The Ultimate Checklist for Buying Your Next Family Car

This is a collaborative post. 

If you’re anything like me, you’ll find car buying extremely stressful. From trying to uncover the truth in the salesman’s spiel to figuring out what extras you might need, if any, there’s so much to consider.

And when you add kids into the situation, it becomes even more stressful and daunting.

Thankfully, there are some key features you can look out for when you’re shopping at places like Fords of Winsford, and I’ve included these in my ultimate family car checklist below:

1. Family-Friendly Doors

When you’re juggling the kids, shopping and goodness knows what else, it’s handy to have wide-opening doors to the rear. A number of family-friendly cars will come with these types of features – or you may find sliding doors even more practical.

If you’re using a child seat, bring that with you when you’re car shopping. That way, you can test that it’s easy to put in the car, and that you’ve got enough room to get your child safely secured in the seat.

2. Comfortable Seats for Everyone

As well as ensuring the seats are big enough for your current car seats, look for other important features like cup-holders, rear TV screens and so on. You might also want to check if the rear seats slide like the front ones, as this will allow you to create more space in your boot.

Also, consider how much your kids will see from these back seats – especially if they’re not in a car seat. Will they be able to see the world whizzing by? Making sure they can helps provide them with that much-needed entertainment on those longer journeys.

3. Ample Room in the Boot

Families take a lot of stuff with them wherever they go (when we go away for the weekend, it looks like we’re travelling for a month!). So boot space is imperative in your next family car.

Will you be able to fit your child’s pushchair in there as well as shopping, suitcases and other bulky items?

Most manufacturers will tell you how large the boots are in litres.

4. Safety First

Safety is going to be one of the most important things you’re looking for in this vehicle, so always do your research. For example, EuroNCAP offers safety ratings on a number of cars to give you peace of mind that what you’re buying will keep your family protected at all times.

5. Test Drive

Now that you’ve ticked off the aforementioned essentials, it’s time to give the car a test drive. Look at how easy it is to park, make sure you feel as though you’re high enough up to see what’s going on around you, and ensure it’s comfortable in the back as well as the front.

Ensuring your next car has all of these key features will make for much more enjoyable, safer road trips as a family in the future.