Buying a car is a big decision and big commitment. It’s normal for that process to come with lots of questions, and if you’re shopping for someone else, it can feel like the pressure is really on—especially when that someone else is your own child. Safety is a huge concern when you’re contemplating a first car for your progeny, and we’re not going to gloss over that. But we also have separate lists dedicated to the Safest Cars for Teen Drivers and the Safest Used Cars for Teens, so this feels like an opportunity to explore some other qualities you might want in a young driver’s car.
What to Look For in a Teen’s Car
Let’s start with the obvious: If your teen is getting behind the wheel, you want it to be in a reliable car with plenty of safety features. Look for good ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), both independent safety organizations which conduct rigorous testing on most new cars. And if you’re shopping for a used car, not to worry! Conventional wisdom does hold that it makes sense to keep investment low when you’re buying for a new driver of any age. Like our comments below, official safety ratings continue to apply even when these are no longer new vehicles, and those scores will be extra informative if you’re choosing between various years of the same make and model. If the 2014 Mazda CX-5 scored better than the 2013, that’s good information to have to help narrow down your search.
Here are our picks of the best new cars—likely to later be among the best used cars—for teens.
The 10 Best Cars for Teens in 2025
- Chevrolet Trax
- Toyota Camry
- Honda Accord
- Lexus RC
- Hyundai Palisade/Kia Telluride
- Mazda Mazda3
- Nissan Kicks
- Subaru Forester
- Toyota RAV4
- Volvo XC90
and What to Avoid in a Teen's Car
2024 Chevrolet Trax
Chevy introduced an all-new Trax this year with the 2024 model. In addition to fresh and attractive new styling, this compact crossover saw significant upgrades to its tech offerings. The base LS and step-up 1RS trims come with an 8-inch infotainment touchscreen and two USB ports, and higher trims feature an 11-inch touchscreen with rear-seat USB ports as well. This is also the first time that wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are available in the Trax. Those are great features, and likely to score points with your teen, but they aren’t really what earned the Trax a spot on this list. We love that this entry-level vehicle, even with a starting price under $22,000, comes standard with GM’s Teen Driver technology. The Trax won’t allow your kid to shift out of park, or even crank the radio, until everyone seated in the front row has buckled their seatbelts. On top of that, it can enforce safety feature usage and even send you a “report card” so you can be sure your teen is driving responsibly.
2025 Toyota Camry
The Toyota Camry went hybrid-only for 2025, making it one of the most fuel-efficient vehicles on this list. The EPA rates it at up to 50 mpg combined with AWD. That’s better even than the smaller Toyota Corolla Hybrid, probably because the 2025 Camry is the first sedan to get Toyota’s fifth-generation hybrid system. Despite some major upgrades for its all-new ninth generation, this car still boasts a base price that’s under $30,000. It’s available in sportier SE and XSE trims or more luxe-leaning LE and XLE grades. For a super premium experience, though, you’ll want to look at the Lexus ES, the Camry’s luxury equivalent.
2024 Honda Accord
And then there’s the Camry’s main rival: the Honda Accord. Its latest iteration has been around just a little longer, having debuted for the 2023 model year, but it’s another up-to-date option and, like the Camry, it earned a 2024 Top Safety Pick+. Unlike the Camry, the Accord is still available with a gas-only powertrain if that’s your (or your teen’s) cup of tea, though of course the Accord Hybrid does better on fuel economy. It’s also quieter and more spacious, with a best-in-class 16.7 cubic feet of cargo volume in the trunk.
2024 Lexus RC
When style matters more than space, a coupe is the way to go. And this could be a nice sneaky way to sell your teen on something that actually works for your own priorities. Think about it: The harder it is to get people into the back seat, the less likely they are to pile all their friends in. That means less distracted driving and a lower likelihood that your kid’s car will become their friend group’s go-to mobile party spot. The Lexus RC seats only four, and the back seat is tight enough that no one’s going to want to be back there for long. It also looks a lot sportier than it actually is on the road, and it is available with all-wheel drive (AWD) for added security. Just keep in mind that two-doors are often more expensive to insure than sedans-and teen drivers already pay a premium for youth.
2024 Hyundai Palisade and Kia Telluride
We know, we’re swinging back the other way here. We just finished explaining why a smaller vehicle that can’t fit many people might be a great choice, and now here we are recommending a pair of three-rows. But we’ve got good reasons! Here’s one: Maybe you’ve got a big family, and maybe part of the new-car bargain is that your new driver will be helping out with pickup and dropoff duty for their younger siblings. If that’s the case, the Hyundai Palisade and Kia Telluride are both great options that can seat up to eight passengers. These midsize corporate cousins will certainly calm any concerns you might have about a small car’s chances in the event of a collision, and both come well-equipped with comfort, tech, and safety features. One interesting note: Both earned a 2023 Top Safety Pick+ award from the IIHS, but the Palisade was demoted to the second-best Top Safety Pick for 2024. For more on how the two compare, check out the full breakdown from two expert CarGurus reviewers, above or over on our YouTube channel.
