On Sunday, kids around the country will raise a toast to their dads, be it a bottle of milk or a pint of ale, as we celebrate the father figures in our lives.
But what about dad’s wheels? We all have powerful memories of the cars our parents drove when we were growing up, but what about the current crop? Here are the six that we think dad really wants in 2018.
Nissan Qashqai
The Qashqai is a car that has really fired the British imagination. A constant in the top 10 best-seller lists, it’s the UK’s most popular crossover for a reason. Well thought out, well-built and manufactured here in the UK, it has good road manners and excellent comfort and safety, making it the ideal family motor.
But Dad is Dad, and that means it needs something more than just four wheels and an engine to play with. He won’t get bored, though. Nissan’s ‘Around View Monitor’ is not only one of the most advanced safety packs on the market, but it wins at gadget bingo, too, with multiple cameras, self-parking and lane departure warnings.
Volvo V90
A Volvo estate is the ultimate middle-class dad car, and there are hundreds of us who have spent many a happy childhood hour bouncing around in the back, with a boot full of camping gear, beach balls and family pets.
But whereas Volvos of old were a bit boxy but good, the latest generation of Swedish load luggers are a class apart. The V90 still retains all the sensible practicality of Volvos of old, but wrapped in a sleek, modern body with an interior that looks like a display room in Ikea. Dad’s Volvo has suddenly got very cool indeed.
Skoda Kodiaq
Most Dads love to tell the world about their financial brilliance and the wise decisions they have made, so the Skoda Kodiaq has all of the hallmarks of a great dad choice.
It’s a spacious, practical family car, it has all the scores on the doors when it comes to road test ratings (kids – this is something that Dad brags to other dads about when he escapes to the pub) and it’s also really quite good. Mum will probably like it, too. It also has a seven-seat option for when Dad needs to take someone else’s little angels somewhere, along with his own.
Jaguar F-Pace
While a Skoda Kodiaq is undoubtedly one of the best SUVs on the market, this is the SUV that dad REALLY wants. The Jaguar F-Pace is both stylish and terrific to drive, plus it has a Jaguar badge, which means that Dad gets a very cool keyring to show to people down the pub.
It drives like a sports car, has the interior of a luxury car and manages to combine both of those facets with handsome good looks (just like Dad) and extreme practicality. It’s also surprisingly affordable, so don’t be surprised if you start seeing F-Pace brochures lying around on the coffee table, or subtly deposited in Mum’s handbag.
BMW 5 Series
Does it get more dad car than a four-door saloon? We don't think so, and he will no doubt want the best of them.
Look no further than the BMW 5 Series. It's the four-door saloon, offering tons of practicality, serious levels of equipment and a great driving experience in one sleek package.
Better still — he might even be able to convince mum that the 592bhp, 4.4-litre V8-powered M5 is a reasonable machine for carting the family around in.
Lamborghini Aventador
Finally, the car that Dad really wants. If it wasn’t for his precious little moppets, trivial things like ‘the mortgage’, feeding the kids and a constant drip-feed of power tools and car magazine subscriptions, this is the car that Dad would drive. Indeed, if he didn’t have children, things may have been very different.
That said, while you may be the reason that Dad can’t afford a Lamborghini, if he did, then chances are it wouldn’t be long before he had children anyway. After all, what’s not to like about a man who drives a Lamborghini? Potential mums would be queuing up at the car’s scissor-action doors.