Best new and used cars for teens
Hyundai Accent, left, tops list in affordability.
It’s that time of year when teens descend upon campuses nationwide with new sneakers, tablets and various other back-to-school essentials. Some will be carpooled or take public transportation while many image-conscious young adults will be pulling up alone in a fresh set of wheels, courtesy of their parents.
Whether your teen is a college student who got their license a few years ago or a new driver who’s fresh out of the permit-driving stage, experts say safety, reliability and cost override all the sleek design and cool tech teens would want.
“The way that we think about it is, if the teen is excited about the car, it’s probably the wrong car,” said Jamie Page Deaton, executive editor of U.S. News, which just released its annual list, aptly titled the Best New and Used Cars for Teens.
U.S. News’ list spotlights the cars with advanced safety features that encourage healthy driving practices coupled with low lifetime ownership costs. This year’s round-up suggests that there’s some common ground between vehicles young adults will be content with and safety technology that allows parents to breathe a sigh of relief.
Most have basic connectivity features like Apple Car Play that young adults can use to stream music from their smartphone that’s rarely out of reach.
Almost all of the cars offer lane departure warning, which lets the driver know that the car is straying out of its lane, and most of the cars also have driving controls that send notifications to parents when the vehicle is going over a safe speed.
Some of the cars use apps to let parents know when the vehicle has left a set geographic area or if a teen is going for a drive after a certain time of night.
Page Deaton says that the list comprises cars and connectivity systems “that put parents in the driver’s seat” even when the teenager is riding alone. Criteria for selection included predicted reliability ratings, crash test scores, available advanced driver assistance features and price.
In order to be named best overall, a used car had to have a model year between 2014 and 2016 as well as have high dependability and safety ratings. Ownership costs and positive reviews from critics were also taken into consideration.