Top 10 Family Cars for 2009

Running a family is a lot like running a small business. The family needs to track income, reduce expenses and schedule a dizzying array of activities in order for it to function smoothly. One of the most "mission critical" pieces of equipment in a family is transportation. Therefore, reliability is of utmost importance. When a car is down for service, it throws off family finances and schedules, which these days, is unacceptable.  

Along with reliability, a family car needs to get family members where they are going efficiently and safely. Efficiency protects budgets, and safety protects the most important thing of all, our loved ones. That's why Autotropolis is dedicated to ranking vehicles based on the real-world needs of today's active families. On our top 10 family cars for 2009 list, you will find vehicles created from the ground up to suit the needs of today's families, at any budget.

A total of 10 cars were selected as our top family friendly vehicles. Vehicles were chosen and ranked based on their reliability, value, convenience & comfort, child friendliness and safety characteristics. According to our research, reliability and safety are of primary importance for families of any size, so those two factors garnered extra attention when assembling our list. Top-ranked vehicles were selected by safety ratings awarded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) combined with our unique methodology of determining reliability, overall value and suitability for the task at hand -- running your family.