What are the Safest Family Vehicles?

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Every parent out there knows that you need a certain kind of car to accommodate for your little ones, especially if you haven't changed your ride since college. Raising children is like that pivotal moment in your life where having a two door coupe suddenly seems more of a liability than it does being cool. Let's be honest- trying to cram baby seats into the back of a sports car isn't very fun. When your car vocabulary starts changing from words like "powerful" to "practical" and you get a sudden interest in the number of air bags the vehicle comes equipped with, you know you're ready for a family car.

To better prepare for this stage of our lives, U.S. News and World Report comes out with an annual list of the best family vehicles, highlighting the best cars, vans, and SUV's for shoppers. The vehicles are rated based on overall quality, safety, and family friendly features. This year, they put the spotlight on both the Toyota Prius and Toyota Highlander Hybrid, which were awarded "Best Hatchback" and "Best Hybrid SUV"!

According to the report, the Prius was chosen because "it has the best combination of quality, size and family-friendly features in its class."

What does this mean? Since the vehicle is a hatchback, it will easily seat a family of four or five, with plenty of cargo space for storing all those blankets, books, toys, and diapers you've got. The Prius has a whopping 21.6 cubic feet of cargo space, whereas most other hybrid vehicles only have 10-15! It's also a top safety pick, with some of the highest scores in front, side, rear, and roof impact/crash/strength test results. Last but not least, the Prius gets amazing gas mileage, making it able to travel hundreds of more miles on a single tank than a non-hybrid vehicle. At 50 miles per gallon, the family road trip can actually be an affordable option despite the price of gas being higher than ever.

The Highlander Hybrid, on the other hand, was picked because it delivers great power in the form of a 3.5-liter V6 engine, outputting a total of 280 horsepower split between two electric motors. It has a driving experience that is both comfortable and controlled, which are exactly the kind of words a new parent wants to hear when transporting small children! One of the reviews from which U.S. News and World report garnered their data on the Highlander Hybrid was from Kelley Blue Book, who noted that it "attains best-in-class fuel economy without sacrificing power or interior space" by seating seven and getting a combined 28 miles per gallon. For a vehicle of its size, 28 is on the very high spectrum of fuel efficiency.

What features do you think are most important for a family vehicle? Leave a comment below with your top choice! 

Toyota and KBB- Karate Chopping to Victory

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You've probably used Kelley Blue Book at some point during your car search. It's a great online resource for getting an initial estimate on the value of a specific car, whether you're buying or selling. The estimates they give for trading in your vehicle to a dealership are pretty competitive too. I once looked up the value of my car and then asked my sales manager to give me an estimate. Both numbers weren't too far off from one another.

For the Toyota enthusiasts out there, if you've found your eyes drifting towards a new Camry or an Entune equipped vehicle lately while browsing KBB, feel free to rejoice! Since the beginning of 2010, car shoppers on KBB have been most loyal to Toyota compared to other auto brands. KBB did a study and found that the majority of people searching their site were looking up Toyota vehicles. In fact, in August of 2012, of the 25 most shopped for vehicles, number one was the Camry (the Highlander was the 13th most searched for, Corolla 17th, RAV4 18th, and Tacoma 23rd)!

"Toyota's reputation for quality, reliability and strong resale values undoubtedly contribute to the brand's success. New-car shoppers on KBB.com continue to prove their love for Toyota, time and time again," said Arthur Henry, manager of market intelligence for Kelley Blue Book. "Recent redesigns of best-selling models like the Camry, and increasing popularity of fuel-sippers like the Prius family, continue to drive interest and traffic to Toyota's new cars on KBB.com. The brand also has very impressive, longstanding shopper loyalty statistics."

You know who else was loyal and succeeded? Daniel LaRusso, the karate kid. That famous song from the equally famous movie was one of the first things to randomly pop into my mind. Followed up fairly quickly by "Wax on, wax off!"
I'm sure the guys at Toyota are celebrating the news of their victory on KBB's website by playing Joe Esposito's ultimate montage song repeatedly-

Now that we've gotten the nostalgia fix out of our system- do you use Kelley Blue Book? What other resources do you search when looking for car information online?