Starting a family is a life-changing experience. No more late-night mamak sessions with the gang, no more sleeping for another 15 minutes and definitely no more adrenaline-pumping driving.

Every decision you make now is for your family especially for the younglings – even if it means selling your 2-door coupe for a more practical family car.

While there is fun to drive cars out there for your family duties, you can never go wrong with safe choices.

When picking a family car, space and comfort are the top considerations no doubt. However, there are more factors to be considered than people think.

For example, how easy it is to move the child seats into the back, whether the boot aperture is wide enough to easily fit a baby stroller, even how easy/difficult it is to attend to your child when on the move are some of the concerns that many parents only realise when the situation is presented to them.

To help you with your decision-making process, we have shortlisted 5 best family cars for parents with babies:

Nissan Serena, from RM 131,888

No surprises here that an MPV is the most practical choice for families. Having powered sliding doors makes it easier to get in and out while carrying your child as the door aperture is wide and you don’t have the risk of knocking you or your child into the door panels.

The Nissan Serena with its 2+2+3 seating configuration has a walkway in between the middle row captain seats. Even if you have your child strap onto a child seat – as you always should, passengers can still easily get into the third-row seats.

A unique selling point in the Serena is the dual back door feature that allows you to open up only the upper half of the tailgate to access the boot. This ease of access is extremely convenient for the times when you have a child in one hand and having to quickly dump some groceries into the boot.

Lastly, a severely underrated feature of the Nissan Serena is the Intelligent Around View Monitor (I-AVM) with Intelligent Moving Object Detection (I-MOD). Not only does it give you a 360-degree view of the car’s surrounding, but it also alerts you if there are moving objects around the vehicle. Incredibly helpful in case you missed your toddlers walking about.

Kia Grand Carnival, from RM 160,088

The Kia Grand Carnival is by and large the most spacious MPV for under RM 200k (and has over 200 PS for the same money). Parents will definitely appreciate the roomy interior that makes it easier to move things around.

It’s so spacious that even with the third-row seats up, you would still have a sizable boot for your baggage. There is even an ISOFIX mount in the third-row seats for added convenience.

Like the Serena, the Grand Carnival also has dual powered sliding doors and manual sunshades for the middle row passengers to shield your child from the sun and prying eyes

However, one unique feature on the Kia Grand Carnival is a dedicated rear-view mirror that allows you to see what your child in the rear seats is doing at all times.

Honda BR-V, from RM RM 80,989

You may find it weird to have the BR-V and not the HR-V on this list but there’s a good reason to it. While the HR-V is in an SUV body known for its generous space and is a sensible choice, we think the BR-V aces the family game just a bit better.

It all boils down to the wider door aperture offered in the BR-V which makes just getting in and out of the car with a baby in hand that much easier than the HR-V.

The sliding middle row is also very convenient for parents to have their child closer to their reach. Besides that, the third-row seats which are perfectly comfortable for adults make up for the space taken up by the child seat.

Honda CR-V, from RM 138,308

Head on over to Honda Malaysia’s official website and you’ll see them calling the Honda CR-V as ‘The Best Family Car’ and for very good reason.

The CR-V is one of the most practical 5-seater SUV out there on the market with a roomy interior, capacious boot and clever storage solutions. It’s so spacious, you can even move the child seat in and out of the car with your child strapped in without bumping into anything.

Need to fit a large-sized stroller into the boot? The CR-V will take 2.

Opt for the range-topping CR-V 1.5 TC-P and you’ll find the Honda Sensing ADAS which helps reduce fatigue and risk of accidents on long journeys. I’m sure the latter is a big thing for fellow mums and dads.

Toyota Camry, from RM 196,888

Those who prefer to have a traditional three-box sedan for their family duties, take a look at the Toyota Camry.

It has plenty of space in the cabin so fitting a child seat and a stroller in the boot would not be a problem. The shoulder seat is also convenient for the rear occupants to adjust the front passenger seat.

Most importantly, the Camry is one of the most comfortable D-segment sedans on the market. On long highway journeys, the Toyota Camry’s ride quality will definitely keep your sleeping child happy.