When you hear the word 'family car,' it's hard for much amusement to flash into your mind but the more you get to know them, you will be amazed at its uniqueness and will realize why family cars are very important for almost every manufacturer. Typically, a family car is a saloon or hatchback in the 4 to 5 meter range and can accommodate 4 passengers, excluding the driver.

A notable feature of America is their practical traits. For instance, family cars are known to be fuel efficient and spacious. These qualities make them suitable for the everyday family usage as they won't cost you a premium for using regularly. Since fuel efficiency is a main priority for these cars, they are not powered by large, powerful engines either.

The typical family car has a V4 or V6 engine that produces enough horses to ensure effortless driving but with good economy. Comfort is kept as a priority for family cars as they are often supposed to transport your kids and senior citizens. You will also notice that family cars are not extravagant in providing safety features (except some pricey ones) except the necessary ones that you can find in almost any car.

A family car is usually the largest selling one and obtaining spares or finding a service center is usually much easier.

Most of us take family cars for granted but they are truly unique and have many features that make them a good example for engineering excellence. For instance, this is the most competitive niche in the automobile industry and manufacturers come up with new models each day to beat the competition. The typical annual sales volume of family cars are usually told in millions and this is the kind of market that created several billion dollar car makers.

None of the largest car brands in the world could've made it without a successful range of family cars under their belt, Toyota being the greatest example. Their single model, Toyota Corolla, sold several millions all over the world, helping Toyota to be one of the largest manufacturers of automobiles.

This is a very competitive segment and the potential customer will be looking for the best offer. The average customer of family cars will also be looking at brand-name, reliability and maintenance costs before making the final decision.

This is why manufacturers like General Motors, Toyota and Chrysler remains as the industry leaders because these brands have many successful models under their family car range.

A family car is classified into small, medium and large. Anything less than 4 meters and up to 4.2 meters are considered small while 4.2 to 4.6 meters are medium sized family cars and cars above this length are large family cars. Many countries have tax regulations to charge bigger cars a higher amount so it's a common practice among manufacturers to offer maximum facilities while sticking within the length limit specified by each country.