A baby’s due and it’s time to sell your two-door sportscar and get hold of something a little more practical. But don’t be too hasty; your little treasure’s imminent arrival doesn't mean the fun has to stop; here, you’ll find eight of the coolest family cars covering everything from four-seater sportscars to EVs and SUVs. Buckle up as we guide you through eight of the coolest family cars.
Eight of the coolest family cars
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1. Ferrari FF
We couldn’t have a list of the coolest family cars and not include the Ferrari FF. As you’d expect, the FF is stunning, with a shooting brake-style boot that makes it practical enough to be a family sportscar.
And it’s very sporty. Power comes from a 6.3-litre 660PS (485kW) V12 that’s good for 0-62mph in 3.7 seconds and an outrageous 208mph top speed. Pure performance wasn’t enough for Ferrari, though, because the FF comes equipped with a high-tech four-wheel-drive system that sends power to the back wheels, then back to the fronts when the extra grip is needed.
On the inside, it feels fittingly exotic for a car that’s so quick. Leather is everywhere, you get four bucket seats, and the front seat passenger gets a separate readout for RPM and top speed, a must for any self-respecting codriver.
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2. Volkswagen Golf GTI
Pound for pound, the Volkswagen Golf is one of the planet’s best family cars; sticking a GTI badge on its grille adds light coolness.
First, to the boring stuff, when it comes to practicality, the Golf’s cabin is a paragon of intelligent design. It’s not the biggest car, but four tall adults can fit just fine; the boot is roomy and well-designed, and other small storage spaces litter the cabin. Only the fiddly infotainment lets the side down.
Point it down a twisty road, though, and you’ll see another side to the Golf’s character. Its turbocharged 245PS (180kW) 2.0-litre engine delivers punchy performance – 0-62mph in 6.2 seconds and a 155mph top speed – and the GTI feels tight and controlled in bends. Excellent cruising refinement and fuel economy of 45mpg confirm the VW as a sensible – but cool – choice.
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3. Aston Martin Rapide
Buying an Aston Martin Rapide new made precisely zero sense. Bone stock it cost £150,000, but even if you could afford that, few could stomach its plummeting depreciation – especially when a Porsche Panamera cost half the price and was arguably twice as good.
The Aston had one significant advantage over the Porsche, however – it was pretty. It looked like a DB9 with rear doors; as we all know, the DB9 is one of the most beautiful cars ever built. Sure, the back seat wasn’t the most practical, but, trust us, lanky teenagers will happily make do.
Confirming the Aston’s ‘family sports car’ credentials is its 6.0-litre V12 hidden under its vast bonnet, which is good for 476PS (350kW) and a school-run-friendly 184mph max speed.
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4. Toyota FJ Cruiser
The Toyota FJ Cruiser most definitely is not a family sportscar, but a cool family car? You bet it is. The FJ has more character in its (not so) little wing mirror than a Nissan Qashqai has in its entire body, thanks to a retro design that harks back to the FJ40 – Toyota’s answer to the Willys Jeep.
You’ll feel like you can tackle almost anything from behind the FJ’s wheel. As well as four-wheel drive and low-range gears, the Toyota has a locking centre differential and a rugged ladder frame chassis that is pretty much unburstable – examples of people trying and failing are all over YouTube. On the road, it’s soft and wallowing (let’s call it gloriously old school), but the 4.0-litre V6 242PS (178kW) delivers surprising performance.
A colossal boot and small (better-than-no) rear doors mean it is pretty practical, and rock-solid residuals indicate it’s a better long-term buy than a Qashqai ever could be.
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5. BMW M135i
The BMW M135i – the proper one – is the closest a hatchback gets to being a family sportscar. Its specs read like a performance car checklist. Multi-cylinders? Check. Plus-300PS? Check. Rear-wheel drive with a manual gearbox… you get the idea.
To an extent, the BMW meant you could have your cake and eat it. The option of five doors and a practical shape implied it was a sensible purchase to wary other halves. But it also sounded brilliant and could oversteer on demand thanks to a turbocharged straight-six with 320PS (235kW) and 450Nm (331lb ft) torque. It got from 0-62mph in 5.1 seconds and was limited to 155mph.
Unfortunately, as the new front-wheel drive M135i proves, the old model wasn’t great for families, with its rear-drive setup eating into back seat space and boot capacity.
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6. Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo Turbo S
In the current Panamera, Porsche has hit upon a winning formula with a car that drives even better than the older model while also managing not to be hideously ugly, and the Sport Turismo is the best-looking of the lot.
There’s a Panamera for pretty much any occasion – including a choice of powerful PHEVs – but for maximum enjoyment, we’d advise playing it safe with the Turbo S. Its razor-sharp responses contrast the sticky pickup of the hybrid models and – with its 4.0-litre V8 engine producing 630PS (463kW) for 0-62mph in 3.1 seconds and a 196mph top speed – fair to say, it’s not short of puff.
But this family sportscar is also practical. The high-tech interior has acres of rear legroom, and the estate-style boot is as happy carrying Fido as it is making trips to the tip.
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7. Hyundai Ioniq 5
The Hyundai Ioniq 5 is arguably the coolest EV to emanate from South Korea, which is saying something because cars like the Ioniq 6 and Kia EV6 aren’t short of compliments. But there’s an effortless cool to the Ioniq 5’s boxy shape, bold creases and dot matrix light show.
The design plays a clever trick on your eyes because while it looks like a hatchback in pictures, it’s as big as an SUV in the metal. It’s vast inside as a result, and Hyundai has taken full advantage of the car’s electric powertrain giving it an entirely flat floor and a dashboard that floats free of the centre console.
The AWD Long Range is also speedy. The 306PS (225kW) produced by its electric motors is enough to hurtle the big Korean from 0-62mph in 5.2 seconds, while its instant 605Nm (446lb ft) of torque make driving quickly wholly effortless. Even the range doesn’t spoil things, Hyundai claims up to 286 miles between charges.
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8. Mazda RX-8
The Mazda RX-8 is the original cool family car. Coming from the same people that brought us the MX-5 – the world’s best-selling sportscar – the RX-8 looks lean and agile, and its suicide rear doors are cool but practical.
Its rotary engine defines the RX-8’s character. It’s turbine smooth and seemingly free of inertia as it spins to a giddy 8,200rpm redline. A power output of 231PS (170kW) means the Mazda is quick – 0-62mph takes 6.4 seconds, and it has a top speed of 146mph – but torque of just 211Nm (155lb ft) at 5,500rpm means you need to work it hard to make progress.
Keeping the RX-8 on the boil isn’t an issue, though. It darts into corners beautifully, and the engine’s progressive power delivery gives you plenty of traction. The famous unreliability of the Wankel engine only makes the experience more exciting, we’re assured, but at least there are a raft of specialists who know how to fix it.
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