Used Car for a Family of 5: How to Buy Safely

The best family car has to be safe, but it also needs plenty of boot space and a comfortable ride – whether on the school run or on a long trip. Even so, “family car” can mean something different to everyone.

In many modern cars, even two people can feel cramped once the luggage for a long weekend is packed. With more people on board, the problems grow accordingly. Three children on the back seat, a boot filled to the roof, a dog that wants to come along too… and then that one extra suitcase that absolutely has to go, but for which there is simply no room left. That’s the sign it’s time to think about a bigger car. There are several options, and the most popular are estates, MPVs and, more and more often, SUVs.

 

Key takeaways

• A roomy cabin and a large boot are essential when the whole family travels together.
• Even with three seats in the back, not every model can take three child seats.
• Advanced safety systems are a must, but knowing the car’s past matters just as much.
• For a family of five, the best choice is usually an estate or an MPV, although SUVs are becoming increasingly popular.

 

 

The ideal family car – what does it actually mean?

Some people picture a fast estate as the perfect family car, others a seven-seat MPV with a big boot and a trailer on top of that. Most agree, however, that what really matters is safety, boot space and low running costs combined with good reliability. After all, even the most spacious model is no use if it spends most of its time at the garage. To combine as much luggage space as possible with compact exterior dimensions – so the car is easy to live with every day – you need practical solutions.

 

The ideal family car should have 3 sets of ISOFIX mounts

First and foremost, that means ISOFIX, which makes it easier to fit child seats safely. A large family car should let you secure three child seats comfortably, but only a few models actually offer this. Most cars have a rear bench designed for two passengers – and not too tall ones either, or they’ll run out of leg and head room. In that layout, two sets of ISOFIX mounts are the most you can expect. To take a third child safely, you would need an extra child seat in the middle, secured with a standard seat belt. It isn’t impossible, but it is certainly very impractical and far from comfortable. Ideally, the second row should have three individual seats.

 

A good boot isn’t just about capacity – loading matters too

In many cases, the real test of whether a model works for a large family is the pushchair. Then it’s not only the boot capacity that counts – ideally at least 600 litres, and the more the better – but also its shape. If the boot floor has lots of bulges and the opening is narrow when the tailgate is up, it seriously limits what you can fit. That’s why some models – estates, for example – have a huge boot on paper but don’t work well for families with small children. If you’re planning to buy a car, it’s worth checking in person, before you decide, whether your pushchair actually fits.

 

Modern systems keep passengers safe

Safety in a family car depends on many different things. Above all, it’s about advanced driver assistance systems – lane keeping assist warns you when you drift out of your lane unexpectedly, blind spot monitoring alerts you to vehicles you can’t see in the mirror, and autonomous emergency braking helps you react faster and improves the chances of avoiding a collision. Well-designed front seats matter too – comfortable seats make driving more pleasant and help the driver stay focused on what’s important. Finally, safety also depends on an engine that suits the size and load of the car. This isn’t about driving fast, but about a comfortable journey and being able to join traffic smoothly when you need to.

 

No compromises with a family car. Check the vehicle history

A good car for a family of five has to be practical and safe, and ideally comfortable and economical as well. But there’s one more thing that even the best equipment can’t make up for: its history. With a small car used only now and then for a quick spin round the block, you might accept a few compromises – but with a family car, there’s no room for them. Ideally, you’d buy a family car new from a dealer, knowing for certain it has no suspicious or unwanted past. For financial reasons, though, that’s not always possible – which is why many families turn to used cars.

A car that’s meant to keep you safe every day and on long journeys can’t be one that was crashed and then patched up in a backyard garage by a trader looking for a quick profit. Any structural damage should automatically rule a car out. If the vehicle history shows damage records – especially a total loss (write-off) – look at them closely, ideally asking the seller for photos taken before the repair, so you know exactly what was damaged and how badly. Remember, though, that not every write-off means a safety risk. In some cases it simply means the insurer decided the repair would cost more than the car was worth, making it uneconomical – while in reality only two or three panels may have needed repainting, with no effect on anything but looks.

When going through a vehicle history report, don’t just look at any accident history. Check the mileage too (any irregularities are a warning sign of trouble ahead), as well as the equipment – it may turn out that what the seller says doesn’t match reality. It isn’t always about hiding important information – sometimes it’s a genuine mistake or oversight, for example when a previous owner made modifications (such as removing the extra seats from the third row). In an autoDNA report, you can also check the recalls the car was or still is covered by. All this information helps you understand the car’s real condition better and gives you extra arguments when negotiating the price.

