My 10 year old Volvo 940 2.3i turbo packed it in a couple of months ago. I, very reluctantly, had to make the worst type of investment i.e. buy a car! After much research and with an injection of common sense and pragmatism supplied by my present wife and my mechanic, I bought a 12month old Avensis. While not as enjoyable to drive as the Volvo rocket, I have to say that the Avensis has been a good buy. The build quality and equipment level are very good. The boot is very large and the back seats can easily accomopdate my two tall teenagers and third younger child. Two child seats and one young child shouldn't be a problem. I have also noticed the extra fuel money in my pocket.
I would have bought the Honda Accord, but, the difference in price coupled with the rates of depreciation and my relatively low annual mileage did not add up in my opinion. There are other cars, but, since I didn't want to compromise one cent on reliabilty and service cost I felt I was confined to Toyota, Honda or Lexus. I looked at the Skoda Octavia, but, found it noisey and not up to the build quality of the Avensis.
I will say that I am in my 40s with three kids, so that may also be a factor!