What makes a good family car? It’s usually a combination of features like roominess, safety, cost to purchase, cost to run and maintain, style and resale value. Purchasing a family car represents trade-offs, and the trick is to minimize what you have to give up in order to get all the features you really need.

The editors at Kelley Blue Book (KBB) have named their 10 best cars for American families based on criteria such as safety, roominess, comfort and value. That seems like a pretty good list to us, and KBB’s choices appear to strike a reasonable balance.

Click here to see the 10 best cars for the American family

It is worth pointing out that of the top 10 there is only one minivan, the Honda Odyssey. Minivans are declining in popularity among American families due to a combination of factors. Fuel economy for the minivans is lower than for smaller cars like the Honda Accord or small SUVs like the Honda CR-V. Minivan designs have not really kept pace with new small SUV designs either. As a result, minivan sales are falling. The Honda Odyssey, for example, sold more than 135,000 units in 2008, compared with around 126,000 in 2012.

KBB’s list includes a vehicle for nearly every purpose, from a bulky Chevrolet Suburban that costs more than $51,000 and gets combined city-highway fuel mileage of 17 miles per gallon (mpg) to a Honda Accord that costs less than half that amount and gets 27 mpg combined. The Accord sold nearly 332,000 units in the United States in 2012, compared with just over 48,000 Suburbans.

Another difference among the cars on KBB’s list is revealed in the five-year cost of ownership. A Suburban costs more than $63,000 to own over a five-year period, compared with a cost of around $35,000 for an Accord. The Accord’s resale value at the end of five years totals 43% of its sales price, where a Suburban retains 38% of its original value.

Which cars are selling best? The clear leader here is Volkswagen’s Passat, which has seen sales jump from about 30,000 in 2008 to about 117,000 in 2012. The Passat is also priced just barely higher than the lowest price Accord.

The top-ranked family car based on customer loyalty in the Edmunds ranking is the Toyota Avalon. Some 43% of Avalon owners who are trading in their cars for a new model plan to buy another Avalon. About 40% of Honda Odyssey owners plan to buy another Odyssey, and nearly 39% of Suburban owners plan to buy another Suburban. These numbers indicate that the cars’ owners believed that they received exactly what they anticipated when they bought the first version of the car. That is a pretty strong endorsement.

One note on the data that follows. KBB lists its 10 best cars by trim level, whereas Edmunds groups the cars more generally by model name. Many of the reviews referenced in the piece from groups like J.D. Power, Edmunds and Consumer Reports are for the most recent available period, and in some cases may be for the 2012 model.

10. Chevrolet Suburban
> Trim: 1500 LT Sport Utility 4D
> Average transaction price: $51,599
> Fuel economy: 17 mpg (combined)
> 60-month residual value: 38%

The Chevy Suburban clearly does not make Kelly Blue Book’s list of the best cars for the American family because of its price, at more than $50,000, or its fuel economy, at a combined 17 miles per gallon. The vehicle does offer space and a sense of security for the large family, seating up to nine people. U.S. News and World report rated it as the number two SUV in the country, with its high safety rating as the biggest positive for the car.

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9. Nissan Altima
> Trim: 2.5 SL Sedan 4D
> Average transaction price: $26,590
> Fuel economy: 27 mpg (combined)
> 60-month residual value: 35%

The Nissan Altima received a four out of five power circles from J.D. Power, with the market research company citing the 2013 model’s improved safety, reliability and improved fuel efficiency. The 2013 model gets a combined 27 mpg. The Altima has become increasingly popular in recent years, with Edmunds reporting sales of just over 300,000 units in 2012, well over 100,000 units more than it sold in 2009.

8. Honda CR-V
> Trim: EX Sport Utility 4D
> Average transaction price: $25,684
> Fuel economy: 26 mpg (combined)
> 60-month residual value: 50%

Compared to the other top family cars reviewed by Kelly Blue Book, no car retains its long-term value more than Honda Motor Co. Ltd.’s (NYSE: HMC) CR-V, which will be worth an estimated 50% of its original average purchase price of $25,684 some 60 months after purchase. In its most recent survey, J.D. Power rated the CR-V as the best compact crossover in the country for initial quality.

