Over in Europe they have a pretty impressive collection of family cars.  From the mighty Mercedes to the humble Volkswagen.  If it is made in Germany then you know it’s got quality written all over it.  Head across to Italy and you will find Alfa Romeo, these guys are like a tamed Ferrari, only they aren’t that tame.  Wherever you go in the EU you are going to find an awesome collection of cars and what is even better about them is they are built to pass the crazy, tight, EU safety and emissions regs.  This means the engines are a little smaller and they pump out a hell of a lot less toxins than some of our big old American legends.

So, if you are thinking about trading your current car in and buying a family automobile that is going to tick all the boxes, perhaps it’s time to consider going European.  Let’s take a look at some of the options available.

Starting with Volkswagen there are two options which really fit family life.  The VW Golf is a cult classic in the UK and across Europe.  It has evolved a lot over the decades yet still hits all the right notes.  With a spacious interior and a decent sized boot, it is smaller than many of the brands we are passionate about however it makes the very most of the space it has.  Of course, over here we don’t call them a VW Golf, we call them the Rabbit Trendline and we love them.  Check out how cool they are by heading to Xtreme Motors Ltd. and viewing their ad.  This is one mighty little car that you are going to love having in your life and is a perfect example of a good used car buy.

If you want to be a little higher on the road, and we don’t blame you, then the VW Touareg is a perfect solution.  The chassis of this car comes straight off the Porsche Cayenne and you can see where some of the styling comes from too, especially on the mark 1 models.  You can pick one of these 4×4 heroes for less than $6000 if you find the right age and condition.  They aren’t as spacious in the back and they only have five seats, but they make a great family car and are packed with ace gadgets too.

The British make a mighty fine four wheel drive. The Range Rover.  You can go with the daddy of the bunch, the Vogue or cool it up by choosing the Sport.  However with a demand in Europe for a crossover SUV they have now produced the Evoque, a pretty awesome SUV which delivers all the great off road riding of the Vogue but in a much more usable size.

Us Americans are obsessed with big, however if you want to redirect that obsession to the environment and decrease your carbon footprint, it might be worth reducing the size of your family car and to do that, we should look towards Europe.