mmarshall

A number of you here on the forum, no doubt, are parents with teens that are, or will soon be, going away to college......or, for that matter, simply staying at home and going to a nearby 2-year community college (as I did between the ages of 18 and 20). When I was in college, I couldn't afford a new car (neither could my parents afford to buy one for me), and I owned a couple of older, used cars...I often mention one of them, the big Buick, that I loved. But that's not the reason I'm doing this thread....we've spent enough time on my own past. The question is: What's the best car for a college student TODAY?

Opinions differ, of course, and I'm sure that many of you have good thoughts on the matter. One big difference, of course, is that, today, many parents are more safety-minded (and, in many cases, more well-heeled) than they were back in my day, and will insist that their kids have either something brand-new and/or something up to date in safety features. It's well-known, of course, that Mercedes and Volvo, for decades, have generally led the auto industry in the pioneering of new safety-features, but most of their American-market offerings have been (and are) priced outside the entry-level range that many parents would want to spend on an starter-car for their kids (or that the kids themselves can afford).

And, of course, kids go away to college in all sorts of different places.....Deep South and tropical climates, far Northern states with brutal winters, urban/suburban environments with wall-to-wall traffic (welcome to the D.C. area LOL), and remote Western or Alaskan areas where towns themselves can be hundreds of miles apart. Is there one single new car that can do everything well, and provide for all of a college student's needs, wherever he or she goes? Probably not....but, IMO, a reasonably good case can be made that the Subaru Impreza/Crosstrek comes closest.

http://www.subaru.com/vehicles/impreza/index.html

http://www.subaru.com/vehicles/crosstrek/index.html

http://www.subaru.com/vehicles/forester/index.html

New Imprezas start between 18-19K, include standard All-Wheel-Drive for bad weather, and come in either 4-door sedan or 5-door hatchback versions....the hatchbacks, of course, would be more utile if the student has to carry along some bulky things. With a CVT automatic (many kids today can't drive a clutch), destination charge, and a few options/packages, Imprezas typically list in the low-mid 20s, but discounts, and sometimes rebates, are usually available at dealerships. They are arguably the cheapest new vehicles available in the American market with all-wheel-drive....the Suzuki SX-4 used to have that honor, but, of course, was discontinued when Suzuki stopped selling new automobiles in the U.S. and kept only its motorcycle division. Imprezas come with a non-turbo 2.0L flat-four "boxer" horizontally-opposed engine, a CVT (Continuously-Variable-Transmisison), and Subaru's famous Symmetrical all-wheel-drive systems that are simple, reliable, effective, and easy to service. While many college students, of course, don't go away to school in severe-winter or heavy-snow areas where all-wheel-drive would have its greatest benefits, the all-wheel-drive, particularly in the way Subaru designs it, can also greatly aid in both wet-weather traction and dry-weather handling as well. I admit that I'm not a terribly big fan of the way many CVTs operate and respond to the throttle (motorboating, rubber-banding, etc...), but that is simply a personal preference, and many kids probably wouldn't care. I'm also not totally convinced of the CVT's ultimate durability compared to conventional torque-converter/stepped-gear automatics, but Subaru offers the same 5/60 drivetrain warranty that most mainstream Japanese auto manufacturers do. The company also has had a good record of standing behind their products, in some cases (such as with head-gaskets and rear-wheel bearings) with extended-warranties from the factory. Most Subarus (high-performance WRX and STI models excepted), according to Consumer Reports, have had consistently Better-Than-Average reliability ratings. Subarus consistently do well in DOT/NHTSA/IIHS crash-tests, and come with a lot of standard and optional safety features.

