I gave my 17 yr old my old Cadillac SRX (v8). Built like a tank. She is 18 now and she loves that car. The extra gas is no problem (uses 91 octane). She works full-time, so she doesn't mind paying a little extra for fuel. She has been driving for years, though. She goes storm chasing during tornado season (we live in tornado alley), and that SRX can handle it.

Anonymous wrote:How about a suburb forester?

A Subaru would be a great, solid choice.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wrangler or Grand Cherokee 4xe.

No way, these are terrible for teens

A basic wrangler is no different from a small suv but it’s very small. Midsized suv.

The four door is the size of a midsized SUV and, contrary to the poster above, is a great first vehicle. My daughter loves hers. It is solidly built and the tipping problems are a thing of the long past.

High is bad for teens—harder to drive, easier to tip, more likely to kill someone else in a crash because where the bumper hits a pedestrian, bike rider, or a sedan.

We didn’t buy it for our teen, but our Tesla (the cheap model) has location tracking and I can always see the speed. I think I can even set an alarm so my phone sounds if it goes outside a certain area, or block it from going above a certain speed. I was sort of wondering if other cars have that capacity.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wrangler or Grand Cherokee 4xe.

No way, these are terrible for teens

A basic wrangler is no different from a small suv but it’s very small. Midsized suv.

I have a Subaru Legacy, specifically because I knew this is what my son would learn to drive on. It's underpowered and has every safety device I could afford.

Anonymous wrote:Wrangler or Grand Cherokee 4xe.

No way, these are terrible for teens

Wrangler or Grand Cherokee 4xe.

I have a new Ford Escape Hybrid. Even at the base trump of the non-hybrid, it has a lot of good safety features.

Get something with good backup cameras.

We traded the w 5 series in for a Honda Accord Hybrid after DS got his permit. He learned to drive in the Honda and drove it for a year on his own to/fr school. Now DD is ready for her permit, she will use this car to practice.

The lane departure notifications and cameras are great features for new drivers. I still use my mirrors to parallel park but for the teens the cameras are handy.

For a second car I would get an EV. The hyundai and kia EVs come with a lot of safety tech standard and they are nice cars (could also look at the bolt with the safety package or maybe the leaf if you don’t need much range and can find a good deal).

How about a suburb forester?

Something boring. The general consensus is that four cylinder sedans, station wagons, and crossovers (which are built on a sedan platform) are best for young drivers.

We need to replace our 2nd car and the car we replace it with will probably be the car our teen learns to drive with (and will use in 3 years). Our main car is a Chrysler Pacifica. Would like hybrid or electric if possible. Probably not full size SUV but maybe something that sits higher is safer for new drivers? What do you recommend DCUM?