Family Cars information

For larger families, a minivan or station wagon may be a better fit than a family sedan. Both have comparable fuel efficiency and prices to family sedans and provide more cargo space. For more information, see our reports on minivans and station wagons.

For the smaller family that has an active interest in performance, sports sedans may prove an attractive option. These vehicles are often geared more towards power, speed and handling than storing strollers. To learn more about vehicles in this class, read our report on sports sedans.

FuelEconomy.gov is the place to go to find the federal government's fuel-economy estimates for cars sold in the United States. You can search by year, make, model, engine and transmission. Side-by-side comparisons can be made, and older cars have had their ratings upgraded to reflect the latest test methodology.

SaferCar.gov is run by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and is the go-to site for government crash-test results, defect and recall data, and other safety topics. Information is searchable and generally well organized.

The nonprofit Insurance Institute for Highway Safety / Highway Loss Data Institute is backed by the insurance industry and is the online home for the organization's vehicle-safety ratings, crash-test data and related information.

Vehicle specifications and pricing are available at the individual manufacturers' consumer websites, as well as at large, auto-related sites such as Edmunds and AOL Autos.