Forbes Top Four best vehicles for college students
Talk about tough standards. When Forbes compiled vehicles for its annual "Best Cars for College Students" list, they found only four vehicles qualified to meet its criteria of being affordable, safe, and reliable. Interestingly, the Honda Accord and the Toyota Camry, which they deemed the "standard" by which similar vehicles are measured, failed to make the list. According to Forbes, both did poorly on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) tests, with the Accord receiving the lowest rating of "poor" for rear-crash protection and the Camry receiving a "marginal" rating in the same test.
So who are the fortunate foursome? They are:
- Chevrolet Cobalt - $13,590
- Ford Escape - $19,780
- Honda Civic - $14,560
- Hyundai Sonata - $17,195
Related:
[Source: Forbes]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
rem83 11:43AM (8/29/2006)
As far as keg and friend capacity goes, I think my '97 Intrepid made a pretty good college car. I had to upgrade the stereo to piss off the neighbors though.
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David P B 11:43AM (8/29/2006)
snooze. Who cares what cars forbes picks? That is like Car and Driver telling you how to invest your money!
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jd 12:05PM (8/29/2006)
Great pics if your a fucking nerd! great resale value too!
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Carlos 11:50AM (8/29/2006)
In my experience, driving in college involves less miles and more carrying. So I'm tempted to say that safety is less important (due to lower miles and the propensity of college students to ignore safety altogether). Whether it's a 4 seater or a 5 seater, eventually there are going to be seven people going for a ride in it!
Cargo is important too; it's easy to move house several times during college.
But parking is a huge factor too, so I'd say small hatches or the smallest SUVs are ideal. Something easy to repair body work on too. And make it stickshift, so fewer people ask to borrow it.
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Jim 11:50AM (8/29/2006)
I'm a little suprised at the Hyundai Sonata - it's a really good car, great value, but isn't it a little large for a college student? I would expect the Hyundai Elantra GT or Tucson.
Jim
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Gale 11:54AM (8/29/2006)
I'd take a Nissan Versa or Honda Fit over any of those cars except the Civic. Another pointless list based solely on opinion. If we rated everything based on crash testing we'd all buy tanks.
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djSyndrome 12:00PM (8/29/2006)
"If we rated everything based on crash testing we'd all buy tanks."
Isn't that what we (Americans) are doing already?
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Woody 11:59AM (8/29/2006)
I say buy them an old Chevey Taho. 1. they can live in it instead of the dorm. 2. It's always broken so low gas cost. 3. If it does run they can't afford the gas to drive too far away. 3. its a safe as sherman tank if it gets hit.
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rwdmtparkingonly 12:19PM (8/29/2006)
Last time this subject came up there were at least 50 posts with kids bragging about how much nicer what daddy got them is. The kids entering college better beat their parents to the mailbox this month because, for the people that are actually paying for them, these are some decent picks in their respective price ranges (except for the escape).
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AverageJoe 12:33PM (8/29/2006)
How about that Cobalt. It's being pick sort of kicks that old Honda Toyota are soooo wonderful theory in the ass, now don't it.
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JC 12:49PM (8/29/2006)
Yes, come to Windsor! We like to party and only 19 to drink!! Oh, and the ballet here removes tops and bottoms... You can also get a massage if you are really stressed after a long night of partying and gambling at the smoke free Casino and bars.
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Woody 12:55PM (8/29/2006)
10. How about that Cobalt. It's being pick sort of kicks that old Honda Toyota are soooo wonderful theory in the ass, now don't it.
hmm, no it doesn't, because Honda got picked too.
sounds like someone needs to justify buying a crappy car?
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Punchy 12:57PM (8/29/2006)
What, no Mazda 3...the 5 door hatch has loads of room and is more than reasonably priced. Probably didn't even give it consideration I guess.
Punchy
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ColBEAR 1:13PM (8/29/2006)
where are the Scion xB and the Honda Fit? How are you gonna haul all that stuff to school without a hatchback?
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Brandon 1:16PM (8/29/2006)
I think my 1997 Volvo 960 does me well for school. Sure it may not be as cheap to run as a civic, but should I my driving become "too good" and land me into a pine tree, I'll be more than happy to still be able to get out of my Volvo.
The truth is, any car is a good college car, it just depends on the nut that drives it.
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David 1:20PM (8/29/2006)
Audi A3. Double Best Pick.
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Baumann 1:22PM (8/29/2006)
"Great pics if your a fucking nerd! great resale value too!"
pics -> picks
your -> you're
You sir are obviously not in their target demographic. *COLLEGE* kids.
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verdegrrl 1:39PM (8/29/2006)
VW Jetta - MK III with a 5speed and 2.slow (2.0) 4 banger. Simple to drive, simple to maintain, and comes with a 3 body trunk and fold-down rear seats.
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Kurt B 1:42PM (8/29/2006)
Fit
Vibe/Matrix
07 Accent
Mazda 3
That's my list
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Ryan H 1:58PM (8/29/2006)
1998-2001 Jeep Cherokee. Nuff said.
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