 

Estate, SUV or MPV? A big boot isn’t everything

When choosing a car, think not only about your current needs but also about the future – children grow up, and parents won’t always have the same energy. At first, things like easy access or high ground clearance may seem secondary, but experience shows that a well-thought-out purchase pays off twice over when you least expect it – for example on a summer holiday, when four-wheel drive and good all-round visibility make it easier to manoeuvre a caravan.

Because every family’s needs are different, it’s impossible to say which model, or even which type of car, will be best. It might be a compact petrol SUV used only occasionally on longer trips, or an electric car – greener than a combustion model – used every single day. In general, MPVs offer more space than estates, but estates have bigger boots than SUVs and are easier to handle in town.

Here’s an overview of the pros and cons of the car types families choose most often.

 

	Estate	SUV	MPV
Space in the second row	Usually limited, max. two child seats, middle seat practically unusable	Usually tight, no chance of fitting three child seats	Usually three individual seats, making it easy to fit three child seats
Boot capacity	550–650 l depending on the model	450–550 l, even less in crossovers	650 l and up
Running costs	Low (similar to other passenger cars)	High (worse aerodynamics, higher fuel consumption, more expensive parts)	Medium (larger size increases fuel consumption, but parts cost the usual amount)
Typical advantages	Good handling and high comfort, low running costs	Higher driving position and ground clearance, fashionable look	Plenty of room for passengers and luggage, three ISOFIX points, sliding doors
Typical disadvantages	Limited space in the second row, hard to fit three child seats	Small boot, little room in the second row, high purchase price due to SUV popularity	Falling popularity on the used market, unattractive looks, average ride comfort

The best car for a family of five. Recommended models

Here are five used cars for a family of five worth considering. Used car prices vary between markets and change quickly, so treat the price notes below as a rough guide and compare current listings in your area.

 

Renault Espace V

An MPV that became a crossover – the fifth-generation Renault Espace, built from 2015 to 2023, broke away from its boxy predecessor and ushered in a new era in terms of style. It’s still a very spacious family car, now with a modern character, and thanks to generous equipment and decent build quality it offers excellent travelling comfort. With five seats in use, the boot holds a very satisfying 680 litres, but with the extra two seats up it shrinks to just 247. Importantly, the second row has three individual seats with ISOFIX mounts, which makes travelling as a family of five much easier. Another plus of the Espace V is its excellent sound insulation. On the downside, there’s slightly less head room in the second row than in its predecessor, and the third row is probably best treated as an emergency option. Instead of sliding doors, it has conventional hinged doors, so you always need a fairly wide parking space.

If you’re buying a used Renault Espace V, the 2.0 Blue dCi diesel is worth a look, as it’s known for durability. Both the 160 hp and 200 hp versions cope well in everyday driving and on long journeys. The 1.8 TCe petrol has 225 hp and is very enjoyable to drive, but you have to accept a bigger appetite for fuel. Speaking of costs, prices for the fifth-generation Espace vary widely: the oldest, fairly well-used examples are the cheapest, while facelifted versions can cost more than twice as much.

 

Volkswagen Touran II

The second-generation Volkswagen Touran was built from 2015 to 2026 – a thoroughly practical, well-thought-out car that works brilliantly as a family car or people carrier. It’s 453 cm long, and its standard boot capacity – depending on the version, with five seats in use – ranges from just under 700 to over 800 litres. That’s more than enough for a pushchair and the rest of the luggage. The second row has three individual seats, so you can fit three ISOFIX child seats, and the large windows give excellent visibility in every direction. The result is a car that’s hard to fault.

The Volkswagen Touran II with the 150 hp 1.4 TSI and 1.5 TSI petrol engines is a safe choice, offering enough performance with sensible fuel consumption. For people who drive mostly in town, this set-up seems the most cost-effective. Among the diesels, it’s worth sticking with the classic: the 2.0 TDI works faultlessly in this model too and rewards regular high mileage with low fuel consumption. Before buying, be aware of possible clutch problems with the less powerful engines and of leaking panoramic sunroofs – repairs to the latter can be very expensive. Using TSI engines only in town on short trips can also lead to carbon build-up. As with the Renault Espace V, Touran II prices vary widely – the most expensive examples can cost around three times as much as the cheapest, depending on the year and the car’s history.

