My kid just got her drivers license so I'm starting the search for a vehicle. We live in a dangerous driving area thus my main criteria would be safety tech/features and reliability. Like to stay under 20k but that might be hard. We currently have a tundra, 4Runner and Camry and she prefers the Camry. Looking at another one of those or maybe a Mazda Cx-30 or Hyundai Tucson. Thoughts or suggestions?

Why not just let her drive the Camry?

They do extremely well in crash tests.

Used CX-5, Grand Touring trim, was what I chose for our oldest kid. Based on safety features, crash ratings, reliability, engaging to drive (this was for me, not her) and price.

https://texags.com/forums/46/topics/3383817

My suggestion is "P3" generation of Volvo. Can't give you a more definitive year range because different models ran for different years, but you are essentially looking for any car that has the 3.2 or 3.0 turbo engine.

The XC70 runs from 2008-2012 so its older, but not ancient. Other models will be this +/- a few years.

These cars have pretty excellent reliability and the safety is as good as it gets.


The other thing to look at is 2012-2020 Subaru's. Especially the outbacks. Safety ratings are as good as it gets and generally speaking, after 2012 the transmissions stopped being a problem. They are fairly reliable, and the later model you can get the less oil leaking problems they'll have. Anything with the 6 cylinder will be slightly better than the 4 cylinder in regards to leaks. Typically.

The camry is my mother n laws who lives with us. It was my intent for her to drive that however grandma is rather busy in retirement so its not going to work

Get another Camry

That's what I might end up doing. 2018 has the collision detection and blind spot monitoring. How does the accord compare?

DSAg99 said:

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The camry is my mother n laws who lives with us. It was my intent for her to drive that however grandma is rather busy in retirement so its not going to work

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Makes sense

Ford Escape or the Mazda -- both great options

Got my teen driver a used RDX off Carvana. It's a 2016, has around 70K miles, is AWD, and we paid around $24K. Should last quite a while. He likes the smaller SUV because he sits higher and has better visibility.

When they dropped it off it was making a weird noise from the front wheel assembly - Carvana covered the $1,500 repairs, no questions asked.

Agree with this. I bought my 17 year old a 2020 CX-5 a few months ago. We got him the base model so I was very surprised by all the standard safety features it has (BSM, rear cross traffic alert, Lane Detection, Adaptive Cruise Control, Collision detection, automatic rain sensing wipers, etc). It's also pretty fun to drive and looks kind of sporty.

It's the first Mazda we've owned and we've been impressed so far.

Camry is always the answer for a teen driver….

TexAg2001 said:

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Agree with this. I bought my 17 year old a 2020 CX-5 a few months ago. We got him the base model so I was very surprised by all the standard safety features it has (BSM, rear cross traffic alert, Lane Detection, Adaptive Cruise Control, Collision detection, automatic rain sensing wipers, etc). It's also pretty fun to drive and looks kind of sporty.

It's the first Mazda we've owned and we've been impressed so far.

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I'm really not trying to be an azz here, but none of those are "safety features". They are electronic nannies that make new drivers less attentive to their surroundings because there's always an electronic safety net that allows them to pay less attention to the road.

Yeah maybe someday we'll have fully self driving cars and never see another accident, but it isn't here yet.

What happens if they drive a rental? A friends car? Or their own electronic nannies are on the fritz? They need to know how to control the car fully with their own faculties.


Safety features are airbags, crumple zones, and seatbelt retractors. These are what will save your kids life when the unthinkable happens.

Yes, an old car, but an old SAFE car. This was about a 50mph T-bone right into the drivers side footwell area. She had a bad cut on her forehead, but otherwise walked away. No loss of conciousness. Lots of blood from a forehead gash. Side impact airbags would have prevented that, but this car is from 1992.

Older toyota that you dont mind them dinging up a time or two.

OP, my suggestion for a new/teen driver is to get the newest midsize Japanese non-luxury crossover SUV that is within your budget. Reasons:
- crossover/SUVs have higher seating positions which have proven to be safer due to improved visibility
- crossover/SUV will make it easier for your kiddo to haul sports equipment etc around now (if applicable) and to haul stuff to/from college later
- midsize offers a balance of decent to good fuel economy without being so small to be on the dangerous side of the conservation of momentum equation
- newest you can afford for all the obvious reasons but also for the latest safety features and so that it includes Apple CarPlay/ whatever the Android version is called. The latter is a nice convenience but more importantly minimizes the amount of time that their hands aren't on the wheel and keeps their vision (when glancing at a screen) closer to the windshield and what's in front of them instead of peering down at a smaller screen.
- Japanese non-luxury for reliability, and for less expensive maintenance. Korean options are quickly becoming very competitive in this area as well.

