Longer, lower, roomier. Honda's 2016 Civic made KBB.com's list of Top 16 vehicles for families.
It happens to so many people around the country each year, the realization that the number kids added to the amount of stuff you need for them equals the ultimate family vehicle: the minivan.
However, not everyone decides that the “station wagon of the ’90s” is the vehicle that best suits their needs and there are plenty of options depending upon how big your family is, where you live, what you do and other variables.
Kelley Blue Book tested dozens of vehicles with a keen focus on safety, comfort, convenience, spaciousness for both passengers and cargo, and fit of various rear-facing and forward-facing child safety seats, the KBB.com expert editors recommend their choices for a diverse group of vehicles that best meet the needs of today’s modern families.
“For two weeks’ time we drove, lived-with, folded-down-seats-of, paired-phones-to and installed-baby-seats-in each and every one of the contenders,” said Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst of Kelley Blue Book’s KBB.com.
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The 2016 Chevrolet Malibu is one KBB.com's choices for best family vehicle.
“We loaded cargo, contorted ourselves into third rows, watched movies on rear-seat screens, toted rowing teams to marinas – in short, we did everything that you and your family might do with a vehicle day-to-day.
“And we did all this with a certain sense of what a family needs and wants, since many of our testers are simultaneously parents of kids ranging from mid-twenties to newborn. So this wasn’t just a cursory exercise, but instead it drew heavily upon our family-car experiences, needs and wants.”
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The editors fashioned a top 16 list of vehicles that should be considered. The surprise of the list? Only three minivans! It also features six sedans and seven SUVs/crossovers. Each vehicle on the list is a 2016 model.
- Honda Civic
- Honda Accord
- Chevrolet Malibu
- Chevrolet Impala
- Kia Optima
- Hyundai Sonata
- Honda CR-V
- Honda HR-V
- Subaru Outback
- Kia Sedona
- Honda Odyssey
- Toyota Sienna
- Nissan Pathfinder
- Toyota Highlander
- Honda Pilot
- Chevrolet Tahoe
Many of the vehicles on the list were nominate not just for their safety ratings, but for their roominess and comfort. Technology, both for safety and entertainment, was also a differentiator for some of the vehicles on the list.
However, this year the editors placed a new focus on one area: how three different types of child safety car seats (a rear-facing infant seat, a convertible seat that can be installed either rear-facing or forward-facing, as well as a forward-facing booster seat) fit specifically into each of the vehicles on this year’s list.
This section details helpful information for parents who have children of car-seat age (which typically is from birth through the elementary school years), including ease of installation, how leg room and passenger fit is affected in each vehicle when using various types of car seats, and more.
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KBB.com editors tested 24 potential Best Family Cars contenders for 2016 over a two-week period. Runners-up for this year’s KBB.com Best Family Cars list included the 2016 Ford F-150, 2016 Ford Explorer, 2016 Hyundai Tucson, 2016 Kia Soul, 2016 Ram 1500, 2016 Subaru Crosstrek, 2016 Toyota Avalon and 2016 Toyota Camry.