Updated: Ten best cars for teens

Being a Northerner, I believe in layers. Before allowing your teen to go anywhere, first wrap them in a layer of latex. Then foam rubber 1″ thick followed by 3 layers of polyester fleece covered with a size XXXL parka. Stuff a sock in their mouth and duct tape their hands and they’re ready for a hot night on the town. Oh yeah….Aaron!? Waddaya mean by suggesting you give em a car? They walk, durn it; THEY WALK! (20 miles, up hill both ways, against a stiff headwind, in the snow, yadda….yadda….yadda…..).

I have to say that any car with Microsoft Sync seems like a bad plan for teenagers.
In an ideal world I would want teens and most adults to lock their iPod and their Cell in the glove box while they drive.
I can just see teens showing off all the cool things that sync can do while driving in traffic and eating a burger. Goodness knows I would have.

What kind of teen gets a 2008 model car? My parents easily taught me the responsibility you-break-it-you-walk lesson using the car they would have traded in with 100k miles on it. Yeah, there were a few fun repair bills, but its not like safety features like air bags and ABS can’t be found on 10 year old cars. I’m not sure who your friends are… but my impression is that most people out there can’t afford to drop 15 or 20,000 on a new car for their kid…

Okay, Aaron. (Or anyone else who wants to chime in, for that matter) Time to fish or cut bait, and pick one. Scenario: Teen daughter (who is 5 foot 8 and still growing) going away to college in Idaho this fall, crossing 3 major and a few minor mountain passes so AWD is mandatory. I’m ruling out the Subaru, mainly because Subaru dealers around greater Seattle are smoking crack when it comes to pricing. So, it’s the Vibe or the SX4. I already know you like the Vibe more than the Toyota Matrix, and from a styling standpoint so do I. I’m thinking the Vibe, just because how many Pontiac dealers there are compared to Suzuki if something goes wrong. It would also be nice (but not essential) if 6 foot 2, 240 pound dad could fit into it without a shoehorn and a pound of Crisco. Or should I look for a good used small SUV, live with the substantially less fuel economy, higher insurance rates, and might not have the most recent safety features? Not my preference, even though she actually is a good driver – except for that pesky “can’t drive a clutch” part. But that’s okay, she never asks to borrow the old Datsun Z Thoughts?

Any certified low mileage and maintained pre-owned Hyundai vehicle would be perfect for any teenager. All cars are equipped with anti-lock brakes and a full compliment of airbags, not to mention the transferable warranty. ALL Standard. The Tuscon would be ideal for an “off to college” teenager and could handle any mountain range in America. Somehow you continually fail to see the value that Hyundai brings to consumers, used or new much more so then Honda and the other over priced 10 cars you listed. Maybe one day you’ll git-it.

I think some people miss the point that this column is about *new* cars. So I would agree with Aaron’s choices, if you are the type who can afford to buy a new car for their kid. New or used it basically comes down to safety and reliability.

Besides the obvious benefit of being cheaper, going used also gives you a better picture of the reliability.

I haven’t forgotten Hyundai, I just didn’t go into specific SUV’s because this is the car forum, not the SUV forum. I’ve driven Hyundais, and thought I was out the door on a screaming deal two-year used XG350L (12k miles), until the “manager” came out and said, “oh, I’m sorry, we’ve already sold that car to another of our outlets, but if you want to pay an extra 1500 bucks to match that price I’ll let YOU have it.” Right. Buh-bye. A used Hyundai would also be more palatable if the 10 year 100k mile powertrain warranty was transferrable – it is not. Only the standard warranty can be transferred.

I have a few months to make a decision. I just saw Aaron’s column and figured it couldn’t hurt to ask. With college tuition also looming, a used, low mileage vehicle would do. If I wasn’t set on the AWD, there would be myriad possibilities. I just don’t want somthing with too many miles on it that will need repairs she (well, actually, probably me) will have to pay for. She didn’t inherit the “work on your own car” gene.

Tradtitionally, I’ve been a fan of used cars for kids. Reliability is much less of an issue these days, even with domestic cars. But with more and more small cars offering side airbags, antilock brakes, and even electronic stability control, I think the argument for a new car is stronger than ever. The fact is that the younger and less experienced a driver is, the greater their chances of an accident — no matter how good a driver they are, there’s simply no substitute for experience. As parents, I’m sure we’d all kick ourselves for not providing the best possible protection for our kids.

As for Hyundais — I’m a *huge* Hyundai fan (don’t you read my reviews? *G*). But I didn’t feel any of the Hyundai models really stood head and shoulders above the other cars on this list. If I had to pick an 11th car, it might well be the Hyundai Accent hatchback.

