Teen Driving: When Your Kid Takes the Wheel
It may be the moment to upend the time-honored tradition of giving your fledgling teen driver your hand-me-down clunker. Rather than debating whether your new car will be cherry red or electric blue, we recommend that the newest driver in the house get the newest car.
Why would we suggest that cruel reversal of fortune? Because new cars today have key safety and accident-avoidance systems such as electronic stability control—which wasn’t required until 2012—as well as forward-collision warning and automatic emergency braking. (Learn more about car safety.)
Of course, every driver needs those features. But a more experienced motorist can more deftly navigate an emergency maneuver in an older car with fewer safety devices.
For teen drivers, we recommend a moderately sized sedan or hatchback, or a small, car-based SUV. Consider a car with a stick shift; with both hands engaged, the temptation to text is eliminated. But a base-model stick shift often won’t offer forward-collision warning or automatic emergency braking.
Also nix full-sized pickups and large, truck-based SUVs. Their higher center of gravity makes them more prone to roll over in a sudden move, handling is cumbersome, and braking distances are longer. Three-row vehicles are another no-no, because the extra seats tend to get filled with distracting friends. Also avoid sporty cars, which beg to be driven too fast and usually have higher insurance premiums.
The cars on our list, featured in the photo gallery below in alphabetical order, performed well in our testing and did adequately or better in government and insurance-industry crash tests, plus they have average or better predicted reliability.
We ruled out cars with 0-60 mph acceleration times faster than 7.5 seconds or slower than 11 seconds—the better to avoid drag racing or sluggish highway merging—as well as cars with braking distances longer than 145 feet in dry conditions, and those with mediocre emergency-handling scores.
For more safety information, visit Consumer Reports' Guide to Distracted Driving & Teen Safety.
Top Used Cars for Teens
Not every family can afford a brand-new car. If you’re watching your budget, a used car with low mileage can fit the bill, too. Here are our recommendations.
Make | Model | Year(s) |
Acura | TSX | |
Buick | Regal | 2012-13 |
Chevrolet | Equinox (4-cyl.) | 2012 or later |
Malibu (4-cyl.) | 2009 or later | |
Ford | Focus sedan | 2010-12 |
Fusion (4-cyl. and hybrid) | 2010-12 | |
Honda | Accord (4-cyl.) | 2008 or later |
Civic | 2012 or later | |
CR-V | 2015 or later | |
Fit | 2011 or later | |
Hyundai | Elantra | 2012 or later |
Santa Fe | 2007-09 | |
Sonata (4-cyl., nonturbo) | 2006 or later | |
Tucson | 2010 or later | |
Kia | Forte | 2010-11 |
Optima (nonturbo) | 2011 or later | |
Soul | ||
Sportage (4-cyl., nonturbo) | 2011 or later | |
Mazda | Mazda3 | 2011 or later |
Mazda6 (4-cyl.) | ||
CX-5 | ||
Mitsubishi | Outlander (non-3rd row) | 2007-13 |
Nissan | Altima (4-cyl.) | 2010-12 |
Rogue | 2010-13 | |
Sentra | 2011-12 | |
Scion | xB | 2008 or later |
xD | 2012 or later | |
Subaru | Crosstrek | |
Forester (nonturbo) | 2009 or later | |
Impreza (nonturbo) | 2011 or later | |
Legacy (4-cyl.) | 2009 or later | |
Outback (4-cyl.) | 2009 or later | |
Toyota | Camry (4-cyl.) | 2010 or later |
Corolla | 2010 or later | |
Matrix | 2010 or later | |
Prius | 2010 or later | |
RAV4 (4-cyl., non-3rd row) | 2004 or later | |
Volkswagen | Jetta | 2009-14 |
Jetta SportWagen | ||
Rabbit | 2009 | |
Golf | 2010-14 | |
Tiguan | 2013 or later | |
Volvo | S60 | 2012 or later |
Editor's Note: This article also appeared in the September 2016 issue of Consumer Reports magazine.
More from Consumer Reports:
5 least reliable cars from Consumer Reports' survey
Best Used Cars for $25,000 and Less
Which Car Brands make the Best Vehicles
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