Do not worry a single bit, as we have handpicked the best cars to drive to back-to-school with students. From safety features that will ensure your belongings are safe during your drive, to cargo room that is big enough to fit it all, these are among the best cars for college students. Featuring everything from Hondas to Kias, here are the five best hatchbacks for college students in 2022. With that objective study backing up our findings, we are confident the alphabetical list below will identify the most useful cars for teenagers and college students.
Used cars for college students are the best, most cost-effective options, and you will be getting a good vehicle at a fair price without emptying your bank account. Buying new cars is expensive and is out of the question for most families, so used cars are a great, cheap choice. If you are taking out student loans, you may not want to spend much money on your car. Car shopping is going to be something of a balancing act between what your students want and what the family, perhaps already stretched to the breaking point with the cost of college, can afford.
When it comes to the safety and reliability of your college students car, you may be looking at purchasing a reliable new vehicle rather than a used beater. Safety is definitely the top priority when considering buying used car for your teenager.
The Kia Soul might be polarizing in its design; however, the Kia Soul comes equipped with an array of safety features that may help you qualify for auto insurance discounts. It is a cheap car, and its safety features are among the best in the market. The Kia Soul does fall slightly short on the gas mileage front when compared with the rest of the cars in its class. More importantly, it has similar average auto insurance rates to the Honda Fit, which is $1,475 a year.
With a $17,000 MSRP in base trim, the Honda Fit is a bargain, making it one of the cheaper cars to insure. Although Honda discontinued the Fit, it is still a solid choice as a college vehicle. Coming with stellar reliability ratings, better than average fuel economy, and only $407 a year in repairs, the Honda CR-V is an excellent starting-level car for any incoming college student.
The Hyundai Elantra GT is ideal for longer-distance travel, but you will be able to get it around town too, and will not feel like you have to take on a second job just to keep it running (which is a necessity for your busy college student!). With a $20,500 MSRP and up to 42 miles per gallon, the Hyundai Elantra is a cheap, compact vehicle. According to EPA, it offers a combined fuel economy as high as 54 miles per gallon, so Hyundais HYMTF, +1.21% Elantra Hybrid is a sleek, fully-loaded, little car that’ll leave you looking like an outsider at the pump. The Hyundai Elantra GT has the safety and confidence of a SUV, but the fuel economy of a hybrid.
With its safety ratings and fuel economy, you can rest assured knowing that your students are driving in a safe vehicle. What is more important to college students is that the Mazda CX-5 offers great fuel economy–as high as 33 MPG on the highway–has a ton of safety features, and offers impressive reliability. The compact sedan, Toyota Corolla, is an ideal vehicle for college students due to its great reliability record, its high resale value, and impressive safety features for the time. With multiple Kelley Blue Book Best Buy awards attached to the Civics name, and an overall fuel economy rating of 33 MPGe, the Civic is an outstanding vehicle for college students who are willing to stretch their budget past $20,000.
Praised by Toyotas Retro-styled Yaris, dynamic performance, and sporty handling, the MINI Cooper is an outstanding vehicle for college students who enjoy the thrill of the ride. As far as insurance rates go, the MINI Cooper has an average annual rate of $1,597, which is steep for cars in its class. If you are a college student, the RAV4 could be an excellent vehicle at your college to use daily to get to and from classes, thanks to its high-reliability ratings (3rd among 26 compact SUVs, according to RepairPal) and average annual repair costs of only $429. The Toyota RAV4 will be an excellent vehicle for the college student looking for something cheap, but also wanting to go off-the-beaten-path and go exploring.
The Honda Pilot would be a great option for students interested in a roomy, high-quality car with excellent safety features. For students needing a new vehicle, but who must keep the cost down to as little as humanly possible, the Chevy Spark is worth looking at. The Kia Soul is one of the best cars for college students, because it has good-quality safety components, great mileage, sporty accents, and an outstanding look that is hard to put down. Kia Soul is also one of the best cars for buying used; it will never age.
The Volkswagen Jetta comes loaded with safety features, is fuel-efficient, and has a stylish, timeless design you will be proud to drive through college. The Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid is admittedly not the worlds most fun car to drive, but its hatchback styling gives students a lot of utility, and drivers can adjust how much of their brakes are Regeneratively Abused via paddles on the steering wheel.
Used cars, older-model cars, or ones with fewer high-tech improvements are usually cheaper than vice versa. Insurance premiums for used cars or older model cars are considerably lower than those for their equivalents.