If the student is going away to school in an area with severe winters and a lot of snow (such as to the Ivy League schools in New England, or to schools in the Great Lakes Snow Belt), the Subaru XV Crosstrek might be a better option than standard-model Imprezas. The Crosstrek is essentially the same car as the Impreza hatchback, but sitting higher off the ground, with a different suspension, wheels, and tires. Crosstreks, with their added ground clearance, would probably be a little better-suited to deep snow or deep water (though one should never try and drive into seriously flooded roads, matter what kind of vehicle he or she is in...many lives and vehicles are lost that way every year). Crosstreks start at just under 22K, but, with options and destination charge/taxes, etc....typically list in the mid-high 20s, though it's possible to spend 30K or more on loaded top-line models. But, as with the Impreza, discounts and/or rebates are often available. If interior space really becomes an issue, one could check out the Subaru Forester, which is built the same frame/platform as the Impreza/Crosstrek but offers a much larger cabin, square-box space-efficiency inside, and superb outward visibility. Foresters run (roughly) in the same price-range as the Crosstrek, and, of course, include the same Symmetrical All-Wheel-Drive system (I did a full-review on a new Forester recently...it was posted in Car Chat).

So, there you have it....that's my recommendation. And, of course, now that we are halfway through August, with school-season rapidly approaching, now may be the time to start looking if you are interested in a purchase. An added bonus is that the summer months are often a good time to shop for all-wheel-drive vehicles.....months before the first snowflakes start flying, and demand (and prices) for those vehicles may rise.

And, as always, Happy Car-Shopping.

MM

jadu

iTrader: (42)

I can attest for people buying subarus. my boss actually bought his daughter a brand new impreza a few years ago as a graduation present on getting her bachelors back east (mass.). I'm sure she made use of it as she went to graduate school in Conn.

andymoor

was interedting to read, tnx. My husband and I bought our daugther Subaru XV Crosstrek last year and still don't have any regrets. She's fond of this car

Johnhav430

right off the top of my head, Chevy Cruze...imho likely because of my own upbringing I don't believe in the concept of parents buying a car for a kid, they should buy it themselves, and today, they don't really even need one....so that might be a no nonsense car....

edit--I take that back--as I see Ivy League schools in New England are mentioned. If that's the case, your kid just saved you about $170k, so go ahead and split it with them and get them "any" car they want up to around let's ratchet it back $45k. If your household income is over 250k which for many in this section it is, this does not apply.

edit 2 we are able to buy a Subaru at "employee prices" so I checked it out, the prices were not very good (the program reminded me of say edmunds costco AAA etc., what I think are bogus programs). A reality check would be if the prices were good, our co. parking lot would be filled with them. I see maybe 5-6 new ones, that's about it, out of 300? cars....

mmarshall

Glad you liked it. I thought this might be a good time of year for parents to consider that question if they had college-age kids.

Hope she enjoys it...and takes care of it I also got my first car, a used Plymouth Barracuda ponycar (in my own name, not just driving my dad's car) that way, as a high school graduation present...my folks couldn't afford a new car for me, and I didn't expect one. My dad was also sold on 60s-vintage Chrysler products. Car-based AWD as we know it today did not exist back then...AMC first introduced it in 1980 on the Eagle and Eagle SX-4.

The Cruze is a good car, at a reasonable price.....but it's probably not the car for a bad-weather area. It is, however, now available in a hatchback version here in the U.S. market....which was not the case before (though I haven't seen very many takers on it). A diesel is also available for best MPG...I did a review on a Cruze Diesel not long ago.

I used the Ivy league reference, not because of the money (we all know they cost an arm and a leg to attend), but as an example of schools in areas that Subarus thrive in....cold temperatures, deep snowstorms/blizzards, and generally miserable driving conditions. That's one reason why Subarus are so popular in that area. Over the years, for those in that region who could not afford an Audi Quattro (or, for whatever reason, chose not to spend their money on one) the default car was often a less-expensive, more reliable Subaru.

I notice you are in PA. Actually, there are some areas in the state where Subies are popular. Perhaps not where you specifically live or work, but a large part of the state is hilly or mountainous with severe winters. The level area in the far northwest, up around Erie, is part of the notorious Great Lakes Snow Belt. The town of Bradford, in the North-Central part of the state, in a valley where cold air drains at night, is notoriously frigid....it sometimes registers the lowest temperatures in the Northeast.

