There are two types of parents who need kid-friendly cars: Those who admit it, and those who don't.
Of course, both kinds of parents want the same things: space, comfort and safety features. Getting them is just a matter of finding the right balance between fashion and function.
"Some people would say their choice is defined by the family friendliness," says David Caldwell, a spokesman for Cadillac. "Others would define their purchase by other things and then hope they get some family friendliness along the way."
Form and function go hand-in-hand for many different amenities, like mid-row captains' chairs that swivel and fold in vehicles like the
Toyota Highlander and
Dodge Grand Caravan. The chairs create more space, both for longer road trips and for playing games when the car is parked. Kids like the chairs because they feel like the "grown-up" seats Mom and Dad sit in up front.
Safety Disguised as Entertainment
While kids might want to feel as though they're sitting in grown-up seats, chances are they still want to be entertained like kids. Dual DVD screens inside the headrests of the new
Cadillac SRX crossover, available in dealerships this summer, offer just that sort of appeal. But there's an added benefit: They ensure a safer ride.
Headrest screens are safer than ceiling-mounted ones because they don't distract the driver, who needs to see out the rear window. And the ability to watch a different movie on each headrest means siblings won't quibble about what to watch, distracting the driver further. Screens mounted in the headrest also eliminate the chances of a free-standing DVD player or computer flying loose in a crash.
"Anything that you transport, whether it's baseball equipment or even like a purse or a laptop or a briefcase, all of those items if you were to slam on your brake or get into a crash, they become potential missiles in your vehicle," says Jennifer Huebner, AAA's manager of traffic safety programs. "They actually have a lot of crash force behind [them] and can really injure or kill an occupant."
Simple Form, Greater Function
The best family vehicles, however, are built with more in mind than just entertaining children, says
Volvo spokesman Dan Johnston. Volvo, which was the first to introduce many now-common safety innovations (including the three-point safety belt, padded instrument panels, rear seat belts, front head restraints and child-proof safety locks), focuses on simple innovations that serve greater purposes.
Some of Volvo's newer amenities, for example, are built-in booster seats and "variable spool" seat belts that can detect whether they need to fit a child or an adult. The two-step booster seat (standard in the
XC70 and offered in the
V70 and newest
XC60) starts out flat like a normal seat and can be lifted to two different heights, positioning the child to more easily see outside the car--but the true advantage is that it forces the child to wear the seat belt properly. It's a simple, ergonomic and safe solution for parents exasperated with squirrelly children who want to look out the window.
Along those same lines, children tend to have lots of toys or items they want to take everywhere. In-floor storage space in the 2009 Honda Odyssey and a U-rail cargo-holding system in the 2009 Cadillac CTS sport wagon keep the car clear of clutter.
Room to Spread Out
Along with clutter, there's also the need to fit bigger items, such as groceries or more people. That's why second-row seats that pop all the way forward at the touch of a button to allow easy access to the third row, as they do in the 2009 Ford Flex, routinely earn high marks from consumer reviews.
Kate Pearce, marketing manager for the Flex, says that the third row in a vehicle is often viewed as purposeless since it's so hard to get into. "You have it, but you can't really use it for all that you want," she says. The push-button function changes that.
The important thing to remember is that no one type of vehicle--whether a wagon, crossover, SUV or sedan--is right for every family. Choose one with amenities that work for your family's needs. If those amenities provide an extra measure of safety or style, even better.
