5 Things We Look For In A Family Vehicle

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My little family definitely loves to travel. We try our best to head to the province two to three times a year and we also aim for at least two road trips a month. If our Instagram feeds are any indication, we really do enjoy exploring new places and discovering more of what our little archipelago has to offer. With all our trips, we make sure to invest in a vehicle that can fit our many needs. Here are the five top requirements my husband Carl and I look for in a family vehicle.

Need # 1: Space
The ideal vehicle for us has to have enough seats to fit at least 4 adults and two children (including their bulky car seats). It also has to have enough trunk space for all our items, because we all know the smaller our children are, the more stuff they need). My husband also enjoys biking when we go on trips, so we need a vehicle that can fit his bike gear and is big enough to strap his bike to the back. It’s also important for us to have a vehicle whose seats can fold up when needed to make for more luggage space.

Need # 2: Safety
Safety is, of course, a primary need for us especially since we travel with two small kids. We need a vehicle that can comfortably fit our car seats and guarantee that we have the safest ride imaginable during our long trips. This means that everyone in the car needs to be well secured in a seat belt and there are airbags available for the driver and front seat passenger. I also appreciated vehicles that have a dashboard monitors which shows what it looks like when you’re backing up, this ensures me that I won’t be hitting anything especially a small child or animal.

Need #3: Off-Road Ready
Many of our road trips aren’t on smooth roads, which is why we prefer a sports utility vehicle for a number of our adventures. And with Manila constantly getting flooded whenever there is the slightest bout of rain, it really matters to us to have a vehicle that can get us safely to our destination despite any weather condition or terrain.

Need #4: Comfort
Because we do a lot of long drives during the weekends, we want to make sure our kids can nap comfortably and everyone in the car has ample leg room. We all know how it’s no fun to be cramped like sardines during long trips. We always look for vehicles that can give us a smooth and silent ride with very little engine noise. We also need a vehicle that is able to keep the kids entertained with tunes by making it easy to connect to our apple or android phones. And because long car rides mean our batteries won’t last, we look for vehicles that have charging stations in the front and back as well as cup holders for my favorite warm cups of tea.

Need # 5: Bonus Features
Special bonus features like remote engine starts are an added plus for us when we look for a vehicle. We initially didn’t think features like these were important, but when you have a sleeping infant that you need to tuck into a carseat (which can get very hot in a parked car), the added feature of being able to have the air-conditioning system turned on before you get into the car is quite nice.

We were recently invited to road test the 2017 Chevrolet Trailblazer and I have to say that this beautiful sports utility vehicle ticked all the boxes for us. The 2017 Trailblazer is the widest and tallest in its class, so it’s got great leg and ceiling room. It can fit 7 passengers comfortably, including our bulky car seats, and its 2nd and 3rd rows can be folded up to 16 different configurations to fit our family’s storage transport needs.

We also really valued its safety features like the forward collision alert, lane departure warning (a slight beep goes on when you move lanes without signalling) and side blind zone alert which helps us maintain a safe distance from accidents. The Mylink entertainment system of the Trailblazer also made it so easy to keep the kids entertained with their favorite songs during our 3 hour drives.