What car would you buy for a 16 year old?

[melanielll]

We bought one of our kids a new CR-V and the other one a new Rogue. The Rogue is cuter, but I think the CR-V will end up lasting longer.

 

[Klayfish]

Do you need 4WD? If so, go for the Subaru Forrester. It's much better in the snow/muck than the CRV.

That's not true at all. Subaru sells a lot of cars on the marketing ploy that their AWD system is better than others. It's simply inaccurate. None of those wagons/mini SUVs are capable of going off road more than a flat dirt trail or grass field. For driving on snow and ice on regular roads, the Subie system will give you no real advantage over that offered in the CR-V, Rav4 or other similar vehicles.

 

[luvsJack]

The average 2017 car is more than 1,000lbs heavier than the average 1970 car.

Really? Wow. I would have never thought that. Seems like so much is plastic or fiberglass or whatever they are made of. That is interesting


I just always think of how heavy the doors seemed just opening and closing some of them. Lol. And one of the paramedics that came to ds's wreck commented that it was lucky he was in that car. Who knows, he may have not known anymore about cars than I do. Lol

Dd's Fusion is light and I drove a car in the 90's that seemed like it bounced all over the road.

 

[bcla]

That's not true at all. Subaru sells a lot of cars on the marketing ploy that their AWD system is better than others. It's simply inaccurate. None of those wagons/mini SUVs are capable of going off road more than a flat dirt trail or grass field. For driving on snow and ice on regular roads, the Subie system will give you no real advantage over that offered in the CR-V, Rav4 or other similar vehicles.

Subaru doesn't market their vehicles as off-road capable. Maybe good on well-graded dirt roads, but they're not designed for off-roading since they don't have high ground clearance.

Subaru makes a more effective AWD system though. They design their vehicles with AWD in mind, and AWD is always on, unlike a CR-V 4WD which is front-wheel drive unless some sort of slip is detected. It can take a split second for the AWD to kick in. A CR-V is designed as a front-wheel drive vehicle, and the AWD system is adapted to it. Their system weighs less though, which is an advantage when it's not needed. A Forester also has more clearance than a CR-V. Some Subaru models also have a limited slip diff. That can be helpful since an open diff can often spin one wheel. The full time AWD with Subaru does cost in terms if fuel economy though.

For winter driving, good winter tires will probably make the most difference. This guy seems to like Subaru as well as the newer predictive Mazda system over Toyota or Honda:

https://www.extremetech.com/extreme...-best-all-wheel-drive-system-for-snow-and-ice

 

[flyingdumbo127]

I'm very happy with my Nissan Versa.

 

[Squirlz]

That's not true at all. Subaru sells a lot of cars on the marketing ploy that their AWD system is better than others. It's simply inaccurate. None of those wagons/mini SUVs are capable of going off road more than a flat dirt trail or grass field. For driving on snow and ice on regular roads, the Subie system will give you no real advantage over that offered in the CR-V, Rav4 or other similar vehicles.

And here's the thing about those AWD systems that people think gives them such an advantage in slippery conditions. You know what they do to make that work? They take the power AWAY from the wheel that is slipping. Something any competent driver can do with proper tires and 2WD.

 

[powellrj]

Nothing, they would be driving my old car which is what we did with our kids. They got the old car and I got the new one!

About the granny car, this grannies last car was a mustang!

I no longer drive, so now the kids are buying their own cars, but they are also adults.

 

[bcla]

And here's the thing about those AWD systems that people think gives them such an advantage in slippery conditions. You know what they do to make that work? They take the power AWAY from the wheel that is slipping. Something any competent driver can do with proper tires and 2WD.

Well - there is something to be said about having such a vehicle. At least in my state one can get past most chain conditions with adequate tread depth and an AWD vehicle.

Also - a lot of times if wheels are slipping, and open diff will just spin the slipping wheel while the other wheel doesn't move at all. There are some more advanced systems to apply torque split left to right if one wheel is slipping.

 

[Uncranky Donald]

Honda Civic or FIT. You'll get great gas, safety and many celebrations as the odometer reaches 75,000, 100,0000, 150,000, 200,000, and so on and so on like all 3 of my hand-me-down Hondas growing up.

 

[Klayfish]

Subaru doesn't market their vehicles as off-road capable. Maybe good on well-graded dirt roads, but they're not designed for off-roading since they don't have high ground clearance.

Subaru makes a more effective AWD system though. They design their vehicles with AWD in mind, and AWD is always on, unlike a CR-V 4WD which is front-wheel drive unless some sort of slip is detected. It can take a split second for the AWD to kick in. A CR-V is designed as a front-wheel drive vehicle, and the AWD system is adapted to it. Their system weighs less though, which is an advantage when it's not needed. A Forester also has more clearance than a CR-V. Some Subaru models also have a limited slip diff. That can be helpful since an open diff can often spin one wheel. The full time AWD with Subaru does cost in terms if fuel economy though.

