The Best Cars for College Students
It’s back to school time, so you may be thinking about buying your youngster a car as he heads off to college. As a parent you want to buy a car that is safe and reliable, but also one that junior will actually drive. Getting your college bound kid an old Buick clunker might sound like a good idea, but if your soon-to-be-freshman never drives it, you have wasted your money.
There have been numerous lists of good cars for college students, but one of the most thorough I have found was published by Smart Money Magazine last year. The criteria was the car must be low cost (under $18,000 MSRP), safe, and at least reasonably cool. While the list might be a tad old, the list of cars is still on the mark.
The Mazda 3, with an MSRP of less than $15,000 ranked as the best value. The car got high marks for features and great handling.
The safest car on the list was the Subaru Impreza which offers all-wheel drive and front, side, and rear airbags. It’s also one of the heaviest small cars which might not be great for gas mileage, but does make it a safe ride.
The Ford Focus ranked highest in fuel economy while the Honda Fit was tops in reliability. And if your kid is holding out for a flashy car, the coolest on Smart Money’s list was the Volkswagen Rabbit.