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

How each vehicle scored in the IIHS safety test, Consumer Reports, and J.D. Power can be found on each slide. What do you think? A+ to Forbes on their choices? Or back to school for them? Seems like no one at Forbes even considered keg capacity, the degree to which a car's stereo can annoy neighbors, or maximum number of friends that can be squeezed in for a trip to Windsor.

Related:

• CNNMoney.com picks 7 best College Cars
• Used luxury cars as ultimate gift for your graduating kid
• Best Cars for College Students

[Source: Forbes]