For winter driving, good winter tires will probably make the most difference. This guy seems to like Subaru as well as the newer predictive Mazda system over Toyota or Honda:

https://www.extremetech.com/extreme...-best-all-wheel-drive-system-for-snow-and-ice

Well, actually I'd say Subaru does try to market their vehicles as off-road capable...watch their commercials, you'll see many of them going off-road...onto just dirt paths but nonetheless giving the image of being off road. But you're right, none of them are truly off road capable like a Wrangler would be. However, Subaru does not make a more capable AWD system. Not at all. In fact, I'd argue for all but .01% of people, it's a disadvantage instead of an advantage. Like you said, the Subie systems are AWD all the time. The Honda, Toyota, etc...systems are FWD based and keep it in FWD unless otherwise needed. However, the systems are so incredibly quick at adapting, they can switch to AWD before you even know you needed it. At that point, they're exactly equal to the Subie. And for the vast majority of the time you don't need AWD, you're not burning fuel and not putting extra wear/tear on the mechanicals. I don't own one of them (not an SUV fan), but I'm also fairly certain you can force the Honda and Toyota into AWD mode manually if you wanted to anyway. Totally agree that good tires, winter or even all seasons, make all the difference. I'd rather be in a Mustang on good snow tires than a Subaru on worn out junk tires. As I've said before, AWD itself is pretty much unnecessary if you have good tires.

And here's the thing about those AWD systems that people think gives them such an advantage in slippery conditions. You know what they do to make that work? They take the power AWAY from the wheel that is slipping. Something any competent driver can do with proper tires and 2WD.

Precisely. Never drove my MINI in the snow, but I'll bet they're quite capable with proper tires. Our Sedona minivan will go through the worst blizzards with just FWD...been there, done that...many times.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

We buy used because dh works on cars. We try and keep it is "neutral" on cost. Basically fix as needed, keep car in decent shape so when you sell it there is no major financial "loss".

We buy "American" because parts are cheaper.

For 16yo boys, I would focus completely on safety, period, no matter the name of the vehicle.

Also IF we had boys, they would be working on cars so it would be an old car that they would have to fix, lol.

(I have girls, however they are still taught car basics. Older dd was jumping guy's cars at college.)

 

[mom2rtk]

If insurance cost is an issue, check with your agent for quotes on various models. It can vary a lot.

Also get quotes insuring your daughter on various cars within the family.

 

[aprilchem]

We're still about 5 years away from this, but we intend to give our DS one of our cars when he starts to drive. That means he'll probably get my DH's Prius (or maybe a newer version of it, since we seem to change out cars fairly frequently. I like the Prius - it's reliable, doesn't go very fast, is safe, and is fuel-efficient. We don't intend for him to be doing much highway driving in the first few years he's driving it.

 

[DaisyJ]

Our kids didn't have any say in what they drove. They got DH's handed down 2008 Sonata. If they didn't like it, they were welcome to walk. Only adults who pay the bills get br and new cars in our house. When they can pay for it, they can buy whatever they want, which our oldest just did last month.

 

[HannaBelle]

We bought both of our 16 year olds a used Scion xB. They have worked great with zero mechanical issues. Our DS23 is currently in grad school with well over 100K miles on his and it is going strong. His car is black and the paint job is starting to show a little fading, but otherwise it looks good.

 

[bcla]

Well, actually I'd say Subaru does try to market their vehicles as off-road capable...watch their commercials, you'll see many of them going off-road...onto just dirt paths but nonetheless giving the image of being off road. But you're right, none of them are truly off road capable like a Wrangler would be. However, Subaru does not make a more capable AWD system. Not at all. In fact, I'd argue for all but .01% of people, it's a disadvantage instead of an advantage. Like you said, the Subie systems are AWD all the time. The Honda, Toyota, etc...systems are FWD based and keep it in FWD unless otherwise needed. However, the systems are so incredibly quick at adapting, they can switch to AWD before you even know you needed it. At that point, they're exactly equal to the Subie. And for the vast majority of the time you don't need AWD, you're not burning fuel and not putting extra wear/tear on the mechanicals. I don't own one of them (not an SUV fan), but I'm also fairly certain you can force the Honda and Toyota into AWD mode manually if you wanted to anyway. Totally agree that good tires, winter or even all seasons, make all the difference. I'd rather be in a Mustang on good snow tires than a Subaru on worn out junk tires. As I've said before, AWD itself is pretty much unnecessary if you have good tires.

A front wheel drive car won't get past chain conditions in California even with dedicated winter tires. Chains would have to go on.

Actual tests of the CR-V 4WD (not really 4WD but they call it that) show a slow engagement of the rear wheels. There were reports in Europe that theirs wouldn't even engage at all without a software update at the dealer. There's no way to force it into AWD either. Not sure about Toyota.

The biggest users of these vehicles would be people occasionally driving in winter conditions. Who is going to buy a set of winter tires for a couple of weekends per year going skiing? However, a Subaru is pretty well behaved on dry pavement.

Most commercials are unrealistic anyways. Jeep commercials are the worst. Sure they off road capable at slow speeds, but at the speeds their stunt drivers are driving they end up severely damaged. They always have several vehicles ready because they need to be towed off. Subaru commercials show use on dirt roads.

 

[xlxo]

Another idea.... a 3yr old used Leaf for around $10,000

• Great on gas.
• no oil changes
• keeps them close to home.
• Some come with 4 surround view cameras for easier parking.