List of Safe Vehicles for Teens Recommended

A traffic safety nonprofit and Consumer Reports released a list of used and new vehicles they recommend for teenagers as the safest options for that age range.

The 58 used models are priced between $5,800 and $19,900, and all have the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s good or acceptable safety ratings and passed Consumer Reports’ tests on braking, reliability and handling. It also lists 22 2024 models that received IIHS’ top safety ratings and are priced from $23,400 to $39,600.

As a safety bonus, the vehicles have automatic emergency braking.

Both lists shun sports cars, models with “excessive horsepower” relative to their weights, the smallest models due to caution about protection in accidents, and large trucks and sports utility vehicles since they take longer to stop and can be challenging to handle, IIHS said.

“Vehicles continue to get safer, and for the first time since the pandemic-era disruptions, prices on the new and used market have stabilized,” said Jennifer Stockburger, who directs operations at Consumer Reports testing center. “These trends have enabled us to point families to even better options this year.”

Just one all-electric model made the cut: the Hyundai Ioniq 6. IIHS says that’s due to their fast acceleration.

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