Our sons first car was a slightly used Toyota Tacoma. It was a four banger with an automatic transmission, so it was lacking in acceleration, a good thing for a teenaged boy. Being a truck, it wasn’t that big a deal when it got the inevitable dings and scrapes. He still has it 14 years later. Other than regular maintenance items, it has never needed to be worked on by a mechanic.

I’m slightly in favor of Toyota products, unless you want to be able to work on them yourself, in which case they are a pain.

I owned a Subaru SVX, and the transmission didn’t stand up to the engine output long term. But it was their performance coupe at the time.

I wouldn’t have any issues with the Subaru.

One thing I would highly recommend is a quality defensive driving school. Not the “fix a ticket” kind, but one really aimed at improving teenaged drivers.

Our national driving philosophy is to make the vehicles safer, with little actual training for the drivers (or the parents teaching drivers, for that matter).

Honda Civic. Relatively inexpensive by the standard of today. Easy to work on, great mileage but I’d check the insurance versus the Subaru. Not sure how much the Subaru is but if it is significantly costlier than the Civic for price and insurance, I’d just stick with the Civic. You do not need AWD where you are.

Manual transmission should keep the thieves away and also, at least initially, teach him how to drive instead of merely steer.

Mass matters.

Manual transmission cuts out other "friends" trying to borrow it.

Link

The driving school at Willow Springs would be cool, sign me up too, if you go

Bought my oldest daughter a 2008 Mercury Gran Marquis.
It had 108k on it, everything worked and I was able to pay cash.
This car had basically been to the hair salon, the grocery store, and the Baptist church its whole life.
Proven power train, grandma car, so not abused.
Same chassis that Ford had been tweaking for PDs for decades.
Parts are relatively cheap. Fairly easy to work on.
Plenty of power, yet decent fuel mileage.
Heavy enough it can push a bit if needed.
And it’s old enough it was generally ok for her to rub the corners off of it.

I had an Impreza 5-door for a rental in Sacramento a few years ago & really liked it, wouldn't have much issue with that or a Crosstrek for a new driver.
Quick enough to get around in traffic, but low enough power to take some effort to get into trouble.

My first car was a diesel 82 Mercedes 240D
Slowest car I've ever driven, but it was a tank. I grew up in a small town north of Beaumont TX, so it was plenty to get around.
9 months later, got rear-ended by an F150 with about a 40mph speed differential. Could still open/close the back doors without issue. Folded the trunk in half.

My sister went through 2 CRVs [a 2nd & 3rd generation model, dont recall the years] in the past 4 years, both had repeated AC issues.

I would go with safety. An older Volvo is a good one if you have a quality non-dealer to service it. Wife and I hit head-on in a 1980 Volvo by a guy on a 3 day drunk driving a small Subaru. I was going 55-60mph and didn't have time to hit the brake. Deputy measure POI to vehilce at rest 35 feet. We had minor whiplash. Drunk had 2 broken legs and I could see some of his skull although he was bleeding like a stuck pig. Naturally the drunk wasn't wearing his seatbelt. Safety is a plus for a young driver.

I bought a 1998 MB E430 for my kids. Seemed old -was old!- when I bought it. But it's been serving us well for five years now already. Heavy, safe, and they can see out of it. Good car to actually learn how to drive. But it does require them to do the steering and braking. An advantage in my mind. Infotainment is a cassette deck. And a CD changer in the trunk!

Paid $6k for a lowish miles no-winters example. Put $5k into it with discretionary refresh services. It's a fantastic car. In MANY ways I like it better than my 2022 BMW.

quote:

Originally posted by chongosuerte:
I wouldn’t have any issues with the Subaru.

One thing I would highly recommend is a quality defensive driving school. Not the “fix a ticket” kind, but one really aimed at improving teenaged drivers.

Our national driving philosophy is to make the vehicles safer, with little actual training for the drivers (or the parents teaching drivers, for that matter).

+1

Another vote for Toyota. Overall good safety ratings, insurance rates aren't bad, and they tend to be trouble free if you stay on top of the regular maintenance.

I’m with those who say stick, and big and old. My first car was a massive Buick- that thing was a literal tank. It kept me safe.

Civic/Accord or Corolla/Camry,

all as reliable as the day is long,
all easy to maintain

all get great gas mileage

quote:

Manual transmission cuts out other "friends" trying to borrow it.

^^^^^^^^^^^
Sorry. Most guys here can drive a stick. Women less so and some carjackers cannot.

Subaru sounds good, as much as Big ol cars go, the newer the better since they'll have the driving aids, air bags for side impact/roll over all the things to keep them safe. Honda, Toyota, Mazda, any of the smaller 4 cyl non turbo, base model vehicles is probably good.

The one advantage to a small pickup like an S-10 is you can't fit 4 people (comfortably) in the front seat. Accident rates for teens multiply significantly with the number of occupants in the vehicle, so try and encourage him to not be the team car pool.... Teen testosterone, bunch of friend and/or girls is not conducive to safe driving.

Congrats on the milestone, next you'll be off to college and leaving him there with all those degenerate liberals, which is more dangerous than sending him to high school in a Zl-1 Camaro!

V6 Camaro, Mustang or Dodge Challenger would be my pick. Looks great, good mileage and small back seat.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

quote:

Manual transmission cuts out other "friends" trying to borrow it.

^^^^^^^^^^^
Sorry. Most guys here can drive a stick. Women less so and some carjackers cannot.

But, I'll wager that the majority of teenagers cannot.
Sadly, the amount of modern 'beginner' cars available with a manual is an increasingly dwindling number.

quote:

Originally posted by abnmacv:

I would go with safety. An older Volvo is a good one

We had a friend who owned a local chain of body shops; he knew what it took to re-build a wrecked car.

When he and his wife, and my wife and I would go out to dinner, he always said, "Let's go in the SAFE car (my wife's older Volvo)."

How's about a decent Ford CrownVic PI? It's very dependable vehicle. Parts are cheap. The ride is smooth, easy to work on.

I am going to give you advice as someone having been in the insurance industry for decades.

Buy your son any car that is safe and functional)preferably with Bluetooth and backup camera)in a price range that you do not need to add collision coverage. Do add comp. Comp coverage is cheap. As a new driver, your biggest cost is their inexperience. Getting them a car that requires coll adds to the cost. After a few years, upgrade him then. Make sure you have a conversation with your carrier about all eligible discount for him. Example, good student, driver training, distracted driving course, app tracking discount, etc. do it ahead of time. I have seen kids take driver ed that don’t qualify for discounts before.