Photo: IIHS
In its ongoing goal to help people choose safe vehicles, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) just announced its first-ever list of vehicles that it recommends as ideal cars for teenagers. More than just a list for teens, though, this is a good collection for anyone to check out if you’re in the market for a safe and affordable used vehicle.
Looking to give teen-specific recommendations, the IIHS list leaves off high-horsepower cars and big trucks and SUVs, and then it looked at used cars with good crash test ratings (either from itself or from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) and standard electronic stability control (ESC). Finally, it compared these vehicles to current resale values listed by Kelley Blue Book in order to break its list into two categories: Best Choices and Good Choices.
To earn a recommendation for the Best Choices, a vehicle must be priced under $20,00 and get top IIHS crash ratings (not including ), while the vehicles named to the list of Good Choices must be priced under $10,000 and get high crash ratings in most segments except head restraints and seats where anything better than a Poor rating makes the cut. In total, there are 56 vehicles named as Best Choices and 39 on the Good Choices with prices ranging from as low as $4,000 to well above the $15,000 mark.
Looking over the list of almost 100 cars, there are plenty that your average teenager probably wouldn’t be caught dead driving like the Subaru Tribeca, Hyundai Azera or any of the minivans, but there are a handful standouts that would be fun (in addition to safe and economical) for first-time drivers. These include Best Choices like the Buick Regal (2011+) priced at $13,500, the Kia Sportage (2011+) priced at $13,800 and the Ford Edge (2011+) priced at $15,500 and Good Choices like the 2004 and up Acura TL starting at $7,900, the 2007-2011 Mazda CX-7 starting at $7,200 and even the cheapest car on the list, the 2005 and newer Saab 9-3 starting at just $4,000.
As vehicles have gotten safer over the years, it’s not surprising that just about all automakers from the U.S., Europe and Asia are well-represented on this list. You can see the full list for yourself by checking out the press release attached below or by visiting the IIHS website.
To earn a recommendation for the Best Choices, a vehicle must be priced under $20,00 and get top IIHS crash ratings (not including ), while the vehicles named to the list of Good Choices must be priced under $10,000 and get high crash ratings in most segments except head restraints and seats where anything better than a Poor rating makes the cut. In total, there are 56 vehicles named as Best Choices and 39 on the Good Choices with prices ranging from as low as $4,000 to well above the $15,000 mark.
Looking over the list of almost 100 cars, there are plenty that your average teenager probably wouldn’t be caught dead driving like the Subaru Tribeca, Hyundai Azera or any of the minivans, but there are a handful standouts that would be fun (in addition to safe and economical) for first-time drivers. These include Best Choices like the Buick Regal (2011+) priced at $13,500, the Kia Sportage (2011+) priced at $13,800 and the Ford Edge (2011+) priced at $15,500 and Good Choices like the 2004 and up Acura TL starting at $7,900, the 2007-2011 Mazda CX-7 starting at $7,200 and even the cheapest car on the list, the 2005 and newer Saab 9-3 starting at just $4,000.
As vehicles have gotten safer over the years, it’s not surprising that just about all automakers from the U.S., Europe and Asia are well-represented on this list. You can see the full list for yourself by checking out the press release attached below or by visiting the IIHS website.
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