You can buy a practical car that has enough room for all your stuff without resorting to a full-sized SUV or MPV. There’s a huge amount of compact wallet-friendly family cars available on the market, from well-designed lifestyle crossovers, to super-practical small estate cars. Family car buyers have never had it so good, and we think the Ford Focus ticks all the boxes for family buyers looking for all of the above.
You know where you stand with a Ford Focus, which is exactly why its our Small Family Car of the Year. A favourite with UK buyers, the Focus remains the best hatchback to drive if you want to have fun, but its talents don’t end there. There’s a vast number of engine and trim level combinations to pick from – whether you want frugality or a B-road blast – and it doesn’t cost a fortune to run. The cabin is solid, the seats are comfy and it’s packed with equipment (with the option to add plenty more). Most importantly, it has far more interior space than you’d expect – ideal for a family. For all these reasons it takes the win.
The Kia Ceed has really matured in this latest generation, with the traditional hatchback forming one part of a large family of Ceed models, spanning an estate, shooting brake and trendy crossover. Inside there’s a well-built and logically laid out interior that’s packed with standard equipment across the range, there’s a generous amount of rear-seat space and one of the biggest boots for a car of its size. It’s also very easy to drive with a composed ride and surprising agility, and gives plenty of ownership peace of mind with a generous seven-year warranty. It just loses to the Focus purely because rear-seat room isn’t quite as ample.
The Skoda Scala arrived to replace the old Rapid, and in doing so, has become a car that’s worth paying attention to. Its footprint is more compact than the larger Octavia, but Skoda has managed to squeeze the same amount of rear legroom into the back of the Scala as its older brother. There’s a simple line-up of engines and trim levels to pick from, and overall driving experience is one of comfort and ease. From behind the wheel, the dash is slickly-designed with few frills – it just works. Plus, in the right spec it’s rather more eye-catching than Skodas of old, but it just misses out to the Ford – the Focus’s range is just far broader.
