Family Car 'comparison'
The choice for local family car buyers has never been broader. The good old days of local manufacturers carving up the market between them with full-size sedans and wagons are long gone. These days there are close to 50 brands trying to convince you their family-focussed model is best can be overwhelming. In some cases there are even disparate models fighting for your attention within marques.
Huge leaps in space efficiency and engineering innovation have seen smaller models step up to the family car plate. The range of quality midsize options is staggering. And some of the most popular large family 'cars' aren't even cars anymore, thanks to the phenomenal rise of the SUV.
To try and make sense of the myriad options available, we narrowed the field down to models broadly representing small, medium and large car choices. Each of our choices also aligned to a specific price segment -- across the $20K, $30K and $40K (plus) brackets.
And to put them through their paces we strapped in three families of five. Mum and Dad sharing wheel time on an urban jungle test loop, with kids of various ages and sizes following in the back; complete with child restraints and booster seats as required.
The test drive was a mix of city suburban driving, from stop-start in built-up areas, to freer flowing sections, mixed with the odd twist and turn. The aim was to provide enough variety to get a feel for each car from behind the wheel and in the passenger seats.
Each family started with a Toyota Corolla (hatch), transferred to a Mazda6 (wagon), and finished with Ford's Territory (SUV) and from there we captured feedback across each group. In the name of family democracy a kid's comment about the colour of a door handle was as valid as a parent's opinion of a car's handling or comfort.
To assist the appraisal of the cars by our families, we broke the evaluation into six areas (with a few thought-starters on the assessment sheet for each).
Ease-of-use
Are the controls well placed and simple to use?
Is the car easy to drive?
Visibility okay?
Design
Styling grab you?
How does the interior look and feel?
Nifty features you particularly liked... or not?
Handling
Is the steering light, heavy, or just right?
Does the car feel secure on the road?
Brakes
Sharp, soft and jerky?
Progressive, firm and strong?
Something else altogether?
Performance
Enough get up and go?
Is the transmission smooth?
Do the gears feel right?
And finally, we encouraged each family group to nominate what they liked most and least about each car and why. The aim wasn't to compare the cars directly. Rather it was to get an overall impression on how it (and the type of vehicle) stacked up as family transport.
THE FAMILIES
Our three families were the Cleary Clan [Ed: suspiciously, this family appears to link to the writer!]; The Coffey Crew and Team Thomas.
The Clearys, James and Anne, brought along Rachel (9), Elis and Tom (both 3). Andrew and Kim Coffey were ably assisted by Madison (11), Ameila (9) and Liam (5), while Ian and Di Thomas were aided and abetted by Edward (9), William (7) and Tom*.
(Thomas Cleary came off the interchange bench to round up the Thomas family number).
The three families' current key transports are worth noting at this point. The Coffeys drive a 2003 Subaru Liberty wagon, while the Thomas family has a 2009 Mitsubishi Outlander. The Cleary clan's family truckster is a 'classic' 1990 Mercedes-Benz 300 TE
THE CARS
While not necessarily the top-seller in each of their categories, the cars we chose are popular choices for new car buyers. The three cars are, we believe, representative of their type -- there may arguably be better examples of their breeds, but none of the three are underperformers.
SUV: Ford Territory Ghia AWD
CUTTING TO THE CHASE
Our families' verdicts on each of these cars and categories can be viewed via the above links, but if you can't stand the suspense read on...
In choosing from this family assortment much of the taste testing went according to expectations. But there were several significant surprises along the way.
Blind Freddy could see the big Ford Territory would deliver copious amounts of passenger and cargo space, as well as solid 'big six' performance. But he'd be surprised by the less than inspiring ride comfort that comes with it.
And on the other end of the size spectrum, the Toyota Corolla represents the current generation of impressively space (and fuel) efficient small cars. In the spirit of Dr Who's Tardis it blew everyone away by feeling much bigger on the inside than it looks from the outside.
If the kids are still in the ankle-biter category, and you can get away with a modest load space, a small car may just be the family car you need.
But when push (quite literally) comes to shove, the positive qualities of the Mazda6 should make you think twice about opting for the bigger bulk, not to mention bigger fuel bills, of even a relatively compact and 'car like' SUV. Which one would you really rather three-point-turn, park and navigate through Suburbia's automotive minefield?
And it's a comfortable size or two up from the small car class, which pays off most notably in extra performance and cargo capacity. Like its mid-size competitors the Mazda6 (especially in wagon form) offers plenty of room for five, generous load space and spirited performance. And it's definitely up for a highway holiday.
In the opinion of our test families, the Mazda6 is the tastiest option. Scotch Finger? Milk Arrowroot? C'mon... try the Choc Ripple. You might be surprised.
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