Five best Family cars under $30K

Family car once meant locally-built large car, however, the Australian market has evolved and fragmented, and now the prime picks come from a variety of classes and countries of origin.

Small refers to the size of the most-popular sellers, not their market share. The Toyota Corolla and Mazda3 now battle for the outright sales top spot. The Corolla is a good buy; the Mazda is great to own, and our pick of the pair.

The 3 is the only Japanese car in our recommendations, which reflects the diverse state of the Oz market. In terms of their brands, our other recommendations are Korean – the Hyundai i30 – and European: the Volkswagen Golf, Skoda Octavia and Ford Focus.

To summarise their key strengths, the Mazda3 remains big on driver appeal, with new-for-the-model fuel economy, refinement and interior quality.

The Volkswagen, as a multi award-winner, is a comfortable and enjoyable drive – the all-rounder.

The Skoda Octavia, which is built on the same platform as the Golf, boasts more space – witness a bigger, boxier body – and brings a regal-looking sedan option.

Ford’s Focus was originally built in Germany and a mid-life switch to Thai production has brought some cost-cutting. However, the core engineering of the design carries through, as does the small Ford’s reputation for crisp steering and handling.

The Hyundai i30 boast the qualities that have made the brand a trusted choice in this and other markets. It’s full-featured and great value, with a five-year warranty. Today’s Korean cars look and driver better than before, and that’s true of the i30, too.

motoring.com.au Recommends Family Cars Under $30K

Mazda 3
Mazda could have left well enough alone while developing its new small car – its 3 sedan and hatch were already best-sellers.

But instead, in the new model, which arrived for 2014, Mazda addressed the small flaws of its predecessor to deliver a cracking third-generation 3.

Uncompetitive fuel consumption was a shortcoming across much of the range. With a suite of efficiency-enhancing technologies Mazda calls SKYACTIV, the 3 now has the official figures – and real-world capability – to challenge rivals.

Take the 114kW 2.0-litre four-cylinder standard in the Base Neo and mid-spec Maxx and Touring, which boasts an official figure of 5.7-5.9L/100km, depending on the variant and transmission.

The more powerful 138kW 2.5-litre four in the SP25 and SP25 GT is thrifty too, with 6.0-6.5L/100km combined-cycle consumption.

Road noise has been a Mazda bugbear for many years, but the new 3 goes a long way to banishing excessive tyre roar. It’s still no Golf, but the Mazda is much quieter than it was before.

There was little wrong with the steering and handling of the previous 3. The new model merely brings maturity to an already dynamic small car. It’s more measured in its responses, without losing the balance and involvement that have made three generations of 3 fun to drive.

A stylish sedan and practical hatch are offered, starting at $20,490 for a base Neo manual (a six-speed auto adds $2000) and rising to $32,590 for the top-shelf SP25 GT, with the $22,990 Maxx, $25,490 Touring and $25,890 SP25 in between.

The plain-looking 90kW 1.4-litre turbo 90TSI might wear hubcaps and make modest power, but with a stout 200Nm on offer at low engine speeds it’s a flexible performer and a seriously good all-rounder.

Better than most, the turbo small-capacity four delivers on its combined-cycle fuel consumption promise – a miserly 5.4L/100km is the official figure in seven-speed dual-clutch automatic form.

The $32K mid-level 103TSI, with its more powerful 1.4-litre turbo, is swift, and big on thrift at an official 5.2L/100km, and justifies its extra cost with bigger 17-inch wheels, more attractive looks and sharpened handling. At the mid-$30K price point the torquey turbo-diesel 110TDI is even easier on fuel, at 4.9L/100km.

Great engines contribute to the brilliance of the package, but the Golf’s biggest strengths are its terrifically judged blend of ride quality and handling and refined, beautifully built cabin. Not just classy and quiet, it’s roomily well packaged, including in the back, where there’s good head and leg room and a capacious 380-litre hatched-back boot.

