A Guide to Picking the Perfect Family Vehicle
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Image Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
Among the most important parts of any family budget is the car on the drive. Your choice of vehicle will determine how much you spend each month on fuel, insurance, tax and a whole range of other things. It can also make life much more convenient, if you’re willing to spend a little extra on the features that really matter to you.
But exactly what kind of vehicle should you consider? Let’s take a look at a few factors worth considering.
Seating space & boot size for everyday life
One thing that you’ll quickly realise as your family grows, is that you can never have too much space in the car. This means leg room to accommodate growing adolescents and enough space in the boot for all of the luggage you’ll be taking on holiday. You might be surprised, in fact, how much room in the boot is consumed by day-to-day family life; sports bags, dog crates and groceries can quickly consume the space you have available. Look at the volume of space available, and test vehicles with a typical load.
Safety features & crash-test ratings
The good news is that the vast majority of modern cars are extremely safe. They have to be, since there are stringent regulations to abide by. To get an idea of how a given car will perform in a crash, as well as how likely you are to avoid the crash in the first place, you might look at the results published by the testing agency Euro NCAP. Five-star vehicles are now common, thanks to technological aids like Automatic Emergency Braking and lane assist. Families with young children might also look at ISOFIX anchor points, which will ensure that car seats remain fixed in place throughout the journey.
History checks & outstanding recalls
Before agreeing to a purchase, you’ll want to consider the background of the vehicle. Look at the mileage on the odometer, and check it against what’s been recorded in the MOT history. You can perform an MOT history check with the help of simple online tools. It’s also worth looking at product recalls and checking that the manufacturer hasn’t spotted any problems with safety-critical features like the brakes and airbags.
Running costs: Fuel, tax & maintenance
The longer you intend to keep the vehicle, the more you’ll want to think about running costs. After all, if a car costs a lot to run, then a low list price might not tell the full story. Polluting vehicles are likely to come with hefty tax bills, especially after the recent adjustment of rates of Vehicle Excise Duty. The cost of insurance, fuel and servicing might also be considerable – so make sure that you have an idea of how much you’ll be spending each week, given the distances you normally travel.
This is a guest post and therefore these are not necessarily the views of Index Digital.
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