All that said, I'd recommend that you look at Mazda CX-5, Subaru Forester/Outback, Honda CRV, and Toyota RAV4. The Mazda will be the most fun to drive and best looking in my subjective opinion, the Subarus will have the best AWD (standard), the Honda isn't exciting but does everything well and nothing poorly, and the Toyota is about the same as the Honda but the least fun to drive of the bunch and the least attractive in my opinion (again, subjective).

I'd suggest researching all of these on Edmunds, Consumer Reports, etc., then having your kiddo (and you) test drive each.

I've bought my teen daughters two Mazda CX-5s and a Subaru Forester, and they've all been great cars for them. My wife used to drive an Outback but now drives a Forester and she likes it a lot. I "inherited" the Outback and have been happy with it. I intend to hand it down to my oldest daughter when her 2014 CX-5 needs to be replaced. All have been reliable and get -30 mph on the highway with regular unleaded. Oh, and your kiddo will thank you later (or should, LOL) if you get a vehicle that doesn't require premium unleaded or diesel.

Good luck with your search!

Thanks…I have been looking at the Subarus

My youngest has had a great experience with his CX-5 for the past 4 or 5 years. Not too fast, sits up high, good visibility, seems to be exceptionally reliable.

I subscribe to the camp of putting the kid in a manual transmission. It teaches them to be more in control of the car, and it requires more attention, so they will have less time to get distracted. Bonus points for it being more fun to drive.

gggmann said:

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I subscribe to the camp of putting the kid in a manual transmission. It teaches them to be more in control of the car, and it requires more attention, so they will have less time to get distracted. Bonus points for it being more fun to drive.

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Their friends also won't be able to drive it!

DSAg99 said:

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That's what I might end up doing. 2018 has the collision detection and blind spot monitoring. How does the accord compare?

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Used Hyundai / Mazda will be cheaper than the Toyota / Honda equivalents.

Arguably, we are "truck people" on account of what we do. I've never owned or had a car or small suv. For our new driver, I'm going with weight. F350, Dually, diesel and anything else I can option to make it heavy. Get one with some whiskey dents and not worry too much about dings. I know people focus on safety features but where I've lived in my life, I've seen wrecks with "safe cars" when they tangle with 9,000 lbs of steel with a and the result is that I want my kid in the tank if I can help it. I'm more worried about offset collisions and having an iron chunk of diesel engine weighing 1/3 of the other guys vehicle is nice. Newer trucks still have all the safety features of small cars for side issues.

Regular cab full size pickup with dog engine.

Tim Weaver said:

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gggmann said:

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I subscribe to the camp of putting the kid in a manual transmission. It teaches them to be more in control of the car, and it requires more attention, so they will have less time to get distracted. Bonus points for it being more fun to drive.

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Their friends also won't be able to drive it!

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And thieves have a hard time stealing it.

P.H. Dexippus said:

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Regular cab full size pickup with dog engine.

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I wish there were more of these available. Single cans are so rare now when they used to be on every lot. With no new ones for old guys to buy, there's not used one for kids.

Kia Soul

Check out the Hyundai Kona. Cheap, good ratings, tons of safety features, looks nice, and CarPlay but I guess they all have that these days.

P.H. Dexippus said:

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Regular cab full size pickup with dog engine.

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Kids drive ecoboosts now. Scary

gggmann said:

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I subscribe to the camp of putting the kid in a manual transmission. It teaches them to be more in control of the car, and it requires more attention, so they will have less time to get distracted. Bonus points for it being more fun to drive.

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I remember saying that at work one time and the woman behind me saying "I have a manual and can still mess with my phone!" .....

Also, OP:

https://texags.com/forums/46/topics/3393569

Danwell Home said:

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P.H. Dexippus said:

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Regular cab full size pickup with dog engine.

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Kids drive ecoboosts now. Scary

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I saw a kid putting a Yamaha R6 on several credit cards and saying "My parents would kill me if they knew".


The salesman at Action Sports was more than happy to run all those credit cards for him.

F-350

My son is almost 6'5" and will barely fit in anything.
Luckily, he just turned 15 so I have some time to find something.

DSAg99 said:

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Thanks…I have been looking at the Subarus

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I've posted this numerous times but I'm a big Mazda fan. Lots of car for the $. Served us well and the kid walked away from two accidents(neither their fault.) in a '12 and '14 Mazda3 sedan.

However, that kid just bought their first car out of A&M and went with a 2016 Forester. The visibility is outstanding. Great on gas as well.

Avoid the crooks at DeMontrond.

Another vote for CX-5 here as my 17 year old has one. Really good visibility as someone mentions and when we bought this during the heart of COVID it was by far the best bang for the buck IMO.

Remember when you could buy a 4-5 year old Mazda with 65k miles for less than 15k out the door? I remember.