Hatchback Cars for Family of Four

[Kiwi Mustache]

How do people find Honda Fits, Toyota Vitz, Suzuki Swifts, etc for a family of four?

Also as children grow older/taller into teenagers and for weekend trips away.

My wife already has a Toyota Corolla hatch, and my car needs replacing shortly.

[neo von retorch]

We find them on Craigslist, but I don't think that's what you're asking!

I don't have kids, but I've did a road trip with two friends from Pennsylvania to South Carolina with all our stuff. My friends both fell asleep.

[Kapiira]

We have a Honda Fit.  My kids are 5 and 8, and so far all of our stuff fits for road trips and camping trips.  We plan on using roof racks and a cargo carrier when we need more space.

[MayDay]

We have 2 kids and the civic is miserable for long trips and impossible for camping (no hitch, no roof rack). They are also quickly running out of backseat room. We were gifted a van but when it dies we'll likely get a Camry or accord. The civic would be fine if all we needed was non camping weekend trips.

[mm1970]

We've got the Matrix, and love it.

For long camping trips, we have a roof rack/ Thule Box.

My boys are 10 and 3.

They are small.

I have friends who are tall (dad is over 6', both kids are tall, their 9 yo is a head taller than my 10 yo).  It probably would not work for them...kids would grow out of the back seat quickly.

[MsPeacock]

My kids are 9 and 13. The 9 year old is already 5 feet tall. I don't find the backseat of the small hatchbacks large enough for adult size people, and the storage isn't adequate for the sports/beach/camping gear that gets hauled around on the regular. I have a Ford Escape. I would love to hear what small hatchbacks have big enough back seats for adults. I'm happy with my car but wonder what works for other people.

[Shinplaster]

The original Versa has very roomy back seats.  We've had adults back there, and everyone is always surprised at the leg room.  2007-2012 Versas have a bigger hatch I think than the new models (or it seems that way to me).  I think you would need a roof rack for camping gear, etc., but you can shoehorn quite a bit into the hatch area.

[ShoulderThingThatGoesUp]

Really enjoying our new-to-us Ford CMax Energi. They might not sell it where you are, though.

[Gimesalot]

I love our Mazda 3 hatchback.  I rode in the back, behind my 6-foot husband and still felt like I had a lot of room.  The trunk area is huge, in my opinion.  The only downside is that the manual states that it should not be used for towing.

Also, it gets great gas mileage.  I can easily get about 40 mpg on the open intestate and over 30 mpg during city driving.

[mm1970]

My kids are 9 and 13. The 9 year old is already 5 feet tall. I don't find the backseat of the small hatchbacks large enough for adult size people, and the storage isn't adequate for the sports/beach/camping gear that gets hauled around on the regular. I have a Ford Escape. I would love to hear what small hatchbacks have big enough back seats for adults. I'm happy with my car but wonder what works for other people.

I would say the back seat works fine for adults, at least up to 5'5".  I'm 5'2", and my MIL is 5'5". 

May work for even taller, but maybe not behind my 6' tall husband.

[catccc]

We love our Matrix.  My kids are only 5 & 7, but they have large car seats, one of which is still RF. (So it takes a lot of front to back space.)  It will probably be replaced in a couple of years, and we are thinking of a prius or a mazda 3, since they stopped making the matrix.  I guess I don't worry much about the space in the backseat for my kids- they seem to be on track to be smaller than average gals.  (I am not quite 5 feet tall.  I suspect the older one may have more of dad's genes, but he isn't exactly towering, more average, at 5'11" ish.)  But there's plenty of space for a road trip, camping gear, etc.

[Stachetastic]

We have a Matrix and love it, but find we are quickly outgrowing it. DH is 6'4", and I'm 5'7". Kids are only 4 and 8 y.o., but growing taller every day. DH has requested something larger than a compact car when the time comes to replace. We still haven't decided what that will be.

[Cranky]

I drove to Florida and back in a Kia Rio with 4 adults a couple of years ago, and it was fine. In general, for just driving around town, we've had a Yaris, the Rio, and a Subaru Impreza, and they've all fit 4 people in them just fine.

I'd rather rent something bigger if I occasionally need something bigger (we rented a minivan for moving kids to/from college, for instance.)

Of those 3 cars, the Yaris has actually been the roomiest.

[acroy]

Mazda 3 hatch!
Practical and FUN.
If you 'need' more, minivans are awesome! Driven carefully, my 2008 Quest would get about 25mpg on road trips with 7 people and a weeks worth of stuff onboard. Best ever was 28.4mpg. That's 'real' mpg over the whole trip, not a downhill-with-the-wind segment.

[MoneyCat]

Really enjoying our new-to-us Ford CMax Energi. They might not sell it where you are, though.

We have a Ford C-Max Energi too. Very nice hatchback that is incredibly roomy inside with a ton of headroom. Fantastic fuel economy too, especially if you charge it up with solar panels. A regular hybrid version is available too for people who live in apartments or don't want to plug it in to charge.


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[MrsGreenPear]

We are currently a family of 2, but soon to become a family of 4 (twins due next month). We have a 2010 Nissan Versa hatchback. We have fit adults in the back no problem, but we were a bit concerned about 2 rear-facing carseats and then a stroller, etc. However, my husband just put in the seats to test and there's room to spare (could fit a small adult or another kid in between). The hatch easily fits the folded up stroller, a pack and play, or anything else we may need.