Brent — Keep in mind that this is the Cars site; we have a seperate site covering SUVs. However, I am not a big fan of putting inexperienced drivers in something with so much mass. It’s all a matter of inertia — you have a much better chance of avoiding a crash in a car than you do in an SUV. — Aaron

Aaron, I’m well aware of the SUV site – in fact I mentioned it in my comment. I was mainly looking at a small AWD car for the fuel economy, and smaller (if any) repair bills – she is currently driving our old, 1st-gen Explorer with a bazillion miles on it, and there’s no way in Hades I’ll let her drive that piece of crap that far. To high school, work, and back, fine. But no interstate travel. Heck, no interCOUNTY travel.
As for the mass, I guess I was old school at the time – I wanted her to be in the bigger car while she was learning, so she would have the vehicle mass protecting her.

And Aaron? You still didn’t answer my question… Unless you want to forward it on to Jason to discuss the pros and cons of Escape/Tribute versus Tucson versus whatever.

I have always been part of the school of thought that puts teens in somewhat crappy cars like my parents did to me. Don’t get me wrong, I think the car should be safe and drivable but if there are cosmetic issues and the interior is worn then so be it.

I think I learned a lot from my first two P.O.S.’s (Ford Maverick coupe, and Ford Fairmont sedan). I learned the value of taking care of and maintaining an older car and what kept it running. I learned to value every dollar by saving to make the cars more visually appealing and eventually saving to buy a newer car. Most importantly, I learned the lesson of fixing something and taking pride in what I had done. Oh, and yeah it was so nice not to have a car payment.

But if were willing and able to plop down almost $15-20K for my teen, then I would have to pick either the Vibe AWD, the Subaru Impreza, or the SX4. All of wich are nice cars that even I would drive. Actually, we bought my wife an ‘06 Toyota Matrix (which my teen will probably get when the time comes).

Great picks, Aaron. I don’t agree on the Focus.I think the Fit would be better due to its space and interior flexibility. But if I were a teenager lucky enough to have my folks hand me a car, I think I would go for the Golf. It’s just so much fun to drive!

No teen should get anything more than an 8 year old oldsmobuick tank.

Brent, if the question is car vs. SUV, I say car. If it’s which small SUV to buy — that’s Jason’s territory — he’s had more seat time in ‘em than I have. (Though I really would like to give that 2008 Escape Hybrid a try…)

Personally I think any parent who buys their child a vehicle is irresponsible. I don’t care how much money they have or how good their kids grades are. Making a teen earn the money needed to purchase said vehicle is a much better choice plus it usually helps teach the child to take better care knowing that they had to work for it. I don’t care where you live, owning a vehicle is not a neccessity. I grew up in the mountains at least 20 miles from any town and rarely had a problem finding rides until I was able to purchase a vehicle myself.

Gary, I understand what you’re saying, and my response will probably be considered sexist. If it were my son instead of my daughter, I’d probably be agreeing with you. But I want her to not to have to cadge rides from people she’s just met. Especially if some of them are frat rats. Her, I trust. Them, I don’t. She has been working, and currently pays her own gas, insurance, and routine maintenance costs. It’s time to replace the Explorer anyway, and with gas nearly triple the price of ten years ago I wanted to go smaller and more fuel efficient. It’s one thing to get 14 miles a gallon when you only drive 50-60 miles in a week around town. It’s a different story for long distance trips going back and forth from college.

I appreciate everyone’s opinion. I think I’ll probably end up with whichever of the target vehicles can be obtained for the best overall combination of cost, miles, fuel economy, and insurance rate. Thank you all for your input.

Aaron, I know someone with a 2007 Escape Hybrid, and she loves it. It was also a $600 a month car payment. I can do without that. Do you think you could persuade Jason to do a Top Ten Small SUV list?

Hey jeff,

I think for most parents, buying a car for their teenager (under 18), simply means that since we adults have to be on title, we can direct the type of car our child buys. The parent actually buys the car, it’s in the parents name, but the teen is allowed to drive the car. I agree that teens should earn their own money to pay for the car and many teens can earn enough money to do just that. But since we’re responsible on title and insurance few of us would allow our teens to buy a Mustang GT.

I also believe in buying used cars too. A used BMW 325xi with low miles costs about as much as one of these new cars. And someone else has already taken the big depreciation hit.

Still, I like Aarons choices.

