(February 15, 2014) IRVINE, Calif. — Not all options are as obvious as a minivan when it comes to cars best suited for families.  In the same light, not all families have the same needs when it comes to their ideal car.  Helping ease the struggle to find the best new cars tailored for families of all sizes, the editors of Kelley Blue Book and kbb.com, have named their recommended list of the 12 Best Family Cars of 2014.

Honda placed four vehicles on the list. Nissan had three and Chevrolet landed two.

"This year we built on our process to put together the best family car list by recruiting families to assist our editors in a rigorous comparison test, providing a comprehensive approach to seeking out the most functional new cars for families," said Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book's KBB.com. 

"More than just a list, Best Family Cars 2014 is an all-new section of KBB.com that outlines in detail how well America's top family vehicles withstand their daily routines.  The vehicles making the cut are winners in the areas of safety, comfort, driving performance, room for child seats, cargo space, rear-seat entertainment, and other family-friendly features."

Kbb.com's 12 Best Family Cars for 2014

2014 Chevrolet Impala
2014 Chevrolet Traverse
2014 Ford Flex
2014 Honda Accord
2014 Honda CR-V
2014 Honda Odyssey
2014 Honda Pilot
2014 Nissan Altima
2014 Nissan Pathfinder
2014 Nissan Rogue
2014 Subaru Forester
2014 Toyota Sienna

The KBB.com expert editors started with 21 different vehicles top-ranked in their Expert Ratings in various family-friendly categories and enlisted the help of several families to thoroughly test these family haulers.  This approach included analyzing seven sedans, six small SUVs, five midsize SUVs, two minivans and one hybrid wagon, from a total of 11 different brands. 

The expert editors tallied the results based on participant feedback and compared notes, naming the best of the bunch.

"We were surprised at the number of sedans that made the Best Family Cars list this year," said Nerad.  "Once upon a time before minivans and SUVs, sedans were the primary family car of choice, and this year's list proves the modern sedan still makes a fine family car with the 2014 Honda Accord, Chevrolet Impala and Nissan Altima all landing a spot among the best."   

So what about the other nine on our original list of 21? Well, as you might surmise from the fact that we chose to nominate them, we believe they have many attributes that qualify them as good family-car choices.  But compared to the vehicles that did make our honored Best Family Cars list, they were either lacking features available in the cars listed above or were too narrowly focused to provide the array of features that marked our top choices. That said, if you need excellent fuel economy, want to tow heavy loads, or just want to go farther off the beaten path, there are some solid alternatives worth checking out on the included list of what are essentially our semi-finalists.