Family car report

Our family car was showing signs of old age. Always an uncomplaining workhorse, after four years of family abuse my confidence in its reliability had begun to falter.

As anyone who has opened a search for a new car knows, there are a bewildering array of makes and models competing for consumer affections. For those looking for a family-friendly vehicle, these choices can be consolidated into a few particular styles and sizes.

​Vans/MPVs
Multipurpose passenger vehicles are to today's families what the station wagon was to parents of Ozzie and Harriet vintage.

The Caravan and Voyager models built by Chrysler, the Toyota Previa, the Nissan Quest and its sister the Mercury Villager, and Ford's Windstar are the most favored in a crowded field of entries.

The popularity of these vans has obscured their fundamental flaw: strictly speaking they are trucks not cars. For families, this means that they do not always meet the minimum safety requirements established for cars -- from sturdier bumpers to dynamic side impact standards.

Mazda's MPV is smaller than its competitors, and when configured with the third row of seats, the trunk space is little bigger than that of a small sedan. We were, however, able to move easily throughout the vehicle, which boasts a passenger side door[not a slider] that my four year old effortlessly opened.

Like the Mazda, Toyota's Previa offers easy access to the middle two seats, where kids usually sit, and a larger storage area behind the third seat. My wife, sitting in the passenger's front seat, was able to walk, crouching of course, to the back seat area to tend to our toddler, a real advantage over traditionally configured vehicles when dealing with young children on long trips.

4X4s
The Jeep Cherokee established a family niche for four wheel drive vehicles. The market it claimed all but to itself for years is now studded with challengers from all major manufacturers.

The Cherokee, Nissan's Pathfinder, Ford's Explorer, and entries from Honda and Izuzu each offer the accouterments of passenger cars with the high driving capabilities of the trucks that they are. For most families, these vehicles are glorified station wagons, with the benefit of on demand four wheel drive, a large storage space [although smaller than traditional wagons], and an elevated driving vantage point.

Station Wagons 
Station wagons divide according to size and safety features. Ford's ubiquitous Taurus and Sable wagons, along with the Volvo models are the top choices among the larger vehicles, with seating for six as well as an optional pull up third seat in the cargo area.

The Volvos offer a renowned safety record, plenty of room for passengers and cargo, and leather seats, which offer the utility of vinyl[spills are easy to cleanup]. They were, however, the most uncomfortable vehicles to drive of all that I tested -- difficult to enter from the driver's side {I've got a bad back} and their boxy design translates into a ride and steering regimen that took me back to my first station wagon driving experiences in the early seventies.
The Taurus, like the Volvo wagons, has plenty of room to seat three in the back seat. The crushed velour seats can pose clean up problems. In all of our cars I have taken the precaution of spreading out a thin green camping tarp over the entire seat.

The Toyota Camry and Subaru Legacy wagons occupy the middle rung of popular family vehicles. Both offer significantly less room than the Taurus and Volvo in the critical back seat and storage areas. In this respect they are more like the Ford Escort, which seat three in back with difficulty.

The Camrys are statistically among the most reliable of cars, an important consideration for trekking families. Subarus generally receive lower marks.
Slightly smaller than their more expensive siblings are Toyota's Corolla, the slow selling Subaru Loyale, and the Ford Escort, now styled by Mazda. Reliability, price, and resale value rather than size and family-friendliness are what set these cars apart from each other.

Although it sometimes seems that way, there is no commandment requiring families to buy station wagons. Many of today's sedans, including the new Nissan Sentra, offer plenty of room. Our family of four travelled recently from Washington to Philadelphia. There was plenty of room for us and the luggage, stowed out of site in the trunk. And for city dwellers, the smaller wagons and sedans make for easier parking and urban orienteering.
On one occasion, five of us loaded up a Honda Accord for a three week summer stay in New Hampshire, 9 long highway hours from our Gaithersburg home.

My two kids and a babysitter sat with reasonable comfort in the back seat and there was plenty of room in the trunk. I for one was happy to have our assorted bags, cases, water wings, pails, and bike helmets thankfully hidden out of sight.

The wall that has divided wagons from minivans is now crumbling. The recent introduction of the Honda Odyssey -- "the first minivan that is built like a car" -- reflects the attempt to marry the advantages offered by each auto style ... and bring both MPV and wagon enthusiasts to the showroom.