Best cars for teens 2020, as picked by US 草莓传媒

Looking for a car for a young driver can be nerve-wracking, but some cars are designed to give nervous parents a little more peace of mind. And that鈥檚 why they鈥檙e on list for 2020.

鈥淭he best cars for teens and new drivers are cars that have safety features that can really keep them accident-free while they’re still developing their skills,鈥� said Jamie Page Deaton, US 草莓传媒鈥� executive editor for cars. 鈥淭hey’re going to encounter situations once they’re on their own that they did not encounter while they were in driver’s ed.鈥� She gave emergency braking as an example 鈥� 鈥渁 lot of teens won’t practice that maneuver as part of driver’s ed. Some driver’s ed programs do have that, but a lot of them don’t.鈥�

That means safety features such as forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning and Lane Keeping Assist 鈥� Page Deaton calls them 鈥済reat tools for your teen to have in their toolbox, just to kind of help them until their skills are really fully developed.鈥�

Page Deaton added that good cars for young drivers also have controls or apps that let parents know how their kids are driving, and how fast. 鈥淚f it goes over a certain speed or outside a certain geographic area, you can get sent an alert; it’s like having you in the passenger seat with your teen, so you can continue that conversation about safe driving, even if you’re not able to be with them all the time.鈥�

That technology costs money 鈥� that鈥檚 why the new cars on the list start at about $20,000. But even some of the cheaper cars have some of the features: 鈥淪ome less expensive cars that aren’t on our list do have things like the smartphone app, or a tracking device 鈥� but they just didn’t have all of the other things that we were looking for, like really great crash test scores, or really good reliability scores.鈥�

Indeed, some of the cars on this list aren鈥檛 cheap 鈥� Page Deaton acknowledged, 鈥淚 think a lot of people will kind of be looking at these and saying I don’t want to spend $35,000 on a car for my teenager.鈥� But she cited longevity 鈥� your teen could be driving some of these cars into their 30s, she said 鈥� and the fact that a teenager鈥檚 car is rarely just theirs. 鈥淚n a lot of families they share the cars,鈥� she said. A lot of the cars on the list are vehicles 鈥渢hat you can drive yourself and still feel good about your teen driving it when they need it.鈥�

Whatever you end up buying, Page Deaton said, make sure you鈥檙e completely sure they鈥檙e ready. 鈥淛ust before buying a car for your teenager, really have a hard conversation with them, and a hard conversation with yourself, about whether they are ready to drive or not. I think it’s kind of seen as a rite of passage 鈥� OK, you’re 16, get your license; you’re good to go. But not every kid is ready for the responsibility at that age 鈥� as a parent, it’s your job to not only keep your kids safe, but also keep everybody else on the road safe.鈥�

草莓传媒’s Mike Murillo contributed to this report.

<p><strong>The best car under $20,000 for teens:</strong> The Honda Fit</p>
<p>鈥淭his is the last year you can get the Honda Fit, unfortunately 鈥� it鈥檚 a great little subcompact car, very practical,” Page Deaton said. “And it has forward collision warning for automatic emergency braking and a really flexible interior 鈥� if you have a teen that plays something like hockey, or is in a band or something that requires a lot of equipment, you don’t need to go buy them a big SUV.鈥�</p>

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(Courtesy American Honda Motor Co.)

The best car under $20,000 for teens: The Honda Fit

鈥淭his is the last year you can get the Honda Fit, unfortunately 鈥� it鈥檚 a great little subcompact car, very practical,” Page Deaton said. “And it has forward collision warning for automatic emergency braking and a really flexible interior 鈥� if you have a teen that plays something like hockey, or is in a band or something that requires a lot of equipment, you don’t need to go buy them a big SUV.鈥�

<p><strong>The new best car for teens between $20,000 and $25,000:</strong> The Toyota Corolla</p>
<p>鈥淭his is another classic first car, because it is so reliable,” Page Deaton said. “Very good crash test scores; has all of the safety features.鈥�</p>
<p>It may be unassuming, but that鈥檚 part of the appeal: 鈥淵ou really don’t want to give your teen a car that’s going to tempt them to drive beyond their skills. The Corolla is great because it’s safe, comfortable, reliable transportation, that’s not going to be constantly saying to a new driver, 鈥楬ey, go a little bit faster.鈥欌€�</p>

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(Courtesy Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A.)

