Best family SUVs in 2025

Large, luxurious and capable of carrying three Isofix child seats across the second row, the Audi Q7 is a practical and stylish SUV. It might be advancing in age, but it's still an excellent buy, and it's becoming more affordable on the used market. 

Few cars come close to matching the Q7 for family car usability. The interior is vast and comfortably fits seven adults. Each of the middle-row chairs slides and reclines independently, while the outer seats tip and tumble to provide access to the third row. You can also fold the rearmost seats flat into the floor to swallow pushchairs, buggies and large suitcases. 

The majority of buyers choose their Q7 with 3.0-litre V6 diesel power, and that's the sweet spot between performance, price and running costs. However, there are also powerful, smooth petrol engines, and the potent SQ7 was available with V8 diesel and petrol power throughout its life. At the other end of the scale, there's the Q7 e-tron plug-in hybrid, which combines that diesel V6 with an electric motor for ultimate economy potential, although you lose the third row of seats as a result.

Any Q7 is good to drive, with responsive steering and good body control over rough road surfaces. For the best comfort, we’d recommend buying a Q7 fitted with air suspension.

The Kia EV9 is the only fully electric car on this list, but it warrants inclusion due to the ludicrous amount of space and practicality it delivers. Regardless of whether you compare it to electric cars or combustion-engined cars, the EV9 is hugely roomy, with each of its seven seats (you can also have it with six for more luxury) surrounded by enough headroom and legroom to accommodate a six-foot adult in reasonable comfort. Even with all the seats in use, you still get a shade more boot space than in your average supermini, and if you can live without the rearmost chairs, they fold into the boot floor to leave a gargantuan 828-litre load area.

The cabin looks smart and high on quality, too, even if it can’t quite match the plush feel of a premium-badged SUV, but you are compensated for this by a hugely generous list of standard equipment.

All versions have a 100kWh battery. The entry-level car has a single motor and an official driving range of 348 miles, while higher-spec cars have an additional motor for more power, but range only drops to 313 miles.

The EV9 has a softer suspension than some of Kia’s other models, so it rides more comfortably - important in a car like this - and it handles capably. Sure, the sheer size of the car can make it feel a bit cumbersome in tight urban areas, but lots of sensors and cameras are provided to help out.

The latest Hyundai Tucson has moved on from the budget-focused car that its predecessors were, but it’s still a very appealing car. This is an SUV that’s moved upmarket - much like its maker - and it now has a glitzy look that makes it stand out compared with the competition, even many of the more premium offerings.

The interior design is perhaps less visually arresting, but the quality on show inside the Tucson is in no doubt, with plush materials and thoughtful finishes. The cabin is absolutely stuffed with luxury kit, too, and the all-important infotainment system is one of the best in the business.

Where the Tucson really impresses, though, is on passenger space. There’s absolutely loads of the stuff, especially in the rear of the five-seat cabin, meaning that a tall passenger can sit comfortably behind a similarly lofty driver, and travelling three-abreast on the rear bench won’t be uncomfortable, either. Meanwhile, boot space that measures up to 620-litres is among the most generous luggage figures in the class.

There’s no diesel engine on offer, so you choose between petrol, mild hybrid, conventional hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains. There isn’t a duffer among them, but do bear in mind the more electrification your Tuscon has, the smaller the boot space becomes. The ride isn’t quite as forgiving as some cars in the class, but it’s comfortable enough and things stay impressively tidy and controlled in the corners.

The Peugeot 5008 started life as a van-like MPV family car that prioritised space and practicality over style and luxury. However, in 2017, the 5008 was reborn as a smart 7-seat SUV, blending all of those attributes in a more desirable package - thank goodness.

Despite its more appealing look and striking, high-tech cabin design, the 5008 still majors on space and practicality. This means you get lots of head- and legroom, with three separate seats in the second row that recline, fold and slide. Each middle seat has an Isofix mount and top tether points that make it easy to fasten three child seats. The third-row has top tether points but no Isofix mounts, so these can only be used with seat belt-secured child seats.

The 5008 is available with 1.5-litre or 2.0-litre diesel engines - the former is a solid all-rounder, and while the latter is pricey and automatic-only, it's great for towing. But it's the surprising 130PS 1.2-litre turbo petrol engine that's the star of the show: it punches well above its weight and is affordable. 

If you need more power still, there's a 180PS 1.6-litre, but it's auto-only and only available on higher trims. Oddly, though, it's not available as a plug-in hybrid: if you need one of those, you'll have to sacrifice the third row of seats and get the smaller Peugeot 3008. Alternatively, you could pick the e-5008 that has all the talents listed above combined with EV power.

The Citroen C5 Aircross is a large and quirky family SUV that majors on comfort and practicality. A typical Citroen, then.

We particularly like the interior, which has three individual rear seats and a large boot that will cope with everything your family can throw at it. It also seems designed for the rough-and-tumble of family life, with hard-wearing materials and plenty of storage. 

