Choosing the right family car
For a couple with a small child and a few bags, a compact or medium car is usually enough and is easier to park. For larger families, or anyone carrying a pushchair, beach gear and full suitcases, an SUV or a 7-seater or minivan gives the extra space that makes the trip relaxed. Remember that with every seat full, boot space shrinks, and the next section puts real litres and bag counts behind that sentence.
EconomyAuto/Man · from €6/day
CompactAuto/Man · from €8/day
Compact SUVAuto/Man · from €10/day
SUVAuto/Man · from €12/day
Large / SaloonAuto/Man · from €14/day
7-SeaterAuto/Man · from €26/day
Leisure Van (5-seat)Auto/Man · from €50/day
Minibus (9-seat)Manual · from €40/dayBoot space and suitcases: the real numbers
"Boot space shrinks" is true but useless when you are trying to decide between two cars on a booking page. So here is the fleet with its actual figures: how many belted seats each class has, how many litres of boot the class is recorded as carrying, and how many large bags it is rated for. Every number in the table is read live from our own fleet records, the same source as the specs on each car in the fleet, so it cannot quietly go stale.
Across the classes that seat five or more, recorded boot space runs from ~300 l in the Economy to ~1300 l in the Minibus (9-seat).
| Class | Seats | Boot | Large bags | From (per day) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Economy | 5 | ~300 l | 2 | €6 |
| Compact | 5 | ~400 l | 2 | €8 |
| Compact SUV | 5 | ~410 l | 2 | €10 |
| SUV | 5 | ~500 l | 3 | €12 |
| Large / Saloon | 5 | ~490 l | 3 | €14 |
| 7-Seater | 7 | ~700 l | 3 | €26 |
| Leisure Van (5-seat) | 5 | ~775 l | 3 | €50 |
| Minibus (9-seat) | 9 | ~1300 l | 5 | €40 |
Now the arithmetic, done against those same rows. Two of those columns can answer a luggage question, so both count: a class carries a load when it is rated for that many large bags, or when its recorded boot is that many bags' worth at 200 l a bag, which is the middle figure for litres of boot per rated bag across our classes. A folded pushchair is bulky, so we count it as one large bag: that is our planning rule, not a manufacturer measurement. Where more than one class carries a load, the one named below is the one with the fewest seats, and then the lowest daily price, so the answer is never a bigger or a dearer car than the trip needs.
- Two adults and two children, two large cases: the smallest class that carries it is the Economy, rated for 2 large bags, with a recorded boot of ~300 l, from €6 a day.
- Two adults and two children, two large cases and a folded pushchair: the smallest class that carries it is the SUV, rated for 3 large bags, with a recorded boot of ~500 l, from €12 a day.
- Two adults and three children, three large cases and a folded pushchair: the smallest class that carries it is the Minibus (9-seat), rated for 5 large bags, with a recorded boot of ~1300 l, from €40 a day.
- Seven travelling together, five large cases: the smallest class that carries it is the Minibus (9-seat), rated for 5 large bags, with a recorded boot of ~1300 l, from €40 a day.
Two habits are worth borrowing. First, count people before litres: a class that seats five but is rated for two large bags will not carry five people and five cases, however big the boot number looks. Second, measure the worst leg of your trip, which is almost always the airport run in each direction, when every case is full and nothing has been unpacked into the apartment yet. Size the car for those two drives and the rest of the week is easy.
If your group is on the boundary between a 5+2 and a proper minivan, our 9-seater vs 7-seater guide compares the two sizes vehicle by vehicle, including how much boot survives when the rearmost row is in use.
Pushchairs, prams and the rest of the kit
A folded pushchair is the single item that most often breaks a family's luggage plan, because it is rarely counted when the cases are added up. Treat it as one of the large bags in the table above and book accordingly. A compact, one-hand fold buggy will usually share the boot with the cases; a full travel system with a carrycot and a separate chassis is closer to two bags than one, and on a small car it tends to live on a rear seat rather than in the boot, which costs you a passenger.
- Fold before you pack: load the pushchair first, at the back of the boot, then build the cases around it. Repacking it last on a hot airport forecourt is nobody's idea of a holiday.
- Think about the pavements, not just the boot: Malta's older village cores and the Three Cities have narrow pavements, steps and uneven surfaces, so a smaller wheeled buggy is easier to push there than a wide double.
- Beach days add bulk: a cool box, a parasol and a bag of towels take more room than people expect. If a beach day is a daily fixture, size up one class rather than repacking every morning.
- Sliding doors help: our leisure vans and minivans open with sliding rear doors, which is easier than a swinging door when you are lifting a child out in a tight car park bay.
- Tell us in advance: if you are travelling with a travel cot, a double buggy or anything else unusually bulky, say so when you book and we will tell you plainly whether the class you have chosen takes it.
Child seats: what the law asks and how we fit them
In Malta, children must travel in a child restraint appropriate to their age and size, and the responsibility sits with the driver. That is the part people know. The part that catches families out is treating the seat as something to sort out at the desk on arrival, when a specific seat for a specific age may not be free on the day.
Add the seat at checkout when you book and tell us the age, and where you can the height and weight, of each child. Our team fits a suitable seat before you collect the car, so it is already in place at meet-and-greet at Malta International Airport, Park East.
Child and booster seats are €4 a day, the same rate you will see at checkout, and they are fitted before you collect the car, so they cost you nothing in boot space.
- Babies and infants: a rear-facing seat. Tell us the age in months, because the right seat for a newborn is not the right seat for a one-year-old.
- Toddlers and young children: a forward-facing seat with an integral harness, sized to the child rather than to the car.
- Older children: a booster that raises them so the adult belt sits across the shoulder and hips properly, not across the neck.
- Bringing your own: perfectly fine, and often the calmer option for a child who is used to it. If it needs ISOFIX anchor points, tell us which class you have booked and we will confirm what that car has before you travel rather than leave you to find out at the desk.
- More than one seat: three child seats across one rear bench does not fit in every car. If you need three, say so when you book and we will point you at a class that takes them.
Easy driving with children
- Short hops: nowhere on the island is far, so you can plan drives around nap times and meals.
- Keep left: Malta drives on the left; many parents find an automatic less tiring in town traffic.
- Beaches with facilities: a car lets you reach calmer, sandy family beaches in the north that buses serve slowly.
- Park once, walk in: in Valletta, Mdina and the older cores, park on the edge and walk the last stretch. It is quicker than threading a full car through streets built long before cars.
- Gozo with children: the Ċirkewwa ferry is drive-on, drive-off, so the car, the pushchair and the beach bag stay together for the crossing. Our Malta and Gozo car rental page explains how the crossing works.
One practical note for the booking itself: the refundable security deposit is held on a credit card in the main driver's name at pick-up, and a debit card cannot be used for it. That is worth checking before you travel rather than at the desk with tired children in tow. Our deposit and excess explained page sets out exactly how the hold works and how Super Gold Protection lowers both the excess and the amount held.