Lil4X

I'd like to inject my own curmudgeonly thoughts here.

Who the heck buys a brand-new car for an 18 year-old???

If you can afford a $25K car in addition to several hundred grand worth of tuition, why send the kid to college at all? Just start him on a trust fund and be done with it. You won't have the insurance costs, the repair bills, or the heartbreak when Little Lord Fauntleroy's medical bills mount up after he runs that expensive new ride up a tree after his first "experiments" with his capacity for fermented grain beverage.

Put the kid on a bicycle, or even in an unstoppable tank of a car that's in good repair and cheap to fix when he attempts to destroy it. I went to college with a 9 year old car I'd rebuilt myself during high school. Cost? $200 (plus parts) . . . and that included the pink slip. It was a '52 Dodge 2dr, 3-spd on the column with a fluid coupling ahead of the clutch. Engine? 230 CID, 103hp (stock, I'd breathed a little on that old flathead straight 6) Top Speed: rated at 80, but I'd squeezed 85 out of mine. Fuel consumption: about 14 mpg (remember, this was 18¢ gas) Weight, 3,140 lbs, resulting in a 0-60 of a tick over 21 seconds, and a quarter-mile of about 25 seconds. Forget the stopwatch, you needed a calendar to time this thing.

It achieved something tantamount to automotive immortality, and although pretty old when I got my hands on it, a refresh of the fading paint and we were good to go . . . for years. As testament to it's invulnerability, I had a couple of minor wrecks that didn't even scratch the paint. Once a 40' live oak tree fell on it during a storm, and although I discovered it in the dorm parking lot with the suspension flattened down to the bump stops, and several tons of hardwood laying across the top, once the city removed the tree, I pressed the roof dents out with a little calculation and a well-placed foot on the headliner, polished out a few minor scratches and it soldiered on, none the worse for wear. Find a car that can do that today.

What would I recommend today? Find something on the used car lot, probably something that's a bit out of vogue that won't consume too much capital on initial purchase. Look for something that's tough - after all you want to protect your progeny from youthful stupidity, don't you? You are looking for solid reliability, not performance or glamor. Leave room in the budget for paint and maybe a modest sound system upgrade to assuage the feelings of automotive inferiority. Figure on a set of good tires, a thorough inspection by a knowledgeable mechanic you trust, and when the deal looks good, pay cash. Whether you want to put the kid's car on your family insurance is up to you . . . will his driving skills put your premium at undue risk?

Finally, if you've raised a thoughtful and responsible child, go ahead and give him a gas credit card and let him do some exploring of this big new world on his own. Give him a GPS for Christmas so he can always find his way home.

Johnhav430

Actually Ivy League schools are dirt cheap, as are all of the elite schools, thanks to their endowments. Up to $250k of income, they approach 10%, i.e. say a family takes in $249k annually, the school would be $24,900. If the family took in < $60k, it would be free. Even state universities are easily $35k today, with very poor financial aid packages...so essentially it's cheaper to attend an elite school than a state university....the thing is the 4-6% acceptance rates. That's why any kid who gets in, is saving their parents a boatload of money.

Yeah when I went to test drive the WRX Limited manual in 2015, for a $25 reward, the dealer was packed with people and there weren't many cars on the lot. They don't appeal to me, but because we get employee pricing, I thought I'd check them out....I prefer RWD to FWD based AWD, although they claim it's symmetrical and better lol

mmarshall

I at least partly addressed those issues in my write-up, Bob, noting that many parents today are indeed different from what they were in my day. Today, many of them often want Junior to have something as new and reliable as possible, and with up-to-date safety gear. The latest safety features, of course, often start out on Mercedes or Volvo products, but Subies offer a good combination of safety, reliability, and bad-weather traction at generally lower prices than the upmarket Europeans.

mmarshall

OK, perhaps so. I haven't kept up up on the latest tuition-policies at the Ivy league schools...maybe they do have special programs like that today. But, for many, many years, they had reputations as big money-pits.

