I say its a perfect family car for people with less than 3 kids. As for other family members, I talked my mom into liking my car by telling her that I got it because I can haul more stuff in it than a little 2 door sports car. Gave her a ride in the car and she loved it.

 

I have four kids aged 2-14. I have managed to fit my oldest daughter in front and my three younger children in the back (with a car seat). It's a bit cramped. The car seat needs to be behind the front passenger seat because I'm 6'1" and need my seat all the way back. Anyone else who sits in the front can move their seat up to give enough legroom for my 2 year-old. I'd say it's fine for two adults and two small children. Any more than that and it's less than ideal.

I just bought a 2006 Honda Pilot so that my fiancee and I can take the kids places as a family without having to take two cars. The Pilot is wonderful. We recently had 8 people in it when I took my 13 yr-old daughter and her friends to Magic Mountain.

 

I've been using my 03 Evo as a daily driver and family hauler (two teenagers) for two and half years. All the comments about interior roominess compared to other sedans are right on. The back seat space is quite impressive, particularly when compared to the competition. the trunk is also quite large for a compact car as well. The Evo makes a satisfactory family car if you do a couple of things:

1. Change the Advans out when they wear out for some High Performance All-Season tires like the Pirelli P Zero Nero or Continental ConitExtremeContact. This makes the ride smoother and quieter, and it allows you to get the kids to school on snowy mornings. You trade performance for all-weather capability obviously, but it's not such a big difference in everyday driving.

2. Replace the floor mats with something more robust. This includes getting a trunk mat as well.

3. Get the Lancer cargo net to keep groceries from spilling out of their bags as you race home from the store.

4. Buy a full size spare wheel and tire and store it in the garage for those days when you're running late and realize that you have a flat. You can throw the spare on the car and drop the flat off at the tire store to get repaired without having to put that stupid donut spare on, which compromises your safety and puts wear on the transmission.

I still wish that Mitsubishi would have given us cruise control like Subaru does for the STi. This would make the car much more comfortable for the driver as you take the family to grandma's house for Thanksgiving.

I also would have preferred a trunk release operated from the remote. It helps when you're trying to manhandle the bundle of pillows that you just bought from Linens and Things into the trunk.

Another concern is parking your car in iffy neighborhoods. Evos are very high profile cars and school events, soccer tournaments, swim meets, etc. tend to take you to places that you normally wouldn't want to leave your car for extended periods of time. I've removed my wing and replaced the clear tailights with the more traditional JDM units. I'm still nervous when I have to go downtown to see my kid perform in a play, but at least my car is slightly less obvious than the day I bought it. Also, my kids like to do paintball and the place they play at has rutted dirt trail for access. I'm always worried about tearing something underneath the car when I go down that road.

 

buying a gas saving car doesnt mean you are going to save money

 

My EVO has saved my *** a few times when I needed the performance of the handling and acceleration.

If I was driving anything less than the Evo I'm sure I would have been in an accident.

 

Lets just say I will never take my family in the EVO unless I absolutely have to. The EVO is a sports car, not a family car. That's why there are only two airbags. Mitsu doesn't have our safety in mind when they build this particular car.

I didn't buy my IX because of it's safety that's for damn sure. Yeah it habdles well and has good brakes, but there is a lot more to safety than that. I guess my age and having a child has made me more cautious. Hell, there are times I can get over 300 mpg on a tank of gas.

 

+1 It's an amazingly useful accessory.

 

I actually did give the wife the excuse that we can still take the children (14,2 yrs. old) along in my EVO. But I do not use it as a daily driver. If you are considering the Fit, Yaris, you might want to take a look at the new Nissan Versa. I drove one a couple days ago and was very surprised at the interior room. Very roomy. I could have the front seat all the way back and still have a few more inches of leg room. Unbelievable.

 

+1 to that from the perspective there are no SAB's and the crash tests are marginal. However, as others have mentioned, the EVO will get you out of a jam in terms of breaking and handling.

Regardless, even the "safest" car is going to have a tough time saving you from some moron flying through an intersection at 65 mph and T-boning you and your loved ones

 

My daughter is 2 months right now and she loves the Evo. Rides in the car and loves the sounds (good for sleeping and pooping) Easy to get her in and out of the car and the trunk holds her big *** stroller.

 

3 kids here too. 9, 7, 4. all three fit in the back with no problems with one car booster seat. didn't have it when they were infants, so i don't know how the infant carrier/car seat fits. i suppose as long as the passenger seat is up far enough, there should be no problems. my girls love it. they always yell for me to 'boost it!'