As many as 72 percent of parents will be embarking on a car journey with their kids, either this October half term or at Christmas. However, a new study by Hyundai, has revealed the most challenging UK routes for families with kids under 10 – and its bottlenecks, tailbacks and motorway misery all the way.
Topping the list is the M25, dubbed “Britain’s biggest car park” – almost a third of mums and dads (29 percent) say the London Orbital is the nation’s number one nightmare route, thanks to seemingly endless traffic jams and miles of queues.
Hot on its bumper comes the M5 from Birmingham to Devon/Cornwall, and the A30 into Cornwall (both 19 percent) which is infamous for summer holiday tailbacks that turn a two-hour trip into an all-day drive.
Other motorways to feature in the list include The M1 around Milton Keynes and Luton (17 percent), the M6 to the Lake District (17 percent) and the M62 across the Pennines (15 percent), with parents citing roadworks, wind and weather as key challenges. One in six (15 percent) also say they have waited patiently going past Stonehenge on the A303 wondering when the queues will end.
It’s not just the motorways driving families round the bend though, the A1/A1(M) through Cambridgeshire and North Yorkshire (13 percent), the A2/M2 to Dover (13 percent) and the M20 to Folkestone/Eurotunnel (12 percent) also all appear.
Even Scotland and Wales aren’t spared with the stunning but slow single carriageways of the A82 to Loch Lomond (10 percent), the A9 through the Cairngorms (nine percent) and the A470 to Snowdonia (eight percent) proving that despite the beautiful scenery they can be a bit challenging.
Further research from brand also shows that it’s not just difficult drives that are keeping parents behind the wheel – according to the findings, mums and dads across the country are clocking up nine hours a month driving simply to get their children to sleep, with 73 percent admitting they regularly do laps of their neighbourhood for nap time.
Sitting in traffic (42 percent), engine noise (41 percent), and frequent petrol stops (36 percent) top the list of parent frustrations when trying to get a child to nod off. Then there’s also the dilemma of whether to wake a sleeping child just to pay for fuel (28 percent), the guilt of wasting petrol while idling (26 percent), and the sheer drain of spending hours behind the wheel (21 percent).
Despite the challenges, 43 percent of parents still say road trips are fun, and 36 percent treasure fond childhood memories of journeys with their own families.
Ashley Andrew, President of Hyundai Motor & Genesis UK said: “At Hyundai, we want to make all journeys easier and calmer for everyone. The KONA Electric, with its whisper-quiet powertrain and smooth driving experience, is the perfect partner – whether it’s the school run, nap-time laps or a cross-country adventure. Through our new ‘Rest Drives’ initiative, parents can experience its calming, family-friendly benefits first-hand.”
No wonder one in ten parents (11 percent) admit the only truly peaceful journeys are the ones when the kids are asleep.
Hyundai commissioned the research to highlight the sleep-inducing qualities of its award-winning KONA Electric. The brand is launching ‘Rest Drives’ – extended test drives designed to help families discover a calmer way to travel.
It’s no surprise that more than one in five (21 percent) admit car journeys with kids under ten can be stressful, with 15 percent saying they do not know how their parents coped in the days before tech.
When asked about hacks to make journeys more peaceful, 24 percent of parents say they head off at the crack of dawn to “beat the traffic”, while over half (53 percent) insist plenty of snacks are essential for a modern car trip.
The KONA Electric extended test drive offer is open to all parents and available at the below participating retailers until 31st October 2025. To book, visit https://www.hyundai.com/uk/en/rest-drive.html.
THE 19 MOST CHALLENGING JOURNEYS IN THE UK, ACCORDING TO PARENTS OF UNDER 10S
| M25 (London Orbital) – Britain’s biggest car park | 29% |
| M5 from Birmingham to Devon/Cornwall – crawling southbound in summer | 19% |
| A30 into Cornwall – endless queues once you’ve “survived” the A303 | 19% |
| M1 around Milton Keynes and Luton – heavy commuter and holiday traffic | 17% |
| M6 to the Lake District – plagued by roadworks and bottlenecks | 17% |
| A303 past Stonehenge (London to Cornwall) – iconic but jammed | 15% |
| M62 across the Pennines (Manchester to Leeds) – wind, weather and congestion | 15% |
| A1/A1(M) through Cambridgeshire and North Yorkshire – long, often slow, with patchy upgrades | 13% |
| A2/M2 towards Dover – chaos with port traffic and holiday getaways | 13% |
| M20 to Folkestone/Eurotunnel – Operation Stack queues in summer | 12% |
| M8 through Glasgow – short but notoriously congested | 11% |
| A55 into North Wales – notorious at bank holidays, especially near Chester | 11% |
| M4 to South Wales – delays near Newport and the Severn crossings | 10% |
| A82 to Loch Lomond and the Highlands – beautiful but narrow and busy | 10% |
| M3/M27 to the South Coast (Portsmouth & Southampton) – bottlenecks near Winchester | 10% |
| A64 to Scarborough and Whitby – only one road in, only one road out | 10% |
| A90 Dundee to Aberdeen – busy lorry traffic and holidaymakers | 9% |
| A9 through the Cairngorms (Scotland) – stunning views, single carriageways, and speed cameras | 9% |
| A470 Cardiff to Snowdonia – spectacular, but winding and slow | 8% |