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Parents choosing a car for their teen driver have a tough decision to make because they need to strike a balance between cost and safety.
The temptation—often born of necessity—is to buy a less expensive, bare-bones model or to pass down an older family car. But because the car will be transporting their children, parents should pick the best and safest car their budget allows.
Teenagers are among the riskiest drivers because of a combination of immaturity, inexperience, and social pressures. Consequently, teens have crash rates that are almost four times those of drivers 20 and older. Choosing the right car can help teens stay safe, but it can be challenging to balance all the factors that make a vehicle ideal for inexperienced drivers.
Consumer Reports and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) have joined forces to pick safe, reliable used cars, SUVs, and minivans that are well-suited for young drivers. Combining expertise and data, CR and the IIHS have compiled a simple list of vehicles that balance accident avoidance, crash protection, performance, and reliability. The vehicle recommendations are ideal for teens, but they can serve any shopper looking for a vehicle that excels in those areas.
All vehicles in this list are used cars and have a starting price of $20,000 or less. (Higher-trim models may cost more.) They are ranked within the car size by the starting price.
There are two tiers of recommendations: Good Choices and Best Choices.
To make the cut to be a Good Choice, the vehicles must have:
The Best Choices meet a more stringent criteria that also factors:
A good or acceptable rating in the IIHS driver’s-side small-overlap front crash test, which was launched in 2012. The test replicates what happens when the front left corner of a vehicle collides with another vehicle or an object such as a tree or utility pole.
Insurance claim rates. “Injury claims provide another window onto safety in the real world and may capture things that crash tests don’t,” says IIHS President David Harkey. Consequently, the Best Choices list excludes vehicles that have substantially higher than average insurance claim rates under medical payment or personal injury protection coverage. Both coverage types pay for injuries to occupants of the insured vehicle. The Highway Loss Data Institute, an IIHS affiliate, collects and publishes insurance loss data by make and model every year. The results are adjusted for driver age, gender, and other factors that could affect risk.
These recommendations focus on “Goldilocks” models that provide the best all-around protection for inexperienced drivers. Ultimately, the goal is to select a reliable car with as much safety as you can afford. Increasingly, advanced driver assist systems (ADAS) are becoming widespread and are now available in many late-model used cars. Features such as forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, pedestrian detection, and blind spot warning are all proven features that can help avoid collisions and are worth considering, if your budget allows.
The starting price listed is the least expensive version in the range of years, assuming that the vehicle is in good condition with typical mileage and that it’s sold via private party. The prices were provided by Kelley Blue Book.
For complete road tests, reliability, owner satisfaction, pricing, and much more, click on the model names below.
MODEL (YEAR RANGE) | STARTING PRICE |
---|---|
SMALL CARS | |
Mazda3 (2011-13) | $5,300 |
Honda Civic sedan (2012-15) | $5,600 |
Toyota Corolla sedan (2012 or newer) | $6,800 |
Toyota Prius (2011 or newer) | $6,800 |
MIDSIZED CARS | |
Subaru Legacy (2011-12) | $5,700 |
Lincoln MKZ (2011-12) | $6,000 |
Subaru Outback (2011-12) | $6,600 |
Toyota Camry (2012 or newer) | $7,500 |
Toyota Prius V (2012-14) | $7,800 |
Honda Accord sedan (2012) | $7,900 |
Hyundai Sonata (2015-16) | $10,100 |
LARGE CARS | |
Ford Taurus (2011-15) | $5,400 |
Hyundai Azera (2012-14) | $7,200 |
Buick Regal (2015-16) | $8,900 |
SMALL SUVS | |
Hyundai Tucson (2011-15) | $5,400 |
Ford Escape (2015, 2018-19) | $9,300 |
Kia Sportage (2015, 2018) | $10,200 |
Toyota RAV4 (2013-14) | $10,900 |
MIDSIZED SUVS | |
Toyota Venza (2009-15) | $7,000 |
Toyota Highlander (2008-19) | $7,800 |
Ford Edge (2014-15) | $10,000 |
MINIVAN | |
Toyota Sienna (2011-14) | $7,100 |
MODEL (YEAR RANGE) | STARTING PRICE |
---|---|
SMALL CARS | |
Mazda 3 (2014 or newer; built after October 2013) | $7,000 |
Subaru Impreza (2014 or newer) | $8,700 |
Hyundai Elantra GT (2018 or newer) | $14,000 |
Kia Forte (2019 or newer) | $14,600 |
Toyota Corolla hatchback (2019 or newer) | $15,800 |
Honda Insight (2019 or newer) | $17,900 |
Subaru Crosstrek (2018 or newer) | $18,700 |
Toyota Prius Prime (2017 or newer) | $18,700 |
MIDSIZED CARS | |
Subaru Legacy (2013 or newer; built after August 2012) | $7,600 |
Subaru Outback (2013 or newer; built after August 2012) | $8,500 |
Honda Accord sedan and coupe (2013 or newer) | $9,200 |
Volkswagen Jetta (2016-2018) | $9,800 |
Mazda 6 (2015 or newer) | $10,500 |
Volkswagen Passat (2016-2018) | $11,000 |
Toyota Prius V (2015-17) | $12,600 |
Lincoln MKZ (2016 or newer) | $13,300 |
Volvo S60 (2017-2018) | $15,300 |
Nissan Altima (2019 or newer) | $17,000 |
Audi A3 (2017, 2020) | $18,300 |
BMW 3 Series sedan (2017 or newer; built after November 2016) | $18,600 |
LARGE CAR | |
Hyundai Genesis (2016) | $18,000 |
SMALL SUVS | |
Mazda CX-5 (2014 or newer; built after October 2013) | $8,200 |
Buick Encore (2016 and newer) | $10,700 |
Chevrolet Equinox (2016 or newer) | $12,100 |
Honda CR-V (2015-2016, 2019 or newer) | $12,200 |
Mazda CX-3 (2017 or newer) | $12,300 |
Subaru Forester (2016 or newer) | $12,500 |
Nissan Rogue (2017 or newer) | $13,400 |
Toyota RAV4 (2015 or newer; built after November 2014) | $13,800 |
Honda HR-V (2017-2018; built after March 2017) | $14,000 |
Hyundai Kona (2018 or newer) | $14,500 |
Kia Niro (2018) | $15,400 |
Audi Q3 (2016 or newer) | $17,300 |
MIDSIZED SUVS | |
GMC Terrain (2014, 2016 or newer) | $9,400 |
Kia Sorento (2016 or newer) | $13,400 |
Nissan Murano (2015 or newer) | $13,800 |
Hyundai Santa Fe Sport (2017-2018) | $15,800 |
Hyundai Santa Fe (2017 or newer; built after March 2016) | $17,800 |
Mazda CX-9 (2017 or newer; built after November 2016) | $18,400 |
Lincoln MKX (2017-2018) | $19,600 |
MINIVANS | |
Toyota Sienna (2015 or newer) | $11,900 |
Honda Odyssey (2015-2016) | $12,400 |
Kia Sedona (2016-17) | $12,600 |
Martin Insurance Agency represent over 50 Insurance companies, so we shop multiple carriers on your behalf in order to find you the best coverage at the best price. Contact us today to get a hassle-free quote and see how much money you can save.