There are Isofix mounts for the two outer rear seats, plus two top tether points for these. The three rear seats all slide back and forth independently, although you can't use an Isofix seat in the centre rear seat.

Unlike some of its rivals, the C5 Aircross doesn’t pretend to be a sporty car. The handling is soft and comfort-orientated, which means the suspension will soak up the lumps and bumps in the road without passing any unpleasant rattles or movements to the cabin.

The Citroen C5 Aircross has a similar engine lineup to the Peugeot 5008, meaning the excellent 1.2-litre Puretech 130 petrol is the pick of the range. It's punchy, reasonably refined, will crack 40mpg and is affordable to buy. 

The Nissan Qashqai has always been an immensely popular car, but the latest model has a wider range of talents than ever before. 

It's the little things that make the Nissan Qashqai an excellent family SUV. The rear doors open much wider than usual, making fitting child seats a piece of cake. When you're not carrying the children, the rear seats drop entirely flat to leave a massive boot for taking garden waste to the tip or collecting flat-pack furniture.

There's a clever hybrid model, which uses a petrol engine as a generator for the electric motor, rather than driving the wheels directly. This means it feels a lot like an electric car, but you don't have to faff around charging it. Importantly for the school run, it's also able to run under electric power for very short distances. Otherwise, the mild-hybrid 1.3-litre turbo petrol engines are both smooth and reasonably economical. They need some revs to get the best out of them, however. 

The original Skoda Kodiaq was about as sensible as family cars could get, and was replaced in 2024 with a mk2 version that turned the sensible dial all the way up to eleven, if that doesn't sound too, well, unsensible.

Here was a car with even more space for passengers and luggage, more technology and an even higher-quality interior finish.

There's ample space for seven, plus a big boot that's still a decent size with all seven chairs in use. Sure, you can have it with five seats instead, but we think the car is at its best with seven.

The thing that sets the Kodiaq apart for family car buyers, though, is the suite of Skoda's trademark 'Simply Clever' features. These are ingenious little design touches aimed at making family life a little easier - such as an ice scraper concealed beneath the fuel filler flap - and they really work.

OK, so the Kodiaq is no longer the bargain it once was, but it still feels like great value-for-money and running costs will be reasonable. Used values are fair, so choosing either the first or latest generation Kodiaq is a canny move.

The Mercedes GLB is an alternative to cars like the Audi Q3 and Volvo XC40 based on the A-Class hatchback. Mercedes has somehow managed to squeeze seven seats into the GLB's compact and stylish body.

While it's hardly the roomiest model in this list, its clever packaging might make you think twice about an Audi Q7. Not only is it significantly cheaper, but being smaller and lighter, it's also easier to park, more agile to drive and doesn't need thirsty, powerful engines to get it along the road. 

You get a wonderful tech-packed interior in the Mercedes GLB, while the middle bench slides back and forth allowing you to prioritise where you need space. It has 100mm more space between the front and rear wheels than an A-Class, but the rearmost seats are only really suited to occasional use. That's fine for those times when your youngest wants to bring friends home for tea, though.

In terms of engines, there's the usual mix of petrol or diesel power. If you want your family SUV to be a little more exciting, Mercedes even offers an AMG version badged the GLB 35. It's not cheap, but it's pretty rapid, and sounds the part, too.

The Volkswagen Tiguan has always been a favourite with family car buyers, and the latest version - released in 2024 - will likely do nothing to change that - it's an excellent all-rounder.

The smartly conservative looks and desirable image are what buyers have always loved about the Tiguan, along with the high-class interior quality and mountains of luxury kit that customers demand.

It's roomy enough to carry five adults in comfort, and it'll also take a vast slice of luggage at the same time thanks to a large 652-litre boot (although this drops to 490 litres if you choose the plug-in hybrid version).

It's a pleasant car to travel in thanks to a reasonably settled ride and handling that's neat and tidy, while the engines we've tried have enough poke to pull you around at a reasonable rate, although it's also true that some have to work surprisingly hard to do so.

The Hyundai Santa Fe has been providing unfathomably good family transport for many years now. Should you choose the model that was replaced in 2024, we would applaud your canny decision and eye for a great family SUV. However, we'd also have the sneaky suspicion you might prefer the latest generation model.

The previous Santa Fe is a brilliant car in almost every way, but then so is the latest one and it has the advantage of looking sensational. It's big, some might say brash, looks stand out in any crowd and it has more than enough swagger to deal with Audi, BMW, Land Rover or Mercedes-Benz SUVs in the kids football car park.

The Santa Fe may not have the off-road prowess of the Land Rover Discovery, but how many owners ever explore this? Right about none, and those that do have already bought a Discovery. So, pick the Santa Fe, love its looks, its hybrid power that's an option, and a cabin that seats seven in superb comfort.