The WRX is an exception to the general pattern of above-average Subaru reliability....perhaps because of the hard, aggressive way that many of them are driven.

Htony

Ditto, when our daughter and son went to same high school( Bi-lingual IV course) we bought them identical new Subaru Impreza, blue one for the boy and red one for girl.
When they went to university(medicine and engineering) She had red Mustang, He had Nissan Pathfinder 4x4. Now they're on their own. They drive what they like. Time
fles, we have a grand-son already.

FastFord

My kid is not too fond of driving, but Mum never drove and regretted she never learned, so she pushed daughter to learn. Kid didn't want to drive anything big so Mum put a down payment on a Nissan Micra with payments the kid could afford. She loved it and almost three years later she is ready to drive something bigger than a golf cart.

Some of the suggestions for a Subaru is exactly what she is looking at. She doesn't like how the Micra gets blown around on the highway or how it handles in the winter. We went for a test drive in the Crosstrek, nice vehicle, solid, and in her price range.

Funny how the times change. As argued above my first car was a real beauty, back when safety checks didn't really do anything. Holes in the floor, that's ok, defrosters not working, get out the scrapper.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

nice subaru ad.

tons of new cars are perfectly fine for students. with parking often tight a smaller vehicle is generally good. but getting outside on the weekend might require a bit more room than a regular trunk can provide so i'd recommend a kia soul or a low end trim rav 4 or hrv. if a sedan, then a corolla, civic, elantra and many others are good choices.

now why a college kid deserves a NEW vehicle is a whole other discussion.

jadu

iTrader: (42)

you reminded me, an old friend of mine also got a grand new impreza wrx as a high school graduation present back in 03. It was the bug eyed model and the wrx model because the sti never existed yet. it was an awesome car as everyone i knew, including myself, drove beaters and the 4 doors was convenient for hauling your friends. the weathers near perfect here in socal, and he didnt need it for safety. the racing epidemic that year was coming off of its peak and he knew exactly what he was getting as i remember his short shifter, launching the cars and short shifter.

i think Subaru knew exactly what they were doing advertising and selling their safety. It also has a cult following within the enthusiast/tuner community. When mom and dad buys you one the highest safety rated vehicles in the market = more money for aftermarket parts

mmarshall

Recommendations and suggestions are not ads. I recommended the Impreza/Crosstrek/Forester mostly for bad-weather areas. Yes, there are a number of good starter-cars for areas that don't get snow.....Jill's Corolla (though she lives in snowy Toronto) is one good example....and, as you indicate, so is the Soul. My brother had a Soul for five years...he loved it. Traded it in only because he needed AWD.....but felt the superb service and customer treatment he got at that specific Kia shop made a better case for a Sportage than a new Subie. I agreed.

True....that part we can agree on. And if you want to really take it to a new level...parents giving kids that age a new BMW 3-series LOL.

Johnhav430

I think I've mentioned my wife's bff said they would give their 5 y.o. Honda Pilot to their 16 y.o., and then the daughter I think maybe 11-12 asked what do I get, and was not pleased to hear about the then 3 y.o. Accord. Again, I asked that bff why, would you give them these things? She actually said, "I don't know." with a smile though.

The other day I was watching my son ride his hand me down bike, from a wife's friend's son's old bike. The right training wheel was broken. I never realized how cheaply made these things are. So I got online and ordered a set of training wheels for $24?! When a bike only costs $60 to begin with? Ah, they are not of like quality. Ok. Problem is dad did read 16"-20", and son's bike has 14" tires. This meant that the rear wheel did not make contact with the road, and the bike went nowhere as he pedaled faster and faster. Yes, it was my bad, but it's my son's loss. This is tough love baby! If he had no stake in the game, he'd just say it's your bad daddy, just buy another set of training wheels. In our house, you better figure out how to use what we've got.