7. Ford Fusion
> Trim: SE Sedan 4D
> Average transaction price: $25,900
> Fuel economy: 25 mpg (combined)
> 60-month residual value: 39%

The Ford Fusion was rated by J.D. power as one of the top midsize sedans for overall initial quality, receiving a perfect score for both design and mechanical overall quality. The Fusion’s sales have risen in recent years. Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) sold less than 150,000 in 2008 and close to 230,000 units last year. According to Kelly Blue Book, the fusion retains nearly 40% of its initial $25,900 average price through 60 months of ownership. This is better value retention than most of the top family cars listed.

6. Toyota Avalon
> Trim: Limited Sedan 4D
> Average transaction price: $35,610
> Fuel economy: 23 mpg (combined)
> 60-month residual value: 37%

According to data provided by Edmunds, no top-selling model garnered more customer loyalty than the Toyota Avalon. Of the people trading in the model in 2012, an estimated 43% reported that they would buy another Avalon. The average top-selling car had less than 20% customer loyalty. The car was one of J.D. Power’s top-rated vehicles in 2012 for overall initial quality.

5. Honda Odyssey
> Trim: EX Minivan 4D
> Average transaction price: $29,866
> Fuel economy: 21 mpg (combined)
> 60-month residual value: 37%

In their review of the top 10 family cars, the KBB editors noted emphatically, “Honda understands families.” As evidence, KBB points out a clever middle row seat design that could be a very handy feature for families with a small child. The Odyssey gets a 40.3% loyalty rating and its total cost of ownership over five years is shaded toward the high side. The minivan seats eight, second only to the Suburban in capacity.

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4. Volkswagen Passat
> Trim: 2.5L SE Sedan 4D
> Average transaction price: $25,282
> Fuel economy: 26 mpg (combined)
> 60-month residual value: 32%

Volkswagen’s Passat may be the most stylish of the top 10 American family cars, especially if your tastes run along a European line. The Passat four-door sedan with a 2.5-liter, five-cylinder engine lands in the middle of the fuel-economy rankings here. The Edmunds loyalty rating for this car is just 11.7%, just above the Ford Fusion near the bottom of the list. The car’s residual value after five years is also the lowest among the top 10.

3. Toyota Prius V
> Trim: Five Wagon 4D
> Average transaction price: $28,752
> Fuel economy: 42 mpg (combined)
> 60-month residual value: 34%

As a group, the various models of Toyota Motor Corp.’s (NYSE: TM) hybrid Prius line are now the best-selling cars in California. It is the only hybrid gas/electric car on KBB’s list, and its primary virtue is a combined fuel economy rating of 42 mpg, best by far among these 10 cars. KBB has its cost of ownership over five years at $38,761, which ranks in fourth of the top 10 family cars. That cost is almost entirely due to the higher purchase price of the car, which is nearly $4,000 more than the lowest-priced Honda Accord.

2. Honda Accord
> Trim: EX Sedan 4D
> Average transaction price: $24,893
> Fuel economy: 27 mpg (combined)
> 60-month residual value: 43%

The Accord is a veteran of the family car wars, and its top mileage rating among the cars on this list indicates what may be the car’s best feature: it is the least expensive of the top 10 cars to own over a period of five-years. Add to that a loyalty rating of 34% and a resale value of 43%, and it is pretty easy to see why the Accord has a lot of appeal to budget-minded buyers. The Accord is also one of the most affordable cars on the list, with an average price of less than $25,000.

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1. Nissan Pathfinder
> Trim: SV Sport Utility 4D
> Average transaction price: $32,939
> Fuel economy: 17 mpg (combined)
> 60-month residual value: 39%

Nissan redesigned its Pathfinder this year to make it more of an SUV than a pickup truck. The snazzy new design includes several new features that make the Pathfinder more family-friendly on the inside. The big trade-off here is gas mileage in exchange for seating capacity and towing capability.

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