C

The only problem with this list, is that, as a teenaged car guy(we’re really becoming a rare breed , you know, its amazing how mnay kids (guys even!) can’t tell a camaro from a firebird)..all these cars are unfortuneatly exceptionally boring, aesthetically and performance wise. There’s a lot of younger old folks who cant believe me when i say this, but i dont care if the car has a sound system(or even a radio), air conditioning, good fuel economy, or high safety ratings, or ‘funky’ hatchback styling(I really dont get the appeal of a snub nosed, flat backed econobox); all i want is something that can turn heads, and throw mine back.

I agree with the comment Andrew left. Families like mine can’t afford to pay near that much for a car for an unexperienced driver such as myself. My parents told me they would pay half the price for the vehicle I get. After that, I’m on my own.

i just got my license and my parents let me drive the cadillac cts all the time. its very nice and i dont mind driving it:] like jerrit was saying, we should have a car that turns heads.. all the cars shown were ugly except for the civic. so you boring parents out there: GET A NICE CAR for your kids, you wanted one when you were younger so get them one. put trust in your kids.

I agree with Katie~! Wats mor important? your kids life or some money! huh?

I am a 16 year old in search of a car. In my situation my dad wants me to get a truck. But I am looking at Civic’s and Jetta’s because they are reasonably priced, dependable, fuel efficent. And oh yeah some turn heads. My parents will be paying for it. But unlike some kids im very responsible and know that I have to get a job too.

In us teenagers defense, it’s going to take a while to raise enough money to get even a crappy car. I think most parents get their kids cars so that they aren’t having to drive them(and their friends) around all day. All my friends’ parents can’t wait till we get cars. Although I do disagree with getting a sixteen year old a top of the line luxury vehicle. I think it’s careless of the parents. If I were a sixteen year old driving a mercedes to school, I would be worried that it would get trashed in the parking lot.
I already agreed with my dad that my first car is going to be no more that $14,00. But more if maid half the payment. Does that sound reasonable to anyone?

I think that a great value car for a teenager who wants to have fun while driving is a Porsche 968. It is somewhat pricey, but worth every penny, and will definately turn heads.

The Smart? For teens? Are you kidding?

Your choices suggest you really have no exposure to the information regarding teen driving habits and the need for crashworthiness and safety.

Start with the IIHS crash safety site. Research 5 star crash rated (front and side)cars. Buy a good, used, affordable, safe vehicle.

Ignore most of Aaron’s advice. He really doesn’t seem to know what he’s talking about.

Well, Misha, one thing I do know is that you won’t find any 5-star rated cars on the IIHS web site, because IIHS doesn’t assign star ratings. The Smart scored Good (the best possible rating) in front and side impacts, plus it comes with electronic stability control as standard. Rear crash rating was Acceptable, the second-highest rating, which is the only factor that kept it from getting a Top Safety Pick award from IIHS. — Aaron

As an engineer who understand something about physics, I have to say I think this list misses ths mark on some selections. The IIHS frontal test runs the car into a barrier. That means a small light-weight car like the SmartCar experiences less force in the test. When you put it out on the road against a larger car, you will not get the same results. I submit that that test does not account for the inertia bias you will get in real life. Nothing substitiutes for mass and structure around you. And the side test is done on what appears to be a surface with too low a coefficient of friction, which will also bias the test mass-wise.

As a father who has struggled with this decision, I delineate the problem like this:
You want airbags front and side, abs and vsa, no question. It is nice to say “they gotta pay for it themselves” and “I’m not getting them something newer, they will just wreck it”. But how will that decision sit with you at the funeral (and I have attended just such a funeral mass). You need the later model safety equipment.
From there-
1)the GM tank solution. Best protection. Unlikely to flip. However difficult to drive for a new driver (big and unwieldy). resulting in lots of parking lot fender benders, etc. Gas $$$
2)the small to midsize “safe” car solution. Less protection. Unlikely to flip. But not as safe on the highway where bigger cars will cause disproportionate damge. But easier to drive and manuever. Gas is low cost.
3) the small SUV. somewhere between a tank and the small/midsize in protection. Now have some flip risk. But reasonably manueverable still. Gas is moderate.
4) Big SUV. Maximum protection. But maximum flip risk also. And not very manueverable. Gas $$$.

I think it comes down to where and how your child drives. Mine drives to and from school and local outings. She has only limited interstate usage allowed. And she has trouble dealing with a bigger tank-like vehicle. So I went sith the small SUV.
If she was doing a lot of interstate driving, I would not go with the small SUV because that is where the flip risk really kicks in, as speed increases. I would probably try to find a high-rated midsize for that situation.

BTW, I didn’t mention light trucks. That is because I have seen tons of light trucks on their side in low speed intersection accidents. I have no empirical data about this, but it scares me.

Get over it.