'It's never the big stuff that derails our family trips. It's... everything else.'

Thanks to our brand partner, Hyundai

Late last year, I took a family road trip up the coast for my brother and sister-in-law's wedding.

The passengers? Me, my husband, and our two toddlers. The destination? Belligen, about six hours north of Sydney. The challenge? Arrive in one piece. (Or as close to it as possible.)

The takeaway? When it comes to family road trips, the big details I was obsessively focused on: which roads should we take? Should we stay somewhere overnight? When would the boys nap? Which turned out to be… exactly the wrong things to be worrying out. The true secret to success is actually found in the little details.

That so happens to be exactly the ethos of the Hyundai ELEXIO. This practical, family-friendly car is designed to take care of the little things so you can focus on the big stuff. With a spacious 5-seat layout, perfect for long drives, and loads of flexible storage solutions (hello, large boot), it's built to handle life on the move.

It also features a smart 27" panoramic infotainment system, ready for car singalongs, and fast charging capabilities that take the battery from 10-80 per cent in approximately 38 minutes when using a 350 KW charger. The Hyundai ELEXIO has sorted a load of the small details so you don't have to worry.

And while you're here, please allow me to share some of the other little details I wish I had known about before we set off on our big drive.

Image: Supplied.

1. Let the entertainment (mostly) come to you.

I've had a fair bit of experience packing kids' toys and books for plane trips, but it turns out that the car is a whole different ball game. On the upside, toys with small parts aren't such an issue, because everything is contained in the car. On the downside, your movement is far more limited — there's no option to stand up every five minutes and grab the next thing out of an overhead locker.

My natural instinct is to overprepare and pack every toy we've ever owned, but the results of this were not good: the kids were overwhelmed, overstimulated and actually got bored more quickly when I threw every activity and the kitchen sink at them in the back seat.

Funnily enough, the most fun we had wasn't with toys I'd packed at all, but with some good old fashioned "look out the window" games like I Spy. For two truck-obsessed toddlers, driving past massive semis on the Pacific Highway was better than anything I could have brought from home. Doling out one car-appropriate toy or activity (like an etch-a-sketch or a pair of toy dinosaurs) at a time, at the discretion of the person in the passenger seat, was the perfect backup.

Another thing to think about on a long drive? The car itself. The Hyundai ELEXIO comes with a gaming mode for kids while the car is safely stopped, plus a gloriously large boot that fits all your luggage/toys/snacks, and then some.

Image: Hyundai.

Its smooth, serene drive and it being a quiet EV makes even longer stretches feel calm… which is exactly what you need when you're trying to keep toddlers happy (and adults sane). Features like these really mean a lot of the small stress points on the road are already taken care of.

Image: Hyundai.

And if things really start to fall apart? There's never a bad time to pull over and have an ice block.

2. Sort your snacks in advance.

Oh, I know what you're thinking. You can get snacks on the road, right? Er, wrong. Well, as close as you can get to being wrong while technically still being right.

Sure, you'll be able to find things to eat on the road, in the sense that nobody in your family will starve to death. And if you happen to have the kind of children who are very flexible, love change and are never fazed by a change of plan, you could definitely take a gamble on whatever you can find in the closest service station. That could be fun! It will definitely not be the end of the world in the eyes of your three-year-old, who you thought would be thrilled at the prospect of eating a Happy Meal but actually just wants a peanut butter sandwich!

Look, take it from me: save yourself a full meltdown on the side of the motorway and just pack the kind of sultanas they like.

3. Come up with a playlist you can actually survive.

My kids know exactly the type of music they like to listen to in the car (the entire soundtrack to KPop Demon Hunters and the classic hit 'Toot Toot Chugga Chugga Big Red Car'). My husband and I also know exactly the type of music we like to listen to in the car (a playlist called 'Country Drivin''). There is only one problem: there is zero overlap between those two genres.

I normally let my kids listen to their music when we go for a drive — I'm not a total monster — but six hours of 'Soda Pop' is more than even I can bear.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and an hour into the trip, I was Googling "best playlists for kids (that won't make adults cry)". I stumbled on a Spotify playlist called 'Family Pop' and we had an absolute blast making our way through it on the drive. My personal favourites? 'Shotgun' by George Ezra (the boys made us listen to this about ten times) and 'Strawberry Kisses' by Nikki Webster (I made us listen to this about twenty times).

4. Abandon aesthetics and embrace comfort.

Unlike other forms of travel, when you're in the car, nobody else can see you. That's why I started — and finished — our road trip with my kids in their pajamas. Save the cute, colour-coordinated outfits for when you actually arrive at your destination, because the most important thing when you're on the road is maximum comfort for everyone. Let's face it — if I'm wearing my trackies (which you bet your boots I am), my kids deserve the same level of coziness.

Little things make a big difference: whether it's easy-to-reach snacks, a playlist everyone can survive, or toys that only come out at the right moment. These small touches honestly turn the drive into something much easier.

After all, when it comes to family roadtrips, it's the small wins that make everything more manageable.

Explore the all-new Hyundai ELEXIO, with an introductory price of $59,990 driveaway.

When connected to a 350 kW charger, the ELEXIO can recharge from 10 per cent to 80 per cent in approximately 38 minutes. Charging times may increase if peak charging rates are not achieved. Charging times may vary based on factors including but not limited to charger type and condition, battery temperature, electricity supply, auxiliary consumables (e.g. air-conditioning) and environmental conditions.

The driveaway price is available at participating Hyundai dealers for ELEXIO Elite new stock vehicles (with no added options) purchased and delivered between January 1, 2026 and March 31, 2026. While stocks last. Not available to fleet, government or rental buyers, or with other offers. Hyundai reserves the right to change, supersede or extend this offer at its discretion.

Featured image: Supplied.

Doing Big Things is what we're all about at Hyundai. It was our founder's mission all those years ago, and it's the ambition that drives us today.

From design, to innovation, to problem solving, we aim to have an outsized impact.

But more importantly, we want to create the cars that unlock the dreams of everyday Australians, so they can do their big things.