U.S. News & World Report, a trusted voice in rankings and consumer advice, debuted their choices for the 2025 Best Cars for Teens. The annual awards highlight new and used cars that come highly recommended by journalists and rate well across a series of factors including predicted reliability, crash test ratings and safety feature availability.
About this year’s awards:
The reigning champion overall is Hyundai. The Korean brand takes home the most awards this year with wins in both the new car and used car categories, with six wins total. The Hyundai Tucson is a Best SUV for Teens for the fourth year in a row, while the Toyota Camry wins a Best Car for Teens award for the third year in a row and the seventh time overall. The Honda Civic Hybrid is a first-time Best Car for Teens winner.
“Getting a driver’s license is an exciting milestone for most teens, but it can also be stressful for parents watching them take to the road,” said Zach Doell, editor of vehicle testing at U.S. News.
What Makes a Winner?
To be a champion in the US News and Reports 2025 Best New Cars for Teens all vehicles must have a comprehensive suite of safety features such as forward collision and lane-departure warnings, forward automatic emergency braking and lane-keep assist. It also helps their scoring if the vehicle is equipped with teen driver controls or available smartphone apps that send alerts when the car exceeds a set speed or is driven after designated curfews or outside of specified geographic areas.
“Knowing their teen is in a vehicle known for its dependability and safety, with the latest driver-assistance and monitoring systems, can offer peace of mind. The 2025 Best Cars for Teens awards recognize new and used cars at affordable prices to help parents choose the right vehicle for their teenager and encourage safe driving.” Zach Doell, editor of vehicle testing at U.S. News
The beauty of these apps/teen driver controls is that they enable parents and guardians have more eyes on their children and to set limits for teen drivers while simultaneously guiding them toward more responsible driving habits. US News also notes that the vehicle must also have the “best combination of predicted reliability ratings, crash test scores, available advanced driver-assistance features and top critics’ recommendations in its price category.”
Here’s are the winners and quotes from U.S. News and World Report:
The 2025 Best New Cars for Teens
2025 Kia Soul Best SUV for Teens $20k to $25k
“The Kia Soul won this award in 2024, and with no major changes to the 2025 model, it’s no surprise that this small crossover is a repeat winner. It’s peppy enough for most driving situations, handles well, and gets good gas mileage, with ratings of up to 29/35 mpg city/highway. Unlike many SUVs, however, the Soul doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.”
2025 Toyota Corolla Hybrid Best Car for Teens $20k to $25k
“Like many of its stablemates, the Toyota Corolla Hybrid isn’t flashy; it just gets the job done day in and day out. It’s stable but not sporty, and the powertrain provides plenty of grunt around town, though acceleration is a bit lethargic at highway speeds. Fuel economy ratings top out at 53/46 mpg city/highway with front-wheel drive, and they drop by a couple mpg if you opt for an all-wheel-drive model.”
2025 Hyundai Tucson Best SUV for Teens $25k to $30k
“The Tucson Hybrid joins its nonhybrid sibling in the winner’s circle, and it follows a similar recipe for success. The Tucson Hybrid handles well and rides smoothly. The hybrid powertrain delivers plenty of power for any driving situation, and though this Hyundai’s fuel economy ratings of 38 mpg in the city and on the highway are average among hybrid SUVs, they’re nothing to sneeze at.”
2025 Hyundai Elantra Best Car for Teens $25k to $30k
“Another repeat winner (and not the last), the Hyundai Elantra provides a cushioned ride and gets good gas mileage — up to 32/41 mpg city/highway. It’s not overly quick or nimble, but handling is composed.”
2025 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid Best SUV for Teens $30k to $35k
”The Hyundai Tucson has now won this award four years in a row. With refreshed styling for 2025, the Tucson looks good inside and out. It has adequate power, competent handling, and a smooth ride, and it gets decent gas mileage.”
2025 Honda Civic Hybrid Best Car for Teens $30k to $35k
“The Civic Hybrid returns to Honda’s lineup for the 2025 model year after a decade-long hiatus and wins this award for the first time in the process. It costs a little more than most competitors, but it provides plenty of value even at a higher price because it has almost no flaws.”
2025 Subaru Forester Best SUV for Teens $35k to $40k
“Last year, the Subaru Outback won this award, but for 2025, the Forester upstaged its sibling to claim the crown. Fully redesigned for this year, the Forester delivers a comfortable ride and is capable of light off-roading. Some competitors are quicker to accelerate, but at least the Forester comes standard with all-wheel drive and gets respectable gas mileage: 26/33 mpg city/highway.”
2025 Toyota Camry Best Car for Teens $35k to $40k
“The Toyota Camry received a full redesign for the 2025 model year. It now comes exclusively as a hybrid, and it has an energetic, fuel-efficient powertrain. It also has adept handling, and the suspension easily soaks up bumps in the road.”
The US News 2025 Best Cars for Teens
The collection of vehicles chosen by the team at US News and World Report have good and better than average safety ratings in addition to abundant driver-assistance tech and have time-tested reliability ratings. For more information on their current picks, visit here.
For our take on any of these vehicles, visit our drive section or drop us a line at blog@dallassinglemom.com
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