Little in the class goes close to the small VW in terms of real-world comfort and efficiency and, as a result, all-round appeal. You can outlay $30K, $40K or more than $50K on a Golf (the flagship R), but to experience why a Golf’s greatness you only really need to spend $21,490.

Volkswagen Golf review

However, the Octavia has unique selling points, such as its stately styling, acres of interior and cargo space (especially in the wagon) and the fact there are a lot less of them on the road than there are Golfs.

In the Volkswagen Group hierarchy of interior ambience and quality, Skoda can’t touch a Golf, let alone an Audi A3, but the Octavia offers a comfortable cabin chock with surprise and delight that tops most Japanese offerings.

Engine-wise, the base $21,690 Octavia Ambition gets the up-specced 103kW, 250Nm 1.4-litre turbo four cylinder found in the Golf 103TSI, for a pricetag just $200 more than a Golf 90TSI – value is perhaps the overriding Skoda selling point.

Transmission options are, you guessed, Golf-derived – a six-speed manual or $2300-pricier seven-speed dual clutch automatic.

However, the adoption of more basic torsion beam rear suspension for much of the mainstream line up (all bar the 1.8-litre and RS models, which get a multi-link rear suspension) is a downgrade compared with the Octavia’s German platform buddy and comes through in a slight loss of ride comfort.

The resale value won’t be as good as a Golf, which might make an Octavia a smarter buy used than new. Either way, you’ll have to explain that your car is no oddball but, rather, an Eastern European version of a class-leading small car.

Volkwagen’s all-conquering Golf might be the all-rounder, while Toyota’s Corolla and Mazda’s 3 are the best-sellers. But nothing steers like a Focus, and few small cars possess the fluency and balance of its chassis. There’s also an appealing large-car-like solidity to the Ford’s spacious body, which provides the backbone for the suspension to deliver a supple, comfortable ride.

It’s worth noting, though, that the Focus (which arrived in 2011) is showing its age. The Blue Oval’s small sedan/hatch had some decidedly old-school features even when it was new, such as the five-speed manual transmission and the underpowered 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine found in entry-level variants.

Clearly, not all Focuses are created equal, so it pays to pick the right spec. The 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine, which is introduced in the $22,290 Trend manual hatch, is vastly preferable to the base 1.6, though the 2.0-litre turbo-diesel is the only genuinely potent engine south of the flagship ST. Equally, the slick six-speed dual-clutch auto is the pick over the manual.

Levels of standard kit in the Focus aren’t as generous as some rivals. The Sport and Titanium are starting to feel decently equipped, but they kick off at $25,890 and $32,990 respectively.

By all means, buy a Focus now if you spot an enticing deal. But otherwise it’s probably worth holding out for the refreshed 2015 model, which will feature Ford’s desirable 1.0-litre turbo three-cylinder engine among the upgrades.

There’s also a Touring wagon (with IRS – the hatches have a torsion beam), which is a body variant offered by few rivals. And in terms of styling and finish, Korean cars have come far, and the i30 is a prime example.

There’s plenty of showroom-appeal, then. So, how does the i30 drive?

Though the turbo-diesel is thrifty, with an official combined cycle figure of 4.5L/100km, it’s not the most refined small oiler, while the 110KW 1.8- and 129kW 2.0-litre petrol engines, while offering competitive outputs, are no more or less than decent.

The i30 is a comfortable, agreeable drive, but it’s not quite in the league of terrific steers such as the Focus, or fine handlers such as the Mazda3 and Volkswagen Golf. Despite its push-button steering modes, the Hyundai’s electric steering falls short of best-in-class while the dynamics are a fraction rough around the edges.

Some the i30’s value dissipates at the top end of the range. They’re well equipped, but the Premium and Elite variants cost more than $30K, at which point up-spec variants of class-leading rivals such as the Mazda3 and Golf come firmly into the value equation.

But at the value-packed bottom end of the range the i30, with its enviable reliability reputation and five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, makes a compelling case to buy Korean.