 

Toyota RAV4 IV

If typical – and less typical – MPVs aren’t quite what a family is looking for, the Toyota RAV4 is an alternative. The fourth generation of this Japanese former off-roader was built from 2013 to 2018, and hardly anyone ever thought of taking it off the tarmac. As a fashionable urban SUV, however, it did very well, offering a higher driving position and reliability. That’s why, to this day, a used Toyota RAV4 is a pretty good – and very practical – way to hold your money’s value. To protect that value, it’s best to steer clear of the diesel engines. The 2.0 Valvematic petrol with 152 hp or the 2.5 hybrid with 197 hp are safe bets. The latter in particular is lively, economical and won’t expose the driver to excessive servicing costs. It’s also more proof that hybrids are a good choice for short urban trips under heavy load.

Unfortunately, the fourth-generation Toyota RAV4 isn’t as roomy as you might wish. The boot in the petrol version holds 547 litres, and in the hybrid even less – just 501 litres (because of the battery under the boot floor). The outdated infotainment system is a letdown, as are the only two sets of ISOFIX mounts, which makes life harder for families of five with small children. If someone does sit in the middle of the second row, though, the absence of a transmission tunnel is a welcome bonus. The RAV4 holds its value well, so even the cheapest examples cost more than an entry-level Touran or Superb. Late-production cars, especially in higher trims, can cost nearly twice as much as the cheapest ones.

 

Peugeot 5008 II

At first glance, it’s hard to tell that this car was designed with families in mind – and yet the optional seven seats, three ISOFIX mounts in the second row and 780 litres of boot space (with five people on board, not seven) make the Peugeot 5008 undeniably practical. The second generation, built from 2017 to 2023, looks great – fresh and modern – especially after the facelift. And not just on the outside, because the cabin features the futuristic i-Cockpit. Combined with high-quality, soft-touch and well-fitted materials (in the upper part of the cabin – lower down, there’s room for improvement), it makes a very good impression. When looking for a used Peugeot 5008, the 2.0-litre BlueHDi diesel is worth considering, as it’s ideal for long journeys. The 1.6 PureTech petrol with 180 hp is also a good option.

Fortunately, that 1.6 has little in common with the 1.2 PureTech (130 hp), an engine that was also fitted to the 5008 and is definitely best avoided – both because of its factory defects and because it’s underpowered for a car of this size. The 1.2-litre unit has only three cylinders. Those who aren’t fans of modern tech won’t like controlling functions via the touchscreen, which tends to freeze from time to time, although this isn’t particularly frequent or annoying. AdBlue system failures in the diesels can bring some costs – but that’s typical of most modern diesel cars. Among the models in this list, the oldest 5008 IIs have one of the highest entry prices, and the most expensive examples cost more than twice as much. That’s not cheap, admittedly, but the third generation is already on sale, so there’s hope that prices will fall in the near future.

 

Skoda Superb III Estate

Executive car, mobile office, workhorse for a small business or family car – whatever role you think of, the Skoda Superb will handle it with ease. It might be a little less at home off-road, although who knows – four-wheel-drive versions are available. Sticking to more conventional uses, though, the Superb proves that even an estate doesn’t have to lack anything. It has a very large boot – 660 litres – with a regular shape that makes it easy to pack not only suitcases but also a pushchair or a child’s bike. There’s also loads of leg room in the second row. Speaking of the second row, fitting three child seats is a bit harder. There are only two ISOFIX points, and the rear bench is shaped to give maximum comfort to two passengers. Fitting a third child seat will take some juggling.

Despite its near-premium ambitions, the Superb III is still a Skoda, which means reasonably priced spare parts and repairs, as well as huge popularity (it shares components with other Volkswagen Group models). The engine line-up follows the same pattern as other models. The recommended options are the 2.0 TDI diesels (150 or 190 hp) and the 1.4 TSI and 1.5 TSI petrols in 150 hp form. It’s better to avoid the smaller diesel (1.6 TDI), which feels too weak for such a big car (especially when it’s loaded to the roof with passengers and luggage). The third-generation Skoda Superb is one of the most affordable cars on this list, although if you look hard enough you’ll also find examples priced at three times as much. Leaving the extremes aside, though, it’s certainly not a bad investment.

 

 

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