Lots of lucky teenagers get a new car in the summertime, either because they’ve graduated from high school or because they’re heading off to college in the fall. If you’re a parent and you’re thinking of getting your kid a new car this summer, this list of the 6 best cars for teen drivers is an essential read.
Before you take a look at our recommendations, though, it’s important to understand how we determined the finalists.
Each of the six vehicles listed below had to meet the following criteria:
• Under $20,000* with an automatic transmission
• “Top Safety Pick” or “Top Safety Pick+” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and 5-Star National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) crash test rating
• Equipped with Bluetooth at the price requirement
• Offered with text-messaging support capability as an option or on a higher trim level
• Weighs more than 2,700 lbs. for better crash compatibility with larger vehicles
Now that you understand how we define a safe vehicle, let’s take a look at the models that meet these criteria:
2016 Chevrolet Sonic LT Automatic
Chevrolet’s second-smallest offering (the pint-sized Spark being the runt of the litter) is certainly not small on upsides, garnering a Top Safety Pick rating and offering a 7-inch touchscreen, Bluetooth connectivity, and Siri Eyes-Free for iPhones at a price that starts at well under $20,000. You can have your Sonic in sedan or hatchback form, and with a manual or automatic transmission.
Top it off with a respectable 28 mpg in combined driving, and you’ve got possibly the best all-around compact for young drivers.
• $18,420 (sedan), $19,020 (hatchback) plus $875 destination charge
•28 mpg in combined driving (sedan and hatchback)
• 2,753 lbs. (sedan); 2,726 lbs. (hatchback)
2016 Honda Civic LX Sedan CVT
The country’s best-selling small car is back and better than ever for 2016, and offers the same combination of safety, reliability, and value we’ve come to expect from Honda. The base LX model starts at $19,440 with a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT), but adding an extra $1,000 gets you the Honda Sensing safety package, which includes forward collision warning, lane departure warning, a collision mitigation braking system, and road departure mitigation system, and industry best for safety tech on such an affordable trim level.
Read more of the original article in the New York Times.