The best family cars to drive are the ones that prioritise safety, comfort and space, because those are often the important features whether we’re focused on regular school drop-offs or long road trips. Ultimately though, the best family car is the one that perfectly suits you and your family’s needs. Wants and interests differ from family to family.
At the end of the day, you can't rely solely on your car's features for your family's safety; that’s where Cartrack comes in! Keep reading to explore our top picks for family cars across different categories, and see why Cartrack’s multi-layered safety approach is the answer to keeping your whole family safe on the road.
The cars that are the most family-friendly are often ones that put decent interior space and advanced safety features first. On the other hand, it also depends entirely on what ‘family-friendly’ looks like to you.
While you might prioritise simple interiors and a small four-seater for daily trips in the suburbs, another family might be more focused on a luxurious seven-seater that’s perfect for off-road weekends away. It’s all about evaluating your lifestyle and preferences before you make your choice.
Here are some of our top picks:
The Ford EcoSport is a compact SUV with lots of internal space, but is still compact enough to whizz comfortably around the city. Although this car has officially been discontinued, it’s thriving on the secondhand market with Ford still supplying the necessary parts and maintenance.
According to AutoTrader, the starting price is at around R75 000, reaching R329 990.
Why it’s family-friendly: You could comfortably fit three kids in the back seats. It also has an infotainment system to keep them engaged and entertained during road trips.
The Kia Sportage is another spacious model that’s suitable for a midsized family, accommodating about four. It’s fuel efficient and offers a very comfortable, everyday driving experience.
The Sportage usually appears on the higher end of the budget range but is absolutely value for money. According to AutoTrader, the starting price is around R49 900, reaching R719 695.
Why it’s family-friendly: It’s got a massive boot, so it’ll hold prams and bookbags during the week, as well as the whole family’s luggage on a weekend road trip. It’s also a comfortable, modern design with necessary safety features.
Despite the influx of Chinese brands, the Tucson remains one of the top choices for families wanting mid-size SUVs. It also won CAR Magazine’s ‘SUV Shootout’, ranking the top out of 13 of South Africa's selections within the midsize SUV market.
Why it’s family-friendly: It’s a family staple. It balances both interior seating & boot space and gives families a premium experience without the heavy price tag. It’s affordable, quiet, comfortable, AND efficient; these are all important for both day-to-day and long-distance trips.
The Tiguan blends practicality, modern design and safety all in one. It’s perfect for long distances and has loads of legroom. The interior is comfortable and some trims offer seat warming and cooling. How awesome is that?
Why it’s family-friendly: It can tow up to 1 900 kg, so it’s perfect for carrying the extra essentials during family camping trips. It has a modern infotainment system to keep the kids occupied, with ambient colours that can set a calm mood during evening drives. The Tiguan also came runner-up in the #CarsAwards under the ‘Best Family Cars in SA’ category.
This 7-seater has got some REAL space, comfortably fitting up to 5 children’s car seats with all 7 seats up, and opening up about 898 litres of boot space when the third row is folded down.
Every Everest is sold with a 4-year or 120 000 km warranty, designed with longevity in mind.
Why it’s family-friendly: It easily handles rugged terrain and has strong towing capabilities, making it a great car for large family camping and bumpy, off-road adventures. It has many ISOFIX anchor points, meaning it can accommodate multiple car seats. There are numerous outlets too, so everyone has space to charge their devices.
This top-selling car is a crowd favourite. It has excellent resale value, reliable mechanical abilities and an impressive support network across the country. It’s not as tech-forward as some interior systems, but its dependable simplicity & substance help it take the lead.
Why it’s family-friendly: It offers plenty of boot space, despite the number of seats, and has advanced safety features that’ll keep everyone safe. Its 7 seats make it perfect for growing families, families that travel between the city and rural homesteads, and parents involved in carpooling!
The Cross Hybrid is an exceptional choice that’s built for fuel efficiency. There’s very little involvement from you; once you hit the highway and hit a consistent speed, its intelligent system will switch the car from fuel to electric mode. It’s also easy to service, is locally manufactured, and has great resale value.
Why it’s family-friendly: It’s another option with generous legroom that’s perfect for growing kids, ample interior space (especially in the boot!) and excellent ground clearance, meaning it’ll handle South African roads with ease. It also doesn’t need charging infrastructure!
The Tiggo Cross has cemented itself as one of the country’s most affordable hybrid models. Because the inner-city roads require flexibility, its raised stance makes it easier to take on local roads. Plus, it’s self-charging, using regenerative braking and the petrol engine as its source.
Why it’s family-friendly: Its compact sizing makes it practical enough for small families, giving an SUV feel without the bulkiness or high price tag. It’s perfect for school drop-offs, handles the stop-and-start of peak traffic, and is easy to manoeuvre in shopping parking areas.
This make is a value-for-money purchase, providing a battery range of roughly 420 km and fast DC charging that’ll get you to 80% in forty-five minutes. The car’s about the same size as a Nissan Qashqai, but actually offers MORE interior space. If you’re looking for an intro to electric cars, the BYD Atto 3 is it.
Why it’s family-friendly: This car’s safety rating is a 5/5 according to the Euro NCAP or New Car Assessment Programme (European car crash-testing system). The car’s generous with its space and ISOFIX anchor points; whether you have teenagers, kids, luggage or all of the above, you’re sorted. Plus, it’s got a unique and quirky interior design inspired by fitness and gyms, which the kids might love!
The EX30 is a great choice for smaller families. It offers decent room and an exciting level of affordability. It has a minimalist interior design and is created from recycled materials; Volvo is truly contributing to sustainability. What’s more? It looks more expensive than it actually is.
