Best New Cars for Teens
Consumer Reports and the IIHS name safe, reliable new cars and SUVs that are smart choices for teens
Parents want to empower their child to be safe and responsible behind the wheel, starting with a good driver’s education program, car insurance, and an appropriate car.
Picking the right car can be the hardest part because there are so many factors to consider. That is why Consumer Reports and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety have teamed up to recommend new and used cars that testing and analysis have shown to be best suited to inexperienced drivers.
“As parents, we can’t control what happens on the road once our teen driver pulls out of the driveway,” says Jennifer Stockburger, director of operations at CR’s Auto Test Center. “But we do have some say in the type of vehicle they drive, and that can make a huge difference. This list can help parents to easily find vehicles that check all the boxes.”
The Benefits of Buying a New Car
New cars come with a comprehensive bumper-to-bumper warranty. And they have the promise of being dependable through high school and well beyond, a time when young adults have other things to focus on, rather than worrying about roadside emergencies and potentially expensive repairs. Plus, many have the very latest active safety features and integrated services like e911, which can automatically call for help in an emergency and give the precise location of the vehicle, even if drivers are unable to do so themselves.
“While buying a new car for a young driver is less common than buying used, new cars provide the opportunity to give a young driver an advantage in terms of providing the latest in both crash avoidance and crash protection technologies,” says CR’s Stockburger. “If you’re putting out the additional money to buy new, why not choose the safest models and configurations available?”
To help families considering the new-car strategy, CR and the IIHS developed this list of cars that balance accident avoidance, crash protection, performance, and reliability. These selections are ideal for teens, but they can serve any shopper looking for a vehicle that excels in those areas.
These best new cars for teens cost from $23,400 to $39,600, slightly less than the price of the average new car ($47,218), according to Kelley Blue Book. There is one electric car on the list: the Hyundai Ioniq 6. Reliability and price have limited the number of EVs featured this year, and the organizations have ongoing concerns about the rapid acceleration that EVs commonly provide, but we expect to find more EVs in future lists as prices drop in future years.
