These are the Best SUVs for Family Life
When it comes to family life, the right SUV can make all the difference.
From hauling sports gear to nipping the supermarket, rushing the school run to packing up for a camping weekend, family SUVs are seriously put their paces.
You need a vehicle that's spacious, safe, and built to handle whatever your family throws at it.
We’ve rounded up the best SUVs for family life. Vehicles that combine comfort, reliability, and versatility with features designed to keep your loved ones secure and entertained on the road.
1. Hyundai TUCSON
Topping the list is the Hyundai TUCSON, a solid choice thanks to its spacious interior, advanced safety features, and exceptional reliability.
On the interior, passengers large and small can enjoy ample legroom and cargo space. It comfortably accommodates both passengers and the gear that comes with busy family schedules; be it school bags, football kits, shopping bags, or four-legged friends.
Hyundai’s SmartSense suite of safety technologies include lane-keeping assist, forward collision-avoidance, and adaptive cruise control. Their cutting-edge tech provides peace of mind for parents and added protection for all passengers.
The TUCSON also offers impressive fuel efficiency and a smooth, quiet ride, making long trips and daily commutes both economical and enjoyable. Hybrid models reach an impressive 50 MPG, impressive for a car its size.
Stylish, practical, efficient. The Hyundai TUCSON gets a ten from us.
2. Nissan Qashqai
If you're looking for something a bit more affordable, the Nissan Qashqai is family favourite for a reason.
The Qashqai is a compact SUV, making it a good choice if you need to execute perilous parallel parking on the school run as well as long road trip drives. The space and comfort of an SUV, without feeling too bulky.
For the safety conscious, the Qashqai is equipped with Nissan’s advanced driver assistance systems, such as ProPILOT Assist, intelligent emergency braking, and blind spot warning, all of which enhance safety and ease the stress of family driving.
It’s a budget-friendly option for families, offering high fuel efficiency and low running costs. But you won’t feel like you’re scrimping on the inside - a panoramic sunroof, dual-zone climate control, and a responsive infotainment system allow all the comfort, regardless of how long your drive is.
Overall, the Qashqai does an excellent job of wrapping up practicality and style, without an eye-watering price tag.
3. Kia Sportage
One of the most popular family SUVs, and it’s easy to see why. Mundane trips like the school run and trips to the shop are made oh-so-stylish with the Sportage’s wide grille and bold lines.
Its spacious and thoughtfully designed interior offers plenty of legroom and headroom for passengers in the front and back, along with a generous boot for prams, shopping, and sports gear.
The Sportage is packed with safety features as standard, including forward collision avoidance, lane-keeping assist, and a rear-view camera.
For those who take frequent cross-country trips, the Sportage offers a smooth and quiet ride, impressive fuel economy, and a well-built infotainment system.
With its premium feel, family-friendly features, and Kia’s impressive warranty, the Sportage is a fabulous investment for any growing household.
4. Ford Kuga
The Ford Kuga is a fantastic choice for families, thoughtfully designed to make everyday life easier, safer, and more comfortable.
Its hands-free boot access is a game-changer for busy parents, simply swipe your foot under the bumper and the boot opens automatically, perfect when your hands are full of shopping or gear for that day’s hobby.
Inside, the Kuga offers generous space with plenty of head and legroom, plus a large, versatile boot that’s ideal for prams, bags, and everything in between.
Adaptable rear seats can slide and fold to give you more legroom or expand your luggage space as needed, and roof rails offer extra storage options for bigger trips.
Safety is top-tier, with a five-star Euro NCAP rating and advanced features like Pre-Collision Assist and Electronic Stability Control providing extra safety on every journey.
5. Volkswagen Tiguan
The VW Tiguan is another superb family car, offering a compelling blend of practicality, comfort, and user-friendly design.
Its 652-liter boot space is a significant advantage, providing more room than many competitors at a similar price point, which is perfect for everything from weekly shopping to holiday luggage.
Inside, the large infotainment touchscreen provides easy access to all the car's features and keeps the cabin feeling modern and connected.
Despite its generous interior space, the Tiguan remains easy to maneuver, making it a stress-free car to drive around town and park in tight spaces.
The interior feels fancy enough to take pride in, but also durable and practical enough to withstand the inevitable spills and grubby hands that come with family life.
Explore used Volkswagen Tiguan
6. Volvo XC40
You don’t get a much bigger endorsement than four consecutive ‘Family SUV of the Year’ award wins. That’s just what the XC40 was awarded at the What Car? Car of the Year awards.
Families love Volvo’s cool, minimalist styling, high-quality materials and finish, unmatched safety provisions and seamless onboard connectivity.
The XC40 itself has generous passenger space and a practical boot with a quality interior and top-notch safety. It also gives one of the most comfortable rides on the market.
Temptingly priced compared with its premium rivals, it’s a favourite for a reason.
7. Peugeot 3008
For those prioritising a premium feel and distinctive style, consider the Peugeot 3008.
Its most striking feature is the "i-Cockpit" interior, which offers a futuristic and driver-focused experience with a large, integrated digital display and a compact steering wheel.
Beyond the eye-catching design, the 3008 is highly practical, offering a generous boot space of over 500 litres and a high level of standard equipment, including a suite of safety features like lane keep assist and a reversing camera.
Peugeot fans often praise the 3008 for its comfort, with a smooth ride and a well-insulated cabin, making long journeys more enjoyable for the whole family.
8. Toyota RAV4
Toyota’s hybrid SUV offering, the RAV4, is a practical, sensible car that doesn’t cost the earth to run.
There’s plenty of space in the cabin for big and small passengers alike, and it gets a good electric range for a car its size.
One of our favourite feature of the RAV4 is its chunky buttons and controls. Whereas many new models seem to go fully touchscreen, Honda has given this SUV the tactile controls that many drivers still want.
With a high ride, huge rear window, and slim windscreen pillars, visibility in the RAV4 is great.
It’s a fantastic choice for a family who’s always on the go.
9. Honda HR-V
The HR-V is one of the smaller cars on the list but is by no means less practical.
It gets great fuel economy, impressive visibility, and all models come fitted with front and rear sensors, as well as a rear camera.
It’s roomy on the inside, so even the tallest of passengers have plenty of room in the back seats.
Our favourite feature has to be the aptly named ‘Magic Seats’. The rear seat bases can flip up, creating a tall space for carrying bulky items you wouldn’t want to lie flat, such as large potted plants.