What’s the best car to get your new teen driver?

Is your teenager ready for their first car? Consumer Reports and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety are out with their 2023 list for best cars for young drivers.

Unfortunately, crashes sometimes happen. “And we think that parents should want their kids to be well protected in that eventuality,” said David Zuby, the chief research officer for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Overall, traffic deaths rose over the last few years after decades of declines. Teen road deaths have followed the same pattern, increasing 11% in 2021. Over 3,000 teens died that year.

The list of best cars for teens focuses on used cars at different price points with above-average reliability, better than average stopping distance and better than average handling.

For 2023 models, they focus on top safety picks.

Most vehicles range from small cars to mid-size SUVs. One truck also makes the list. But you’ll find no micro cars on this list.

“We think it’s important that people not put their youngest drivers in the smallest cars. Small cars, by their nature of being small, do not offer as much crash protection. And teen drivers have some of the highest crash rates of any drivers on the road,” said Zuby.

Larger trucks and SUVs are left off the list because while they offer more protection, they’re harder to maneuver, have longer break distances and “in the unfortunate circumstances of hitting a pedestrian, they do much more damage.”

One piece of advice: Zuby said for parents whose kids aren’t quite of driving age, if they’re in the market for a car themselves, they might think of choosing a car with a high level of safety that they can hand down.

“We think that’s a good strategy for helping young drivers get vehicles that aren’t too old and have some of the latest safety features,” said Zuby.

The full list of cars is below:

Best Used-Car Choices for Teens