See all Motoring AdviceIf it has seemed like an extra-long summer holiday period with the children at home, with the little ones asking you questions every five minutes about what they’re doing next, then their return to school might feel like it can’t come soon enough.
But what if you are worried about your car’s ability to smoothly perform the school run once term-time starts? That’s an extra stress you don’t need, so we’ve come up with a list of potential motors that might suit your needs.
We’ve already mentioned seven-seat SUVs as being an excellent choice and of course there are plenty of used examples of these available for those wanting something more affordable. However, if you fancy treating yourself to a shiny new car for the school runs, you won’t do much better than the all-new, second-generation Kodiaq. It’s big inside without being gargantuan on the exterior, the way its seats tumble, fold and slide is incredibly practical, the technology up front is excellent and – thanks to the ‘Smart Dials’ for the climate controls – easy to use on the move, and it can avail itself of the latest, slickest Volkswagen Group powertrains too. Perhaps its best feature, however, is its general air of supreme refinement, complete with one of the best all-round ride-quality experiences going. The Kodiaq isn’t cheap, but it sure is brilliant.
Seven-seat SUVs are a boon for stressed-out parents on the school run, because there’s plenty of seating choice onboard to keep warring siblings apart. Better still, if you’re carpooling and having to take other people’s kids to school as well as your own, you can have up to six of them misbehaving in the back of the vehicle while you attempt to negotiate rush-hour traffic. Thankfully, the Hyundai Santa Fe has always been a notable example of this breed of car, and even the Mk3 – built from 2012 to 2018 – remains a good-looking, capable thing these days, so it’s a great-value way of getting into a proper seven-seater.
We’ve already extolled the virtues of electric and hybrid cars for the school-run duties, but a plug-in hybrid is a great halfway house for those who live a little further from the school’s location and who might need to occasionally drive long distances too. You get greater electric driving range from a plug-in hybrid, and one of our favourites is the old Peugeot 3008. This is a compact SUV that looks good enough on the outside to keep your kids happy, while it has one of the best interiors in the business to keep wound-up parents comfortable and relaxed. Better still, the arrival of the all-new, all-electric 3008 will push down values of the old model, which remains a corking family car in all respects.
One of the things that schoolchildren accumulate is lots of stuff, such as bags, books, coats, PE bags, strange homebrew construction projects and musical instruments, among more. So, a car with a cavernous boot is a godsend, as you can simply sling everything in there without worrying about it. Luckily, Skoda is the doyen of the massive cargo area and the recently superseded Superb Mk3 (2015-2024) had a whopper of a boot in Combi estate form at 660 litres. Better still, the arrival of the new model will likely depress second-hand values of the older car, which remains a belter in 2.0 TDI format.
If you don’t have a lot of children – or the ones you do have are nice and orderly – then you don’t necessarily need a big vehicle. In fact, a short-range electric car would be perfect for the school run, as its lowly one-shot driving capability won’t matter if you’re only doing a few kilometres a day. Furthermore, if you charge it at home overnight, it’ll be cheaper to run to school and back than a conventional petrol or diesel car sitting in heavy congestion. The Honda e is therefore perfect for the job: it’s stylish, so your kids won’t disown you at the school gate come drop-off time, and it has five doors and a lovely interior, so getting into and out of it won’t be a chore. About the toughest thing to do is find a good one, as they’re not common in Ireland; look across the border, though, for more options.
The next best thing after a full electric car for sitting in traffic (likely to happen on a school run, even if you live in a rural area; if all the other parents are, naturally, driving to school at the same time, traffic can therefore get hectic in the vicinity of the building itself) is a hybrid. And one of the most popular in Ireland, the Toyota Corolla, is a strong shout. If it’s crawling along in urban areas, it won’t be using any fuel at all, and you can also have the car in one of three body styles (hatch, saloon, estate) to suit your needs and tastes perfectly. Toyotas are also safe and reliable cars – perfect attributes for transporting around your precious offspring.
It’s not going to win you any street cred awards – in fact, if you get it in red, you might face comparisons to Postman Pat’s choice of wheels – but the Kia Soul is a high-quality compact crossover. It’s spacious inside, which is good for the kids, but also small on the outside, so it’s easy to park on congested streets near the school gates. Earlier cars had a selection of petrol and diesel engines available, which are now available for a range of budgets second-hand, but later in its life an all-electric version was added. So, if you’re feeling adventurous, you could combine an EV with a family crossover to good effect with this Kia – with the added advantage than any used version registered from 2017 onwards will still be under the legendary seven-year manufacturer’s warranty, too.
Is there any car better suited to steady, everyday pragmatism than the Volkswagen Golf? It has been a sturdy family vehicle choice for decades, so you’ve got plenty of options to consider if you fancy one for the school run – you don’t have to splash out a fortune on a brand-new one. We’d advocate the Mk7, built from 2013 until 2020, as the best option for a school-run machine par excellence.
MPVs were never imbued with much in the way of cool factor and the last SEAT Alhambra, built from 2010 until 2020, didn’t go out of its way with the funkiness at all. However, these van-like machines are designed purposefully to be as helpful to families as they can be, and with its twin sliding side doors and smooth drivetrains, the Alhambra is a brilliant companion for all aspects of the school run. It won’t even cost you a fortune to buy second-hand, either.