Top 10 Best New Cars for Teens Under $20K: 2017 Consumer Reports

Kiaclub Nieuwsrobot · 24 Oktober, 2017

Consumer Reports has released its list of safe, reliable vehicles that are well-suited for young drivers.

Picking a car for a teen driver is never easy, especially when you’re trying to keep it within a certain budget. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly half of teens involved in a car crash die, and motor-vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for 14- to 18-year-olds. So while shopping for an affordable car with good reliability and safety marks is a good start, there are also vehicles that are better suited for inexperienced drivers.

SEE ALSO: Top 10 Best Used Sports Cars Under $10K

To narrow down its picks, Consumer Reports ignored certain vehicle types for its list. For starters, larger vehicles aren’t included because they can be hard for inexperienced drivers to handle and they generally return poor fuel economy. In addition, they can hold a lot of passengers, which could be potentially distracting for a young driver. As a result, there aren’t any minivans, large SUVs, or pickup trucks on the list.

Naturally, sports cars are also not on the list due to their performance and high insurance premiums.

So what’s left? Vehicles that have zero-to-60 mph times faster than 11 seconds but slower than 7.5 seconds, as well as having braking distances shorter than 145 feet in dry conditions. Vehicles with mediocre emergency-handling scores were also left off the list.

It’s worth noting the Mazda CX-3 as an honorable mention for the list, but its price tag is $19,960 not including destination.