2024 Mazda Mazda3
Finally earning that driver’s license isn’t the only milestone your youngster will be celebrating—the teen years are full of major life changes. One notable example? Moving out on their own. Whether your teen is planning on college or has another path ahead, they may very well soon find themselves loading all their earthly possessions into their car and hitting the road. You want to a vehicle that’s nice and maneuverable for a first-time driver, but you also want it to have plenty of cargo space. For a car that’s smaller on the outside, bigger on the inside, you can’t go wrong with a hatchback, and the Mazda Mazda3 is a great example. It looks great, it’s available with front-wheel drive (FWD) or AWD and your choice of naturally aspirated or turbocharged powertrains, and it earned an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award in 2024.
2025 Nissan Kicks
Nissan gave the Kicks a complete overhaul for 2025, and yet this subcompact SUV is still the most affordable vehicle on this-or any-list. As of this writing, it clocks in at $23,220, including destination. It features sharp, youthful styling and a new continuously variable transmission (CVT) which successfully addresses our biggest beef with its predecessor. The Kicks isn’t going to be the most exciting to drive, but it checks all the boxes for creature comforts and tech features at a seriously impressive price, and it scored a Top Safety Pick award to boot.
2025 Subaru Forester
The Subaru Forester consistently earns IIHS Top Safety Pick awards, and the 2025 model performed well enough in crash tests to move back up to the coveted Top Safety Pick+ tier. The Forester was redesigned for 2025 with fresh looks, a quieter cabin, and more standard features. Unfortunately, its infotainment system still appears untouched since the early aughts, and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are still not standard. But if it’s safety features you’re after, you’ll likely want to step up to the Touring trim, anyway: That’s where the driver distraction-mitigation system and the new Emergency Stop Assist feature come into play. Regardless of trim level, Subaru’s small SUV naturally features standard all-wheel drive (AWD), a hallmark of the brand. It’s not great for fuel economy, but confident handling is a boon to drivers of any age, and at 28-29 mpg combined, the 2025 Forester’s efficiency is far from terrible.
2024 Toyota RAV4
The RAV4 is one of the older models on this list. It entered its current (fifth) generation for 2019 and got a refresh for 2022, so it’s not a buzzy, newsy choice like some rivals. But maybe that’s exactly what you’re looking for in your teen’s vehicle: something with a well-established reputation for reliability and no distracting whiz-bang gadgetry. Even for the 2025 model, base MSRP is still under $30,000. Of course, if you’re looking at the RAV4 Hybrid or the plug-in hybrid RAV4 Prime, you’ll pay a premium for those advanced powertrain technologies, but either way, the RAV4 is a solid, respectable choice, and if you get your teen in one now, it will likely be a long, long time before they need to buy another car.
2025 Volvo XC90
Volvo has earned a strong reputation for safety, and we weren’t at all surprised to see that the just-refreshed 2025 XC90 scored a five-star overall rating from the NHTSA. This midsize luxury crossover is certainly not the most affordable option out there, but Volvo backs up its pricing with quality. The XC90 offers a premium experience without any kind of bling, which is important for two reasons: First, you’ll be perfectly comfortable driving it yourself whenever necessary, and second, it won’t draw too much attention when your kid is out and about. Volvo’s Care Key is also a boon to parents, as it allows you to set a speed limit and guarantee that your young driver isn’t getting into any drag races out there. And standard Google Built-In provides voice command, which means less messing around in the infotainment system and more time with hands on the wheel.
What to Avoid in a Teen’s Car
Whether you’re shopping new or used vehicles in search of the perfect choice for your teen, you may want to stay away from options with a few specific characteristics. First of all, don’t get anything too fast or powerful. High-performance vehicles require skill to properly manage, and even in the rare cases of kids who’ve been karting since they were single-digit ages, their on-road experience is limited by the legal driving age. We’d steer clear of sports cars and, for that matter, most electric vehicles (EVs) for this reason. Remember, they’re great for saving at the pump, but EVs are also great for instant torque, and peak power with no waiting might be very bad news for an inexperienced driver.
We know you want to give your child the very best, but we wouldn’t purchase anything too flashy, even if you have the means. While rolling up to school in a brand new BMW 3 Series might be an incredible thrill for a high school student, public appearances in the same “ultimate driving machine” could easily make them a target for muggers or carjackers.
While most people unfortunately can’t say “money is no object,” we’re sure most parents would agree that safety comes before cost-effectiveness when it comes to their kids, and that’s why we haven’t treated fuel-efficiency as an absolute top priority in the list above. Large cars, SUVs, and pickup trucks burn more gas than their smaller counterparts, but they also have a distinct size advantage in case of a collision with another vehicle. We can both hope your family never has to deal with that and also try to help you prepare for the worst, just in case.
We’d also avoid saddling a teenage driver with a very old car. Older vehicles tend to lack safety features that are now de rigeur-even automatic emergency braking can’t be taken for granted if you go just a few years back. On top of that, new drivers don’t have the experience to tell whether a new quirk or mysterious noise is cause for alarm or just a typical sign of age, and that can cause a lot of anxiety.
