Are these really the best cars for teens?

My list:

1. Honda Civic
2. VW Rabbit
3. Honda CR-V
4. Toyota RAV4
5. Ford Focus
6. Hyundai Tuscon
7. Nissan Altima
8. Audi A3
9. Mini Cooper
10. Toyota Corolla

Why were the A3 and Mini relatively low on my list? Well, I wouldn't trust an average kid with an A3- it's too fast for some. It's also $5-10K more expensive than the others mentioned. The Mini, on the other hand, is slightly impractical and gets expensive.

What teenager would you want driving a Mini? Thats asking for a death wish.

What, are you saying MINI's are unsafe, or that they are too fast for teenagers?

MINI's are very safe, solid cars. Much safer than some of those larger domestic models.

Im saying they are not safe for teenagers. Teenagers ride in packs, usually four people at time. I don't care what you say, their is not enought sheet metal surrounding that car to protect all of those passengers.
I am only out of high school three years and my first car was a Oldsmobile Cutlass. I was going through a intersection and was hit by an old guy running a light. To make a long story short, he sent my car across the intersection into a telephone poll. My Olds took the hit like a champ and all four of us walked away with no scratches. I don't believe I would be able to walk away scratch free with a Mini.

No parent(middle class)in their right mind will buy these cars for a teenager to start driving in. Talk about a poor investment. Hollywood goes to far.

Why did they put the (grossly exaggerated btw) fuel economy ratings for the hybrid versions of the Honda Civic/Accord when they are more than 20,000 dollars. That shows shoddy work IMO.

Pretty flash cars for people who have never driven a car before. Are their parents loaded? Or is it tradition for parents to fork out reasonable amounts of money on a nice car for their child?

What happened to teenagers getting a job and earning their own car?

Anyway, half the people who post on Autospies aren't even old enough to be teenagers.

Great list.

I'm old school. I think a kids car should:

A) Never need oil- in other words, something that will run forever

B) Be mechanical- More and more people these days dont know how to shift using a pedal or open a window without a button

C) Suck in the snow- because if you can drive a 67 mustang in the snow, you can drive anything in the snow!

D) Be DIRT CHEAP- Everyone's first car is and should be a piece of crap. It's a right of passage and allows kids to better appreciate what they have to get for themselves

My List:
1. 3-series
2. C class
3. Jetta
4. A4
5. 4 Runner
6. Explorer
7. Toureg
8. Tacoma
9. ML
10. Civic

This is my accurate list of cars in my parking lot when I was in High School 2 years ago.

Where did you go to school? When I graduated in 94, you were lucky to have 89 Honda or a car at all for that fact.

Teens need safety first IMHO.

All the reliability in the world won't help them one bit in the event of a crash.

Teens don't need a reliable car. They "need" whatever they want. Be it style, value, reliablity, brand image etc.

I don't call you son..cuz you shine. I call you son...cuz you're mine. So how much is your allowance?

Teens should pay for their own cars, it makes them appreciate them more, increases the chance of them taking care of it, and care when driving on the road.

New cars are, and always have been IMO, a waste of money.... depreciation and all that...

I bought my first car when I was 19 (before that I just used my mums gutless toyota) It was a second hand Peugeot 106, cost me £3750 from a dealer, the warranty was invaluable as at it's first service there was over £800 worth of work to be done, after that I realised a crappy piece of french tin and plastic wasn't going to withstand the rigours of my driving style so I bought my first BMW, which was an old shape (E28) 528i... fantastic car! still miss it today.... since then it's been bimmers all the way.

By the way, safety shouldn't be so much of an issue, if driver training was up to scratch teens wouldn't be so ill-prepared for driving!

My list of suitable first cars would all be less than £1000 and fourth hand bangers

VW Jetta
VW Golf
Nissan Bluebird
Rover 214GSi
Peugeot 106
BMW 316i
Nissan Sunny
Honda Civic
VW Bug (or Bus)
Land Rover Defender

(and that was pretty much what me and my mates were driving whilst at college...)

I'm 17 and I got a bmw 750LI for my 16th

First of all, who cares...I'm pretty sure that this article is refering to the average teenager, not some spoiled rich ass brat...I definitely wouldn't buy my 17 yo a 750. First, it's too big. Second, I don't believe in spoiling my kids (even though I can), I believe in teaching my kids the value of a dollar so that they can appreciate everything that they WORK for.

Im 14 and I spent my life savings on my first car, and just so you know I started cutting lawns when i was eight. So dont rag on him so hard, he might have actually worked for his. And just for your info I own a 944 and I'm one of like six guys at my high school with one.

I think you're lying.

I had to pay $600 to my father for a POS Datsun 510. Horrible condition.

1990MY right?

My first car was a 4 year old Pontiac Astre (aka Chevy Vega). I took shop class and did all the work on it myself and stocked grocery store shelves after school to earn gas and insurance money, along with some help from my parents.

When my kid is old enough to drive, maybe they'll be able to afford the 2007 models of cars on that list.

....or a new heavily discounted Chevy Cobalt...

in reply to ryaajus: whoa I aint no spoiled rich ass brat I actually worked for 7years for that car.

How did you raise $80,000?

Is it nicer than your parents' cars?

I had a feeling you were one of the brats from "My Super Sweet Sixteen" on MTV when I read your comment.

egog- how are you fourteen years old and driving? My son is fourteen, and I'm not giving him his car until he's sixteen. He's as much into cars as I am... maybe more.

My first car was a 1989 Volvo 740. I could not have killed that car if I had wanted to. In my family there are many implicit rules {like the first born son of the first born son must be named William, it has been that way for a very long time: but we don't practice primogeniture]. You are expected for example to purchase your own first vehicle. If a young person wants to save and get a nice car, then so be it with the realization that a car is not an investment. After the first vehicle in my family there are no rules, hence my Jaguar XJ: It was my Christmas present 3 or 4 years ago. I was 20 at the time. Kids realy should not have cars like that, if only because of the way other people treat them. I can't tell you how many dents have had to have been extracted from the side of the Jag, the tires have been slashed, my hood ornament has been stolen twice [at $450 a pop to replace]. My car is garaged, this stuff happens in broad daylight in nice parts of town, funnily enough, usually on holidays.

hey matthew your a poor ass too bad

Giving any teenager a four-door car or any type of car that sits five or more people is a bad idea. It's the distraction between the passengers and drivers often causes mistakes and even accidents among teenage drivers. I have a BMW 325 e30 and my dad is handing me a banged up Porsche 924s that needs a bit of work. I put my own money on service and upgrades on both cars so don't even bitch to me being a spoiled teenager. When I drive the Bimmer along with passengers, I used to get annoyed and often distracted with conversations from my passengers, but I got used to it. But with the Porsche, I always find myself more focused and less distracted. I also find myself driving longer distances with the Bimmer because people would carpool and I have to drive them back home everytime I come back from our destination, but with a Porsche, it only takes one passenger so there's less to worry about, and because it uses a higher octane grade, it sometimes discouraging to take unecessary travels. So my point is, if teenagers drive a car that promotes the driver some focus on driving and discourages travel, and the parents discipline their teens to limiting their budget for gas money, there can be less teenage-associated accidents on the road.