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The 5 best cars for new drivers
The five-door Mazda3 is a perfect beginners car.
It's not ugly, it can move ( but not too quickly), it gets great fuel economy, and when equipped with its accident avoidance tech, it's even an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ — in other words, it's safe.
At about $18,500 starting, it's one of the best deals on the new car market for both new and experienced drivers.
Learning how to drive manual can be incredibly useful and it can also leave less opportunity for the new driver to be distracted behind the wheel.
Though the VW Golf five-door starts at about $1,500 more than the Mazda3 — with less power and worse fuel economy— it is still a great alternative if the little Japanese hatchback just doesn't do it for you.
Like the Mazda3, when equipped with frontal accident avoidance tech, the Golf is credited as an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ winner.
Subaru has said that the platform used with the '17 Impreza "improves crash energy absorption by 40 percent over present models." The car can be optioned with all of Subaru's best accident avoidance tech.
The IIHS hasn't released crash test results for the new Impreza, but considering the previous model year earned a Top Safety Pick+ award and that Subaru is saying its new car is even more safe, this new car must be a solid place to be in the event of an accident.
Aside from its larger sibling, the Subaru Crosstrek, the Impreza is the only car on this list that comes standard with all-wheel-drive. So if you have this car, you're much less likely to be trapped on an awful winter day than if you had a front-wheel-drive car like the VW Golf or Honda Civic.
Pricing hasn't been announced for the 2017 model, but the starting price will likely be right around the $18,300 mark — the cost of the 2016 model.
Honda Civics have long-been the go-to car for parents choosing their teen's first car. They're known for reliability, safety, and ease of use.
The new 2016 model takes those things and adds a cool factor, all without bringing an excessive amount of power or craziness for a new driver to take advantage of.
The sharp angles, slopey rear window, and angular front-end really do wonders for the Civic. For a car like this, an aggressive design somehow just works.
Not only is it cool, but it also gets solid fuel economy ratings like the Mazda3.
It also has a starting price of just $19,050.
$21,595 is a bit more than what the other cars on this list start at, but unlike those other cars, the Crosstrek is a crossover and thus is a bit more usable in adverse conditions.
The Crosstrek uses the same all-wheel-drive system as the Impreza, but because it has a higher ride height, it's more likely to be able to clear obstacles than the Impreza.
Because it has a higher ride height, you also have a much more commanding driving position than in a lower car like the Impreza or the Mazda3. This can help new drivers get through fears of driving on highways next to large trucks.
Even though it's a crossover, it's still rated at 34 MPH highway and 26 MPG city fuel economy. Not as great as the smaller cars on this list, but really not bad at all.
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