Ideally, you’ll want your teenager to be driving around in a car with one seat to minimize distractions, terrible fuel economy so they can’t make long journeys, and the exterior of a modern tank to keep them safe. Until something like this comes out, you’ll need to make do with what’s on the market! Here are just three of the best starter cars you can buy for your teen…
2016 Volkswagen Golf
The Volkswagen Golf, a true icon of the company’s fleet, is so popular amongst teenage drivers that your kid may have already suggested it themselves. The 2016 model is no exception, so it’s only natural that we start the list off with it. This is an affordable compact hatchback that you can find in both two-door and four-door editions. Despite its small frame, it will offer your teen fantastic practicality due to its 46 cubic feet of cargo space. This is perfect for teens who need to haul a lot of gear to band practice and hockey games. The base model will also be pretty soft on your teen’s gas budget, providing 37 miles to the gallon with its 1.8 liter, 170bhp, four-cylinder engine.
2016 Honda Fit
The Honda Fit is a subcompact hatchback, offering an affordable price, great versatility, and most importantly of all, fantastic safety features. The car scored a 5-star rating from the NHTSA, with great scores on both frontal and side crash tests. This can be extremely appealing to parents who want to minimize the risk of their teen having an accident. Though it looks small on the outside, the fit offers an incredible 52.7 cubic feet of cargo space. Like the Golf, it also has a very economical 1.5 liter, four-cylinder engine with 130bhp, which will give your teen a satisfactory amount of speed and a very affordable gas budget. The main drawback of this car is that it comes with a stick shift as standard, although continuously variable automatic transmissions are available from many dealerships.
2016 Ford Focus
Here we have another classic teen’s car, that’s maintained its great reputation over many years. Your teenager may already be attracted to the 2016 line for its gorgeous styling, in both its hatchback and sedan versions, which really makes it stand out from almost every other compact to come out over the past year. Considering the fact that you can buy one new for well under $20,000, the modern Ford Focus offers fantastic handling, along with a range of features like Ford’s own handy SYNC vehicle interface. The 2 liter, four-cylinder engine with 160bhp will give your teen 26 miles to the gallon during any kind of stop-and-go traffic they have to negotiate, and 38 miles to the gallon during typical highway driving. Again, the low cost of filling their tank can be a massive attraction! While you may not feel too happy knowing your kid is driving around in something fairly powerful for a first car, this is a dependable and economical model that they’ll absolutely love.
