5 Things To Look For in a Family Car
Until a few years ago, this was really a topic that I had never thought about. But now with two kids under the age of three, this very topic was discussed by my wife and I in great detail!
Almost every day I have folks sit down at my desk and look to trade in their car for something more spacious for their growing family. Just last week I had a couple sit down at my desk that wanted to look at a mid sized SUV with only two rows of seating. At first, that isn’t a bad choice, however she was 7 months pregnant and they had two other kids already. This is where I made a suggestion to move to a full size SUV with third row seating.
This is something I come across nearly every day, so if you need a good vehicle for your family, here are a couple tips for finding the right vehicle!
1: A spacious interior and trunk
Having kids will inherently come with hauling kids to sports practices and games, getting to and from school, and what seems like never ending trips to the grocery store. These trips will all demand plenty of space for either people or cargo; or both. Finding one that has the cargo space and seating isn’t as simple as you’d think.
Not every vehicle is created equal. Some mid size SUV’s have great cargo, but limited on seating. Some full size SUV’s offer plenty of seating, but very limited cargo. Even minivans have a lot of variance in size and how compact they are to others in the same class size.
My wife and I only have two kids, but we opted to go with a Chevy Traverse with the 3rd row seating. We’ve had it for almost a year now and I think we’ve actually used the 3rd row two times. The rest of the time we’ve had the 3rd row folded down for the needed cargo space for strollers, groceries, or anything else that comes with having children.
Don’t let yourself get caught up in thinking that a family vehicle has to be a van or an SUV either! I recently traded in my double cab truck for a Silverado with a crew cab. The crew cab has plenty of room for multiple car seats and of course a truck bed with more than enough storage for most folks. Add on a hard tonneau cover to your bed and you can keep your bed space dry and protected from the weather.
2: Climate controls
If you are anything like my wife and I, you and your spouse’s idea of a comfortable temperature is widely different from each other. If you don’t have dual climate controls, you can quickly find one of you in a t-shirt while the other is bundled up with their winter coat. Trust me, when you start driving kids around, rear climate control will quickly become a factor for you as well! Both my Chevy Silverado and my wife’s Chevy Traverse have rear climate controls. Being able to change the rear temperature without having to point an air vent from the front to the back is a game changer!
Dual climate controls and rear climate controls allow you to set certain temperatures for the driver, passenger and those seated in the back. If you’ve ever had the opportunity to sit in a car with these features, you will completely understand the joy of never having the need to fight over the temperature again!
3: Comfortable seats
When it comes to seats, more often than not this is a deal breaker for a vehicle. It used to be that seats were just seats. Mainly cloth, but occasionally leather. Now you have heated seats, cooled seats, power seats for both driver and passenger, memory settings for multiple drivers, and of course lumbar adjustments.
No one wants to drive a car that isn’t comfortable during the ride. This is why it is important to not overlook this step in choosing the right car. I personally recommend leather seats for a family car. One thing my wife and I are all too familiar with when it comes to driving kids around, is that kids make messes. A lot of them. Leather is a lot easier to clean up than cloth and a lot harder to stain.
4: Smartphone connectivity
If you are looking at a new car purchase, this may seem like a no brainer since pretty much every new car comes with Bluetooth connectivity. Where this would come into play though is if you are looking at a pre-owned vehicle. We get vehicles traded in every day that don’t have this feature. While you may not need turn by turn directions from your smartphone through your Bluetooth, if your kids are of driving age, you will want them to have that option if they are ever driving your vehicle. Having the ability to answer and hang up calls or change your music through the steering wheel will help to keep your eyes on the road and to ultimately lower any risks of an accident.
5: Excellent safety features
This is a big one. We are talking about how to pick out a family car. What is more important than keeping your family safe? Every car on the road has safety features to some degree, but ultimately some are significantly safer than others. A couple things to think about are the number of airbags in a vehicle along with if it has an in-vehicle security and emergency services. Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac and Buicks have a great service known as OnStar. Not only can you get turn by turn directions at the touch of a button, but you can be connected to emergency services through the vehicle at any time. You may not think that you would need this, but run this situation through your head. You’re in a collision. After you realize what has happened, you reach for your cell phone out of the center console, only it isn’t where you left it. The collision has caused your phone end up somewhere in your car that you can’t find. Your kids are in the back seat crying and you can’t call anyone for help. Except you can. You reach up and hit the ‘SOS’ button for OnStar and you are now connected and help is on the way. To me, this seems like reason enough to pay roughly a dollar a day for the subscription based safety and emergency system.
If you want a family feature that I didn’t bring up here, please don’t hesitate to give me a call at 614.432.5509! I would love to sit down and show you all the great family vehicles that Chevrolet offers along with any of our pre-owned vehicles that we have in our inventory!
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