Christmas is just around the corner, and for many people this brings with it a family road trip during the holiday break.
We get a lot of people coming in to make sure their car is serviced and ready to go for their long drive, we also get a lot of people coming in to update their car around this time. With that in mind, I thought I’d give the top three most important factors I look for in a great family car.
Number One – Safety features & safety rating. New cars today are the safest they have ever been but this also means that you may feel overwhelmed when looking at the list of features. Some of the key features to keep an eye out for are fatigue detection, lane departure warnings, active cruise control, autonomous emergency braking, and reverse cameras. Don’t forget to check the safety rating as well, you can check them all online on the ANCAP website.
Number Two – Comfort. A long road trip would be awful if you have an uncomfortable seat or your children are squished in the back. You can now get a 7-seater SUV for under 30k, for example the Mitsubishi Outlander. Before you would have had to have a huge 4WD or a minivan to accomplish the same comfort and capacity. Make sure you take a 24-hour test drive when you are making this decision, as a 30-minute drive won’t help you judge how comfortable those big road trips may be, and test it out properly, load the kids up, the car seats, the luggage and see how it goes.
Number Three – Cost and convenience. Every family has budget and a timetable to stick to. Total cost of the car doesn’t just include the final price of the car, remember to look at servicing intervals and costs, warranties, the finance package, and the convenience offers from the dealership that could save you time and money, such as a like for like courtesy car when yours is in for a service.
Debbie Clark is the Dealer Principal at Nepean Motor Group. Visit http://www.nepeanmotorgroup.com.au.
