Best Cars for Expecting Mothers: 10 Easy-Access Picks

If getting in and out of your car has started to feel like hard work, you are not imagining it. Late in a pregnancy the step up, the twist to reach the back seat and the lift over a high boot sill all get harder in the same few weeks, and the car you chose two years ago was not chosen for this.

It is a very solvable problem, and it comes down to a handful of measurements. These ten cars are chosen on access: step-in height, how wide the rear doors open, and how far you reach to buckle a seat. Each carries a current ANCAP rating, given with the year it was awarded. When you have decided, Rodar can take your spec to our network of over 1,000 trusted automotive dealers and manufacturers, and getting competitive offers takes a few minutes.

What actually matters, and what does not

Most family car lists lead on boot capacity. Right now the numbers that count are the height you step up to, the angle the rear door opens to, and whether you can reach the far side of the back seat without leaning on the door frame.

Seat height goes wrong in both directions. Sit too low and you lower yourself down and push back up. Sit too high and you climb. The easiest cars put the seat close to your standing hip height, so you slide across instead. That is usually a small or medium SUV, or a wagon.

Every car below carries a current ANCAP rating and we give the year it was awarded, because a rating from 2019 and a rating from 2025 are not the same test. Two cars often recommended for this are not on the list. Both are named at the end, with the reason.

For the longer view, our list for new families looks at the next five years rather than the next five months. If you are expecting two, the twins list starts from a different question entirely.

Ten cars that are easy to get in and out of

Ordered loosely from the easiest access upwards in size. The right one depends on how tall you are and what else has to fit.

Subaru Outback

A wagon rather than an SUV, so you sit down into it rather than climbing up.

ANCAP rates it five stars, awarded in 2021, covering the current generation.

• The wagon body puts the sill low, so there is nothing to lift yourself over.
• The roof line stays high all the way back, so leaning in to buckle a seat does not involve ducking.
• All wheel drive is standard, which is worth having on a wet hospital car park ramp.

Kia Sportage

One of the squarest rear door openings among mid-size SUVs, which is what decides how far you have to twist.

ANCAP rates it five stars, awarded in 2021, covering vehicles from November 2021. Child occupant protection scored 87 per cent.

• The rear doors open close to a right angle, so you are reaching straight in rather than around a curved frame.
• Seat height sits in the range where most people neither climb up nor drop down.
• Kia's seven year, unlimited kilometre warranty applies wherever you service it.

Nissan Qashqai

The rear doors open to almost ninety degrees, which is unusual and makes a real difference when you are fitting a capsule.

ANCAP rates it five stars, awarded in 2022, covering vehicles built from October 2022. Child occupant protection scored 93 per cent.

• That door angle is the most useful access feature of any car here.
• Small enough to park easily, which matters when the parking spot is a hospital car park at eight in the morning.
• Its safety assist score of 97 per cent is among the strongest of any car here.

That child occupant score was the equal highest of any vehicle in its rating round, and safety assist scored 97 per cent.

Mazda CX-30

A small SUV that sits slightly higher than a hatch without becoming a climb.

ANCAP rates it five stars, awarded in 2020, covering all variants from February 2020.

• The seat height lands close to standing hip height for many people, so getting out is a step rather than a lift.
• Compact outside, which keeps it manageable in tight parking.
• Worth knowing: the boot is one of the smaller ones here, so check a pram fits before you commit.

Its 99 per cent for adult occupant protection was the highest ANCAP had recorded when the rating was published.

Kia Seltos

One of the more upright small SUVs, and upright is what makes a door opening useful.

ANCAP rates it five stars, awarded in 2019, covering all variants from October 2019.

• A tall, square door aperture rather than a sloping one, so there is more room to move as you lean in.
• Rear seat back angle is more upright than most in the class, which suits a rear-facing capsule.
• Seven year, unlimited kilometre warranty, same as the rest of the Kia range.

Toyota Corolla Cross

Corolla running costs with a higher seat, which is most of the reason people move up from a hatch at this point.

ANCAP rates it five stars, awarded in 2022, covering petrol and hybrid variants built from October 2022. The GR Sport is unrated.

• Hybrid only, so the fuel saving happens in the stop-start driving you are about to do a lot more of.
• Higher hip point than a Corolla hatch without the step up of a mid-size SUV.
• Toyota's service network is the broadest here, which shortens the trip when something needs looking at.

Volkswagen Tiguan

The newest design here, and the easiest cabin to get comfortable in.

ANCAP rates it five stars, awarded in 2024, covering vehicles built from March 2024. The rating runs to December 2031. Child occupant protection scored 88 per cent.

• Rear doors open wide and the sill is flat, so there is nothing to lift a bag or a capsule over.
• Its ANCAP rating runs to December 2031.
• A wide range of seat and wheel adjustment, which helps when a comfortable driving position keeps changing.

Subaru Forester

Big windows and wide rear doors, which is the combination that makes a car easy to load.

