2024 Best Cars for Teen Drivers: Essential Guide for Parents by Kelley Blue Book
ATLANTA, Oct. 21, 2024 /JamNewsWire/ — Many parents find the milestone of having a new teen driver simultaneously exciting and overwhelming, as there is so much to consider before unleashing your newly licensed young driver on the road. To help guide parents and in honor of National Teen Driver Safety Week (October 20 – 26, 2024), the experts at Kelley Blue Book, a Cox Automotive brand, created 2024’s Best Cars for Teens: The List Every Parent Needs. The list features a variety of vehicles the Kelley Blue Book experts recommend for teens based on key data, while also providing parents with helpful advice on what to consider during this crucial time.
Today’s Teen Drivers: Sobering Stats
- According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), teens drive less than all but the oldest people (80+), yet their instances of crashes and crash deaths are unreasonably high. Motor vehicle crashes are the third leading cause of teenage deaths, behind homicide and suicide.
- According to the latest IIHS data (from 2021), on average in the United States, eight 16- to 19-year-olds were killed in car crashes every day.
- The latest IIHS data shows more than 1,300 teen drivers between 15 and 20 years old died in crashes, taking 900 teen passengers with them.
“The latest statistics speak for themselves – safety is the No. 1 thing parents should focus on when choosing a car for their teen,” said Brian Moody, executive editor for Kelley Blue Book. “We understand that every family operates under different budget parameters, so we offer new and used vehicle options from a wide variety of different price points in our Best Cars for Teens lists. Yet regardless of price, safety was the absolute main qualifier for each of our best car picks.”
At-a-Glance DOs and DON’Ts for Parents of Teen Drivers
- Do balance the potential vehicle’s cost with the safety features it includes.
- Do take insurance considerations into account. Adding a teenager to your car insurance is costly.
- Do enroll your teen in a driver safety program. Not only can this possibly lower your insurance costs, but such programs help hone a young driver’s awareness and skills.
- Don’t buy certain types of vehicles for new teen drivers. The experts do not recommend tiny city cars, sports cars, big SUVs or pickup trucks, or high-horsepower cars for new drivers.
- Don’t let your teen driver dictate buying decisions based on their idea of a dream car. Flex your parental muscles, stay grounded and be sure to heavily weigh safety factors in all your choices.
Key Safety Information for Parents of Teen Drivers to Consider
- Safety technology gets expensive, and it’s one of the factors pushing up the sticker cost of new cars. If your family can afford to buy a new car for your teen, look for a vehicle that has all of the following features:
- Advanced Safety and Driver-Assist Features: anti-lock brakes, traction control, stability control, forward-collision warning, blind-spot monitoring.
- If you’re buying a used car, your chances of finding more of these safety features improves with a newer the car. These features may not come standard on the base model, so you may need to shop for a mid- or upper-level trim.
- Generally speaking, the higher trim level you can find, the more safety features the car is likely to have.
Kelley Blue Book’s 2024 Best Cars for Teens Lists
When creating the Best Cars for Teens lists, the Kelley Blue Book experts set specific parameters. Pricing was based on Kelley Blue Book Fair Purchase Price range. Where a model offers both a sedan and hatchback, pricing was used for the sedan. All picks in the “Under $30,000” and “Under $20,000” lists come with the advanced safety and driver-assist features listed above, and they all have at least a “Good” rating in at least five of the IIHS crash tests. However, almost all the vehicles listed at the various price points are a Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+. While older vehicles often are not available with all the latest safety features, the vehicles selected in the more affordable Best Cars for Teens lists have many of them and performed very well in NHTSA and IIHS testing. All vehicles listed are lauded for their reliability and fuel economy.
| Kelley Blue Book’s Best New Cars for Teens Under $30,000 | |
| 1. 2024 Toyota Prius | 5. 2024 Subaru Crosstrek |
| 2. 2025 Honda Civic | 6. 2025 Hyundai Kona |
| 3. 2024 Toyota Corolla | 7. 2025 Chevrolet Trailblazer |
| 4. 2025 Kia Seltos | 8. 2025 Nissan Kicks |
| Kelley Blue Book’s Best Used Cars for Teens Under $20,000 | |
| 1. 2017 Toyota RAV4 | 6. 2017 Honda Accord |
| 2. 2018 Mazda CX-5 | 7. 2017 Toyota Prius |
| 3. 2017 Honda CR-V | 8. 2018 Kia Sportage |
| 4. 2020 Toyota Corolla | 9. 2020 Honda Civic |
| 5. 2019 Mazda3 | 10. 2019 Chevrolet Equinox |
| Kelley Blue Book’s Best Used Cars for Teens Under $15,000 | |
| 1. 2018 Kia Sportage | 6. 2016 Mazda CX-5 |
| 2. 2019 Kia Soul | 7. 2015 Toyota Prius |
| 3. 2017 Toyota Corolla | 8. 2013 Honda Accord |
| 4. 2018 Mazda3 | 9. 2013 Toyota Camry |
| 5. 2016 Honda CR-V | 10. 2015 Honda Civic |
| Kelley Blue Book’s Best Used Cars for Teens Under $10,000 | |
| 1. 2014 Mazda3 | 4. 2010 Honda Element |
| 2. 2013 Toyota Corolla | 5. 2011 Toyota Avalon |
| 3. 2009 Toyota RAV4 | |
For more information about the Best Cars for Teens from Kelley Blue Book, including detailed expert reviews, safety information for each model and more, visit https://www.kbb.com/best-cars/teens/.
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About Kelley Blue Book
Founded in 1926, Kelley Blue Book, The Trusted Resource®, is the vehicle valuation and information source trusted and relied upon by both consumers and the automotive industry for nearly a century. As the industry standard for generations, Kelley Blue Book provides transparent, objective information and data-driven, innovative tools for consumers, automotive dealers and manufacturers. The company publishes millions of market-reflective values weekly on its top-rated website KBB.com, from its famous Blue Book® Trade-In Values to the Kelley Blue Book® Price Advisor tool, which offers a range for what consumers reasonably can expect to pay for a vehicle in their area. KBB.com editors rate and review hundreds of new vehicles each year to help consumers understand the Best Cars and Best SUVs to meet their needs. Kelley Blue BookSM Instant Cash Offer provides a redeemable trade-in offer to transaction-ready consumers and conveniently connects them to local participating dealers. Kelley Blue Book’s Service Advisor provides guidance on how much to pay for service and repairs, allowing consumers to schedule service with local dealers on KBB.com. The company also provides vehicle values to finance and insurance companies as well as governmental agencies. Kelley Blue Book is a Cox Automotive brand.
About Cox Automotive
Cox Automotive is the world’s largest automotive services and technology provider. Fueled by the largest breadth of first-party data fed by 2.3 billion online interactions a year, Cox Automotive tailors leading solutions for car shoppers, auto manufacturers, dealers, lenders and fleets. The company has 29,000+ employees on five continents and a portfolio of industry-leading brands that include Autotrader®, Kelley Blue Book®, Manheim®, vAuto®, Dealertrack®, NextGear Capital™, CentralDispatch® and FleetNet America®. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., a privately owned, Atlanta-based company with $22 billion in annual revenue. Visit coxautoinc.com or connect via @CoxAutomotive on X, CoxAutoInc on Facebook or Cox-Automotive-Inc on LinkedIn.
SOURCE Kelley Blue Book