Best Car for newbie Teen Driver 16 (first vehicle, sedans, AWD, turning radius)

[austin-steve]

What's the best car for a new 16 year old teen driver?

At present I'm stuck on one answer. Older Volvo station wagon.

These are easy to navigate, good turning radius (super easy to park), relatively safe and easy to operate. I'm thinking a 1990s or early 2000s model. Something I won't have to get upset about if she dings it up or backs into a pole.

But I'm also wondering if some of the newer compacts (3 years old +/-) have safety features that make them less worrisome that such a small car would have been 10 years ago?

Any thought?

Steve

[RedNC]

A bumper car....

[mikeyyc]

Any civic. Toyota Corolla, the Volvo is great. A Hyundai Accent won't cost you much, and is as reliable as anything else.

Any vehicle you give a 16yo is going to get thrashed, so I wouldn't spend a lot.

[GTOlover]

agreed on the honda civic or acura integra

One official at the Automobile Club of Southern California recommends a late-model regular-cab pickup truck as a good first vehicle for a teen—it has more size and mass than many economically priced sedans, and it sits higher on the road. An added benefit: few passengers.
I am a little biased when it comes to a full size truck and in winter I drive a F-250 so I would reccomend a 99-02 f-150

[M3 Mitch]

A car they worked their little butt off last year to buy with their own money...any such car will be better and safer than one you give them gratis, because they have their own skin in the game they will take better care of it and will take pains to avoid crashing it.

[GTOlover]

Originally Posted by M3 Mitch

A car they worked their little butt off last year to buy with their own money...any such car will be better and safer than one you give them gratis, because they have their own skin in the game they will take better care of it and will take pains to avoid crashing it.

Agreed my first car was a 1987 cutlass supreme and I had too work my ass off to afford it back in highschool by working at the local gas station and delivering news papers and I took very good care of it till I sold her for a 1985 Iroc-Z.

[M3 Mitch]

My first bike - a 1973 Kawasaki 350 3-cylinder - is still in my garage and still in excellent condition. Has practically never spent the night without a roof over her head.

Bought with money earned doing pipeline construction in the Georgia heat with my Dad.

This also impressed on my young skull that while semi-skilled or even skilled construction work was/is a pretty good gig for a young guy, that there were probably easier ways to make a living...

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by M3 Mitch

A car they worked their little butt off last year to buy with their own money...any such car will be better and safer than one you give them gratis, because they have their own skin in the game they will take better care of it and will take pains to avoid crashing it.

I'm with you on that in principle, but between the 5 days a week practice for her play, math tutor three days a week, social shuttling, volunteer work, etc., my wife and I are spending 20 hours a week as taxi drivers for the kids. Of course that could just be called "being a parent" but at some point it doesn't represent additional quality time but instead stress.

We will actually profit from providing her a car by recapturing lost productivity from all the shuttling.

But that's a bit of a sidebar.

Steve

[bmwguydc]

I'd look for an 850 Sportwagon with the side impact airbags as Volvo introduced them on that model. Plus, the 850 does not have the AWD that can be problematic on later Volvo wagons. The 850 is FWD, with the 740/760 and 940/960 (later V90) being rear drive vehicles.

[Grandpa Pipes]

Volvo's are good but I started all my boys in big ol' 70's boats for both safety and to learn to drive a car with size to it. Now they can climb in anything and know where all 4 corners are all the time.