More Safety For Less Money - The Best Cars For Teens

26.05.2024 - 15:49 / forbes.com

Teen drivers have crash rates nearly four times those of drivers 20 and older, so ensuring that they are driving safe vehicles is essential. Reliability and affordability are also important.

To guide families, the latest edition of an annual list of recommended used and new vehicles in a range of budgets that can help teens prevent a crash and protect them well if they do, was released on Wednesday by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and Consumer Reports (CR).

“Vehicles continue to get safer, and for the first time since the pandemic-era disruptions, prices on the new and used market have stabilized,” Jennifer Stockburger, director of operations at CR’s Auto Test Center, said in a statement. “These trends have enabled us to point families to even better options this year.”

This year’s updated list of recommended used vehicles includes 58 models, divided into two groups – Best Choices and Good Choices – ranging in price from $5,800 to $19,900.

Vehicles in the top tier also come with standard automatic emergency braking (AEB), particularly important for young, inexperienced ones, who are more prone to mistakes.

“It’s exciting to see crash avoidance tech like automatic emergency braking filtering through the fleet and into affordable used models, including many priced under $15,000,” Rebecca Weast, Insurance Institute research scientist, said in a statement. “With a little knowledge and patience, families can find the right vehicle for their new driver without spending all their savings.”

The 22 recommended new 2024 models offer state-of-the-art crash protection and crash avoidance, according to the researchers.

For a first-time teen driver, both lists recommend only those vehicles that are not too small, too big or too fast.

Sports cars and others with excessive horsepower are not included, for example, as they can make it too easy to speed and can tempt young drivers to take risks. Mini Cars and other small, light vehicles, which may not provide enough protection in crashes with other vehicles, are not also listed, as are large SUVs and large pickups, as they can be hard to handle and take longer to stop, and pose more risk to pedestrians, bicyclists and people in smaller vehicles.

The requirements for used and new vehicles diverge, but recommended vehicles in both groups scored well in the Insurance Institute’s safety tests and performed well in CR’s tests for braking, emergency handling and reliability.

New cars also scored well for headlights and pedestrian front crash prevention.

This year’s recommended vehicles include one all-electric model, the Hyundai Ioniq 6.

EVs are fundamentally as safe as gas-powered vehicles, but there are concerns about rapid acceleration, researchers