With over 27 years of used car sales experience under our belts, our team at New Jersey State Auto has earned a lot of experience selling used cars to families. When you serve families for that long, there’s one thing you come to know very well: they come in all different sizes and have a variety of needs. That’s why we pride ourselves on being able to find the best used car for any family, no matter their size, recreational activities, or lifestyle preferences.
Today, we thought we’d share a little of our expertise by offering a list of vehicle recommendations for families in the used hybrid car market. These days, there are plenty of options out there, so we thought we’d help arrange some of those into useful, family-friendly categories.
Hybrid Cars With Maximum Seating
For large families, car shopping typically centers around seating capacity. Fortunately, as manufacturers continue to make more hybrid versions of their vehicles, there are plenty of seven-seater options on the used market these days. Here are a couple of our favorites:
Toyota Sienna
The Toyota Sienna went fully hybrid in 2021 and received an EPA-estimated 36 combined mpg, making this brawny-looking hybrid one of the more efficient minivans on the market. The Sienna comes with seven- or eight-passenger options and 34 cubic feet of cargo volume.
Chrysler Pacifica
The Chrysler Pacifica has had an optional plug-in hybrid powertrain for several years. With plenty of storage bins, pockets, cup holders, and USB ports, it’s no surprise that this hybrid minivan has consistently ranked highly among consumers and car critics as an ideal family-friendly vehicle. Plus, with Stow-and-Go rear seats that disappear into the floor, the Pacifica offers plenty of cargo space for all the non-passengers you need to haul around, too.
Hybrid Cars With Ample Cargo Space
Sufficient cargo space becomes a major priority when hauling the kids’ sports or music gear from one practice to another. These hybrid midsized SUVs offer plenty of seating and storage so you can ferry your family and all their gear wherever they need to go in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Toyota Highlander
With the ability to haul seven or eight passengers, the Toyota Highlander can carry around even the largest families. With an exterior and interior refresh in 2020, the more recent versions of the Highlander also offer plenty of cargo space. Depending on the configuration of the seats, the Highlander has 16 cubic feet of space behind the third row, 48.4 cubic feet when the rearmost seats are folded down, and a whopping 84.3 feet of cargo space with the second and third rows folded.
Hyundai Santa Fe
For those families who are looking for lots of cargo space but don’t necessarily need extra seating, the Hyundai Santa Fe hybrid could be a good option. Available since 2021, the Santa Fe hybrid has plenty of space behind the rear seats — 36.4 cubic feet of it. With the seats folded down, the cargo space nearly doubles to 72.1 cubic feet, providing plenty of room for luggage, groceries, sports gear, and whatever else you need to haul around town.
Hybrid Vehicles With Towing Capabilities
If your family’s recreational gear is too big to stash in the back of a car, you might be looking for a hybrid vehicle with some towing power. While there are plenty of options to choose from, we chose the Ford Explorer as the best all-around family-friendly version.
Ford Explorer
Available with a hybrid powertrain option since 2020, the Ford Explorer offers respectable gas mileage, plenty of interior seating and cargo space, and a solid safety rating. In addition to all these family-friendly perks, the Explorer also has a towing capacity of up to 5,000 pounds when equipped with a towing package.
Hybrid Cars With the Best Gas Mileage
Some families scour the used vehicle market for a hybrid car because their highest priority is efficiency and saving money at the gas station. While the most efficient hybrid vehicles are often sedans, a few crossover SUVs combine a little more space with a lot more mpg. We selected the Kia Niro as one of the best used options in this segment.
Kia Niro
Available since 2017, the Kia Niro has consistently ranked as one of the most fuel-efficient vehicles on the market. With an EPA estimate of more than 50 mpg combined, your family’s visits to the gas station will become a rare event. Plus, with a roomy interior, ample cargo space, and a budget-friendly price tag, a used Kira Niro is an excellent option for small- to medium-sized families looking to save money and maximize fuel efficiency.
Highest Safety Ratings for Hybrid Cars
Keeping your family safe is the highest priority of all, and when it comes to hybrid vehicles, several receive high marks in the safety category. In addition to many of the vehicles we’ve discussed above, the compact hybrid SUVs below deserve a place in our family-friendly hybrid recommendation list.
Subaru Crosstrek
Available with a plug-in hybrid option since 2019, the Subaru Crosstrek is one of our top picks regarding safety ratings. It was awarded the maximum five stars from the Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2019, and it’s held those top marks ever since. The Crosstrek also earned a Top Safety Pick Plus designation from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Hyundai Tucson
The hybrid version of the Hyundai Tucson is fairly recent. Released in 2022, this hybrid compact SUV might appeal to families looking for a newer used vehicle. It made our list specifically because of its accolades in the safety category. In 2022, the Tucson was awarded the top spot, gold, for safety from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. When you and your family are ready to begin shopping for your next hybrid used car, pay us a visit at New Jersey State Auto. We’ll happily help you find the hybrid vehicle that has the best combination of seating capacity, cargo space, fuel efficiency, and safety ratings for your nearest and dearest.