ANCAP rates it five stars, awarded in 2025, covering the new generation, from June 2025, in petrol and hybrid.

• Large windows and slim pillars make reversing into a space easier than in most rivals.
• Rear doors open close to square on an upright body, which is the best combination for reaching a seat.
• The new generation arrived in June 2025 and added a hybrid to the range.

Kia Sorento

A size up, for anyone who wants the second row to stay usable once there are two children rather than one.

ANCAP rates it five stars, tested against ANCAP's 2020 criteria, covering diesel variants only.

• Wide rear doors on a large body, so you can stand in the opening rather than lean across it.
• Second row slides, which lets you trade legroom for boot space depending on the day.
• Seven seats, though see the note below on the third row.

Some ISOFIX restraints will fit in the third row, but ANCAP notes they have to be installed with care to sit correctly.

Toyota RAV4

The most common answer to this question in Australia, and it earns it on door size and seat height.

On its safety rating. ANCAP's five star rating for the RAV4 is datestamped 2019, covers vehicles built to December 2025, and has expired. It does not describe the generation on sale now. We will tell you the rating status of the exact build you are quoted.

• Rear doors are among the largest in the medium SUV class, which is the measurement that matters most here.
• Hybrid and plug-in hybrid only, so the running costs suit a lot more short trips.
• Stock moves quickly. Colour flexibility is usually what decides whether you wait.

Comparison Table

The ten side by side, with the one thing that earns each a place on an access list. Prices are list prices before on-road costs.

Vehicle	ANCAP	Price range	Easiest thing about it
Subaru Outback	five stars, 2021	$48,990 to $62,690	Lowest step-in height here
Kia Sportage	five stars, 2021	$38,490 to $60,370	Square rear door opening
Nissan Qashqai	five stars, 2022	$45,640 to $54,140	Rear doors open close to 90 degrees
Mazda CX-30	five stars, 2020	$34,360 to $48,760	Seat close to standing hip height
Kia Seltos	five stars, 2019	$31,250 to $46,670	Tall, upright door aperture
Toyota Corolla Cross	five stars, 2022	$37,440 to $52,340	Higher seat than a hatch
Volkswagen Tiguan	five stars, 2024	$45,650 to $74,550	Wide doors and a flat sill
Subaru Forester	five stars, 2025	$43,490 to $55,990	Big windows, wide rear doors
Kia Sorento	five stars, 2020	$51,630 to $86,040	Stand in the opening, not lean in
Toyota RAV4	No current rating	$45,990 to $66,430	Among the largest rear doors in the class

Two we were asked about and left out

The Hyundai Kona and the Honda CR-V are both regularly recommended for this list and both are easy cars to live with. We left them out on their ANCAP ratings, and we would rather tell you that than quietly drop them.

The current Kona, on sale here since June 2023, is rated four stars across petrol, hybrid and electric, and protection of the driver's chest in the full width frontal test was assessed as Weak. The previous generation held five stars. The CR-V is also four stars, with a safety assist score of 68 per cent, and Australian cars are sold with Honda Sensing rather than the Honda Sensing 360 system available in some other markets.

Neither is a car we would refuse to source. If you want either one, tell us and we will bring you offers. On Honda the benefit sits in a novated lease rather than a cash reduction, and we will tell you that plainly rather than imply otherwise.

Before you decide, bring your capsule

Fit your own capsule or convertible seat in the car before you buy it. Restraints vary a lot in how much room they take. A seat that fits easily in one car will push the front passenger forward in another of the same size.

If you do not have the seat yet, tell us which one you are planning to buy. We check anchor points and fit against the grades you are considering while we get you offers, and it often changes which grade people end up with.

How Rodar helps you buy any car on this list

The usual way of buying has you driving between dealerships, each with one allocation and one number to give you. That is a lot of weekends, and weekends are in short supply right now.

We do it the other way round. You tell us the make, model, grade and colour you want, and anything that has to fit. We put that to our network of over 1,000 trusted automotive dealers and manufacturers. Their offers come back side by side as drive-away figures, not list prices with the on-road costs left off. You pick the one you want.

From there we sort the finance across a panel of over 30 lenders, value your trade-in and roll it into the same number, and arrange delivery to your door. Most of our customers never set foot in a dealership. You are not invoiced a fee: the dealer who wins your business pays us a procurement fee, and it is built into the deal, so the price we quote is the price you pay.

On timing, if the car is in stock and your finance is sorted it can be 24 to 48 hours. Most of the time it is one week onwards, depending on the model and what is available across the network. Starting early gives you room to move.

You have enough to organise at the moment. If it helps, let us take the car off your list: tell us the capsule you have and the grades you like, and we will come back with the checking done and the offers lined up.

Whenever suits you, get your competitive offers, or read our FAQs first if you would rather see how it works. There is no rush from our end.

Rates and repayments are indicative only and subject to lender approval. Rodar Pty Ltd is an Authorised Credit Representative (555548) of Fintelligence Pty Ltd (ACL 511803).