The new best car for teens between $20,000 and $25,000: The Toyota Corolla

鈥淭his is another classic first car, because it is so reliable,” Page Deaton said. “Very good crash test scores; has all of the safety features.鈥�

It may be unassuming, but that鈥檚 part of the appeal: 鈥淵ou really don’t want to give your teen a car that’s going to tempt them to drive beyond their skills. The Corolla is great because it’s safe, comfortable, reliable transportation, that’s not going to be constantly saying to a new driver, 鈥楬ey, go a little bit faster.鈥欌€�

<p><strong>Best SUV for teens $20,000 to $25,000:</strong> The Ford Escape</p>
<p>鈥淚f you live in an area where you might be on a back road or need some all-wheel drive a bit more ground clearance,鈥� you might be in the market for an SUV.</p>
<p>One of Ford’s selling points, she said, is the MyKey feature that lets the car know that your teen is driving. 鈥淵ou can set a top speed; you can set it up so when that it鈥檚 in use, the radio won’t turn on until all the seat belts are buckled.鈥�</p>

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(Courtesy Ford Motor Company)

Best SUV for teens $20,000 to $25,000: The Ford Escape

鈥淚f you live in an area where you might be on a back road or need some all-wheel drive a bit more ground clearance,鈥� you might be in the market for an SUV.

One of Ford’s selling points, she said, is the MyKey feature that lets the car know that your teen is driving. 鈥淵ou can set a top speed; you can set it up so when that it鈥檚 in use, the radio won’t turn on until all the seat belts are buckled.鈥�

<p><strong>Best new car for teens $25,000 to $30,000:</strong> The Kia Optima</p>
<p>“It’s a great, reliable sedan,” Page Deaton said. 鈥淭his is another one that actually looks much better. more upscale, than it actually is. This is another one where you could be taking it through college.鈥�</p>

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(Courtesy Kia Motors America)

Best new car for teens $25,000 to $30,000: The Kia Optima

“It’s a great, reliable sedan,” Page Deaton said. 鈥淭his is another one that actually looks much better. more upscale, than it actually is. This is another one where you could be taking it through college.鈥�

<p><strong>Best new SUV for teens, $25,000 to $30,000:</strong> The Kia Sportage</p>
<p>The Kia Sportage has聽鈥渆xcellent crash test scores, lots of good safety features,鈥� she said. Like the Optima, the Sportage has an app to let parents know where their teen is driving. 鈥漈he other thing that’s kind of nice about it, too, is, it will mark where the car is parked.鈥�</p>

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(Courtesy Kia Motors America)

Best new SUV for teens, $25,000 to $30,000: The Kia Sportage

The Kia Sportage has聽鈥渆xcellent crash test scores, lots of good safety features,鈥� she said. Like the Optima, the Sportage has an app to let parents know where their teen is driving. 鈥漈he other thing that’s kind of nice about it, too, is, it will mark where the car is parked.鈥�

<p><strong>Best new car for teens, $30,000 to $35,000:</strong> The Hyundai Sonata</p>

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(Courtesy Hyundai Motor America)

Best new car for teens, $30,000 to $35,000: The Hyundai Sonata

<p><strong>Best new SUV for teens, $30,000 to $35,000:</strong> The Nissan Rogue</p>

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(Courtesy Nissan North America)

Best new SUV for teens, $30,000 to $35,000: The Nissan Rogue

<p><strong>Best new car for teens, $35,000 to $40,000:</strong> The Toyota Camry Hybrid</p>

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(Courtesy Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A.)

Best new car for teens, $35,000 to $40,000: The Toyota Camry Hybrid

<p><strong>Best SUV for teens $35,000 to $40,000:</strong> The Hyundai Santa Fe</p>

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(Courtesy Hyundai Motor America)

Best SUV for teens $35,000 to $40,000: The Hyundai Santa Fe

<p><strong>Best large used car for teens:</strong> The 2017 Kia Cadenza</p>

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(Courtesy Kia Motors America)

Best large used car for teens: The 2017 Kia Cadenza

<p><strong>Best used mid-size car for teens:</strong> The 2016 Toyota Camry and Camry Hybrid</p>

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(Courtesy Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A.)

Best used mid-size car for teens: The 2016 Toyota Camry and Camry Hybrid

<p><strong>Best used mid-size SUV for teens:</strong> The 2017 Kia Sorento</p>

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(Courtesy Kia Motors America)

Best used mid-size SUV for teens: The 2017 Kia Sorento

<p><strong>Best used small car for teens:</strong> The 2016 Toyota Prius</p>

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(Courtesy Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A.)

Best used small car for teens: The 2016 Toyota Prius

<p>Best used small SUV for teens: The 2017 Hyundai Tucson</p>

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(Courtesy Hyundai Motor America)

Best used small SUV for teens: The 2017 Hyundai Tucson

Rick Massimo

Rick Massimo came to 草莓传媒, and to Washington, in 2013 after having lived in Providence, R.I., since he was a child.聽He's the author of "A Walking Tour of the Georgetown Set" and "I Got a Song: A History of the Newport Folk Festival."