Yahoo Autos 5 Family Cars for Holiday Road Trips and Shopping
The holidays are stressful enough without trying to cram one too many shopping bags into the back of your car—or driving a behemoth that doesn’t leave room to open the doors in crowded parking lots. For power shopping and family road trips, having the right vehicle can make all the difference.
To ease your holiday stress, we present five family cars with plenty of space, easy access, and pleasant rides for that long trip over the river and through the woods. To ensure these are all truly good cars, we selected these models from those that meet our stringent criteria to be Consumer Reports recommended.
To earn our recommendation, vehicles must perform well in our testing; have average or better reliability; and perform adequately, if included in crash tests conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Add to that, we consider these roomy cars to be especially family friendly. The vehicles are listed in ascending order of price.
Subaru Forester
Price as tested: $24,145
Base MSRP price range: $22,395 - $33,795
It may look like the box that the store clerk wrapped your aunt’s sweater in, but that square, upright back end leaves plenty of room to stack packages. And the tall windows make it one of the easiest new cars in years to see out of as you’re trying to navigate parking lots full of gleeful munchkins. Plus, all Subaru Forester trim lines have a standard backup camera.
Better yet, the Forester is available with Subaru’s suite of advanced safety systems, called EyeSight, which will automatically apply the brakes if you’re about to run into another vehicle.
The Forester gets among the best fuel economy for an SUV at 26 mpg overall. That kind of savings will even leave you with enough money to pad the holiday budget. The good mileage comes with a trade-off, though. The continuously variable transmission optimizes engine speed for the best fuel economy, but it also makes the engine wail every time you accelerate hard. Still, there is plenty of power, even from the base 170-hp four-cylinder.
The interior continues the practical, function-over-form theme. Everything is simple, purposeful, and easy to reach, although the cabin is far from plush. Tall, square doors make it easy to get in and out when somebody parks too close. Controls are very simple, and the infotainment and connectivity systems have finally been updated with an easy-to-use touch screen.
For about $27,000, you can get a nicely equipped 2016 Forester 2.5i Premium with handy features such as a power driver’s seat and giant sunroof. For about $3,000 more, you get heated leather seats, automatic climate control, and a power tailgate in the 2.5i Limited.
Subaru Outback
Price as tested: $29,090
Base MSRP price range: $24,995 - $33,395
Don’t think of the Subaru Outback as a wagon. Think of it as one of the world’s handiest, most affordable, and thriftiest midsized SUVs.
Styled like a rugged hiking boot, the Outback exudes adventure. Its backseat is roomier than any small SUVs, and it has as much room overall as any midsized five-passenger model. And although the cargo space may not hold as much furniture as some true SUVs’, it can still pack an impressive amount of luggage. Plus, you don’t even have to spend a fortune to get a power tailgate.
With a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine and a continuously variable transmission, the Outback gets 24 mpg overall.
Like its less-expensive little brother the Forester, the Outback will get you to the trailhead with a minimum of fuss or risk. It offers Subaru’s optional EyeSight system, which incorporates: forward-collision braking, lane-departure warning, and active cruise control.
The Outback also has a full-featured modern stereo and navigation system, with all models now coming with standard Bluetooth audio streaming and hands-free phone connectivity.
Our well-equipped 2.5i Premium four-cylinder test car cost a tad over than $29,000. And even the fully loaded six-cylinder 3.6R Limited with EyeSight came in cheaper than most six-cylinder SUVs, at $36,485.
