Ten Best Unique New Family Vehicles that Are Worth Test Driving that Are Priced Up to $30,000

Most new car buyers, especially those who have the needs of their family at the forefront of their mind, go out car shopping with frugality and utility at the forefront of their minds with styling, features and safety coming further down the list. But what if you have a family but you still want to enjoy driving your car, don't want to lose it in mall parking lots and most definitely DON'T WANT A MINIVAN!?

It's alright, we definitely understand the need to still enjoy shuffling the kids to soccer practice and driving is one of the few times in a parent's life when they get to enjoy a little bit of "me time." This is especially true if you order rear seat DVD entertainment screens for your kids in the back seat. Those things work like a charm thanks in large part to hypnotic cartoon phenomenon like "Dora the Explorer."

Now, these may seem like odd choices for the family man or woman but they are all capable family haulers that for some reason or another stuck out in my mind during road tests as excellent alternative choices. So before you buy an F-150 for your Costco runs, check out this list of ten models to see if there is something else out there that might be more your speed.

Pickup trucks are not for posing or scaring other shoppers in the supermarket parking lot, they are for hauling, working and getting bad gas mileage. A vanity pickup with no dents in any of the body panels is also inherently wrong in a Universal manner akin to the thought of Paris Hilton starting her masters in Chemical Engineering. And since pickup trucks are everywhere, they won't make you get noticed or qualify under this "unique vehicle" concept. To finish the point-pickup trucks are not family cars!

2011 Scion xB

What? Isn't the xB the boxy epitome of anti-style, of hipster cool apathy all at a super low price of around $17,000 depending on your choice of automatic or manual transmissions? No, this granddaddy of the boxy car revolution is also the most useful with a cargo hold that will easily swallow the stroller, diaper bags, groceries and assorted junk most small American families "need" with them at all time.

Plus, with the Scion you can always go back and trick out your car with fresh alloys, body kits, upgraded audio/navigation systems and much more. That's the true magic of the Scion brand that even Mini doesn't possess-the ability to let owner's decide how to personalize their car at ANY TIME during their ownership of the car instead of making all of your decisions under pressure come sale time. Now that's unique.

2011 VW Jetta Sportwagen TDI

This wagon offers a larger and more useful cargo hold than the Tiguan SUV and with the 140 horsepower/236 lb. feet of torque diesel engine it is also a lot more fun to drive. The 2011 VW Jetta Sportwagen TDI is available with either VW's excellent DSG double clutch automatic or the meaty and precise six-speed manual. We like the manual best but either way you can't argue with 41 miles per gallon highway.

2012 Honda Civic Si Sedan

How many car companies nowadays offer performance models only with a highly traditional (and hugely addicting) six-speed manual? Not many but thankfully Honda still only offers the Civic Si with its thunder crack sharp manual gearlever albeit with a more tractable 2.4 liter 201 horsepower/170 lb. feet of torque 4-cylinder for model year 2012. This engine may not be the screamer that last year's 2.0 liter engine was but it does make driving this car a less frenzied affair. Just think of it as a sported out Civic sedan replete with an engine from the Acura TSX and you get the idea of the Si's character.

2011 Subaru Forester 2.5XT Touring

Yes, this top of the line turbocharged and leather lined Forester XT Touring model may scrape the ceiling of our $30,000 price limit but we feel it is worth it. The Forester still can straddle the delicate line that separates car handling from SUV handling and this model's 2.5 liter pancake four cylinder with turbo is an aural delight as you send it up and down to its screaming redline. Yeah, it has a four speed automatic and there are bigger SUVs but none that are so deliciously evil and fun.

2011 Kia Optima SX

This turbocharged Optima SX model comes with a 2.0 liter 4-cylinder that pumps out a whopping 274 horsepower/269 lb. feet of torque with a minimal loss in fuel economy according to the EPA. Admittedly, turbo engines are sensitive to how you drive them if you are looking to efficiency but why buy the naturally aspirated 2.4 liter engine when the super powerful SX is as unique an engine offering more befitting the Optima's visual wild child styling.

2011 Ford Flex

Again, we squeak under the $30,000 mark for a base model but if you have too many kids this may be your only way out of a minivan. It's a box or a van! And the Flex is really fun to drive.

2011 Nissan Juke
They say that the Juke competes with Mini Countryman but despite the over the top detailing featued on the Juke and daring overall stance we personally think the Countryman looks like a Coupe that had its eyes "De-rounded." That Mini SUV is like a visual plastic surgery experiement gone awry and you may think that of the Juke. But over the years it's going ot be the bold bravado of the Juke that people will always remember.

2012 Ford Focus Titanium

There's nothing like buying a hatchback to throw people off but in the case of the 2012 Focus it is the much better looking automobile. Possibly, it is the best looking car in its class and that is not something anyone ever said about last year's model. This top of the line Titanium trim comes with Sync, My FordTouch and is available with supple leather and enough room for a family of four.

2012 Kia Soul

The 2012 Kia Soul will be arriving shortly in dealerships and for the new model year this South Korean automaker has pointed its attention on a few of this model's very few drawbacks. How can a car favored by driving hamsters ever really be all that bad? All Soul models now get 6-speed automatic or manual transmission mated to two different engine options.

The base 1.6 liter offers 138 horsepower/128 lb. feet of torque and gets EPA estimates of 27 city/35 highway. We recommend, however, the new 2.0 liter 164 horsepower/148 lb. feet of torque 4-cylinder which is just down one mile per gallon city and highway from the 1.6 on the EPA scale. Prepare for wacky special additions as well as new luxury like leather heated seats, push button start but even if you aren't a hamster, there is a 2012 Soul model out there for you that you can afford. And they look cool.

2011 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback GTS

Do you miss old Saab hatch models which were oddly proportioned, had very mechanical feeling manual transmissions and nicely linear steering feel? Well, Mitsubishi has the 2011 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS (also available in turbocharged Ralliart form) which we recently tested for a week in bright orange and instead of getting laughed at people loved our little pumpkin.

It's also under $20,000 at base with prices not extending much past $25,000 with leather, sunroof, navigation and other goodies. But this car has a square and roomy cargo hold that makes a compact SUV unnecessary. It may be a bold statement but why not buy an Orange Mitsubishi? You, and this car, will live forever in people's memories and that's a rare statement. Plus it's a blast to drive with the manual.

Vehicles Supplied by:

Kia

Mitsubishi Motors

Honda

VW

Scion

Nissan

Ford