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    What family car should I buy?

    I'm currently driving a Ford Focus and it's just not big enough for our family. As such, we're currently looking for a car that has more space; room for two car seats in the back, plenty of boot space for offspring-paraphernalia, is safe, comfortable and just really practical. We're looking to spend no more than $25,000 so we've been considering 2017-2018 Kia Sportage, Hyundai Tucson, Mazda CX-5 and Skoda Octavia wagon in mid-range specs. They all seem like great cars, so we have no idea which way we should go. Help!

    Answered by CarsGuide
    6 June 2020
    David Morley

    Aussie families love SUVs and, given your circumstances, you’d be buying an SUV for the right reasons, most notably easy access to the child-restraints in the back seat. That means the Tucson, Sportage and CX-5 make sense, while the Skoda, with its conventional wagon body and lower ride height might make this process a little tougher. The Skoda’s dual-clutch transmission also remains to provide anxiety for some owners and it represents the biggest potential common problem among the group of vehicles you’ve listed.

    As far as general reliability goes, there was a time when the Japanese makes (in this case Mazda) were regarded more highly than the South Korean brands (Kia and Hyundai) but that’s absolutely no longer the case. And when it comes to the Kia Sportage, a 2018-built car will still have three or four years of factory warranty left to run. That would be enough to sway many buyers and is definitely worth taking into account.

    Disclaimer: You acknowledge and agree that all answers are provided as a general guide only and should not be relied upon as bespoke advice. Carsguide is not liable for the accuracy of any information provided in the answers.
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