Why it’s family-friendly: It’s a great option for inner-city driving, school runs and simple daily driving. The ride is smooth and quiet, making it lovely to drive when there are young kids on board. Younger kids can fit comfortably in the back, even if they’re in booster seats, and there are seven airbags as standard.
This premium pick is a powerful, sporty machine, easily breezing down highways and towing up to 3.5 tonnes. It has adaptive suspension, so tricky, potholed roads won’t interrupt a smooth drive. There’s also a hybrid version of this car, which you can get on special order.
Why it’s family-friendly: This car brings extremely premium comfort and practicality together, proving to be a perfect fit for medium-sized families. It offers an impressive amount of space (both in the boot and interior in general) and though a five-seater in most models, you can get certain trims with seven seats! It also scores a 5/5 on the Euro NCAP.
This luxurious plug-in hybrid car is sleek and comprehensive in specs, with an electric range of up to 77 km. It’s got air suspension, so pesky potholes wouldn’t stand a chance. And if you’re thinking about an at-home charging port, a Volvo wallbox can take the battery from 0 to 100% in around just three hours!
Why it’s family-friendly: This model is made for big families, long road trips and all the space you’d need for growing kids. Even with all seven seats up, there’s still 324 litres of luggage space. It’s luxurious in build and the tech is user-friendly; Mail & Guardian even said this car has “everything a family needs”.
While we don’t have every spec across the board, we understand the importance of a qualitative approach to family-friendliness and comfort. Take a quick peek at the things that make each of the cars stand out, from budget-friendly picks to premium 7-seaters.
As necessary and crucial as standard car safety features are, they’re simply not enough. This creates a gap in safety, and the only solution that fills that gap is to purchase a package from a reputable car tracking company. By doing this, you considerably beef up the level of security, going from passive safety to proactive protection.
Including the safety technologies tracking providers offer means you’re preparing for other very real, very possible experiences that aren’t ONLY car accidents. This includes crises like breakdowns, remote jamming, hijackings, roadside assistance, and more; gaps that can only be filled by live GPS tracking and telematics.
The car might be the solid structure that protects you and your family during an incident, but online safety provided by a tracking company is what ensures you have holistic support when you need it.
Cartrack keeps you and your family safe on the roads by offering the best in safety solutions. Everyday travelling can be quite the extreme sport in South Africa, but knowing your location is live, you’re protected against theft, and that you have quick roadside assistance when you need it is the peace of mind we provide.
Don’t believe us? Then believe Alicia Lamprecht’s story.
Alicia went to visit a friend when her life was quickly turned upside down. Her car was taken along with her baby boy strapped in the backseat, and it happened so quickly that neither she nor her friend saw the perp. After quickly calling her mom, Alicia remembered she had the Cartrack app on her phone.
She opened the app, contacted Cartrack, and we began the chase for her car with the area’s armed response team. Together with the Cartrack recovery team, they quickly retrieved her car and her son, who was located safe and unharmed less than 5 km away from where the car was found.
“I will gladly recommend Cartrack to anyone. Their support and their help… was incredible." - Alicia Lamprecht
👉 Watch Alicia’s full testimonial right here.
Here’s what you can expect from Cartrack:
You can see exactly where your car is, or know where your loved ones are at any point. You can also receive detailed trip reports that date all the way back to five years.
Also check out the driver scorecards that show you when and where you’ve carried out violations like speeding, aggressive braking, taking sharp corners and so on. This helps you improve your driving by becoming a responsible, defensive driver. As a result, you’ll lower your fuel consumption and maintenance costs!
We refer to CarWatch as your personal, virtual car guard. If your car is switched on and moves without your knowledge, you’ll be immediately notified via the app and able to remotely monitor its movements. CarWatch is totally user-friendly, so the whole family can navigate it with ease. This offers complete control and greater security.
Our control room is also notified. Once the alert is received by our team, we’ll contact you to check in and see if everything’s okay.
Protector is your lifeline for roadside emergencies. If you or a family member experiences medical, mechanical or towing issues, Protector is there to help for those who’ve subscribed to this add-on service.
It’s important to note that Protector no longer offers the following:
Our intelligent IoT (Internet of Things) device uses g-force technology to identify when there’s been a serious collision. This happens in real time, so our control room gets notified when you or your loved one has been in an accident and potentially can’t call for help.
We’ll dispatch emergency services to your or your loved one’s location so you can get immediate help when you need it.
Having your car stolen or being subject to a hijacking is an awful experience to deal with, but Cartrack’s Stolen Vehicle Recovery service is your best solution. We have teams of highly trained professionals ready to get out there and retrieve your car.
We use our GPS tools together with radio frequency technology from the Cartrack Tag to see the exact location of your car, even if it’s been remotely jammed. Our recovery teams have quite the industry-leading success rate, retrieving over 100 000 cars in the last decade alone!
We have our Road Vision and Dual Vision dashcams; both are perfect for your everyday driving or keeping an eye on vulnerable family members, particularly your teenagers or elderly family members. All of our camera packages come with full telematics, livestreaming with audio, high-quality footage storage and FREE installation.
These Vision options keep you and your family protected by proving your innocence in an accident and speeding up insurance claims.
Road Vision is a single, road-facing camera with wide road monitoring (so you capture more of the road). It’ll be mounted to the front windscreen and can record for about 72 hours at a time (128 GB). Dual Vision is essentially the same in its offerings, except it’s both road-facing and cabin-facing, and can record for about 194 hours (256 GB).
Don’t wait for something to happen before you prioritise your on-road protection. Stay safe, and show your family you value their safety as well. Call Cartrack today!
Find your ideal family ride. From compact SUVs to spacious 7-seaters, explore the best family cars offering prime safety, comfort, and practical storage.
