for young families or couples with one or two children who prioritise economy, ease of parking, and lower running costs.

Most-Popular Hatchbacks

Trust OnlyCars NZ for Your Next Family Vehicle

With an extensive range of cars of all shapes and sizes from leading manufacturers, we make it easy to find the perfect car to suit your family. Explore our selection of SUVs, people movers, station wagons and hatchbacks today, and find your dream new family vehicle at OnlyCars NZ!