This year’s list of recommended vehicles for teens from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and Consumer Reports (CR) has been published and offers more safety for less money.
A total of 58 used models ranging from $5,800 to $19,900 are on this year’s list. For the first time, all recommended used vehicles have a good or acceptable rating in the IIHS driver-side small overlap test in addition to good ratings in four other IIHS tests and passing marks for braking, handling and reliability from CR.
The top tier of recommended used vehicles also come with standard automatic emergency braking (AEB), a good backstop for all drivers, according to the IIHS, but especially for young, inexperienced ones, who are more prone to mistakes.
“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, director of operations at CR’s Auto Test Center.
“These trends have enabled us to point families to even better options this year.
Those wanting a new vehicle have 22 recommended 2024 models to choose from — all winners of the 2024 IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK or TOP SAFETY PICK+ award that offer state-of-the-art crash protection and crash avoidance.
Recommended used vehicles are divided into Best Choices, which this year range in price from $9,600 to $19,900, and Good Choices, which start at $5,800 and go up to $14,400. This year there are 32 Best Choices and 26 Good Choices.
IHS and CR have excluded sports cars and anything with excessive horsepower, the list also has no minicars or vehicles under 2,750 pounds because small, light vehicles may not provide enough protection in crashes with other vehicles and large SUVs and large pickups also don’t make the cut. The IIHS says although these vehicles offer greater protection in some crash configurations, they can be hard to handle and take longer to stop.
Read the full list of recommended vehicles for teens on the IIHS website.
