Why the Honda Accord is the Best Car for Teens

It’s finally here – the time has come for your little teen to hit the road. It’s stressful, but all you need to know is that the Honda Accord is the best car for any teenage driver.

There are so many reasons why it hurts me to say that, but it’s so true.

Let me be totally transparent here and just say that I don’t even like Honda.

I haven’t even owned a Honda and probably never will, but that doesn’t mean this isn’t the greatest first car ever made.

When I was a growing up the most common car to get was like a 1992 Honda Accord with paint peeling off the hood like it just fell from space and got burned on re-entry.

So, In celebration of being listed number 92 out of 100 top car blogs on at feedspot.com, I’ve decided to post about my favorite car for teenage drivers, the Honda Accord.

There’s a lot of reasons why this is the best car for new drivers, but we will take a look at the most important reasons.

Why the Honda Accord the Best Car for Teens:

1. IIHS top safety pick since 2012
2. Optional manual transmission
3. Easy to own and operate
4. Low cost of ownership
5. New driver assists
6. Perfect size
7. Dual purpose
8. Super boring

These are just a few of the reasons why this is one of the best first cars for teens on the road today.

I will explain why each of these points matter and why the Honda Accord ticks each box.

1. The Best Cars for Teens are IIHS Top Safety Picks

If you read my post: Five Common Mistakes When Shopping for Good First Cars then you would know that I always suggest starting a car search with the IIHS top safety pick list.

This ensures you’re getting one of the safest cars for your teen driver and helps you reel in the insurance cost as best you can.

The Honda Accord has been on that list since 2012. That’s nearly a third of your sixteen-year-olds life!

In 2018 the Honda Accord made Car and Driver’s 10 Best Cars list and is one of the highest rated cars for the 2018 model year.

Don’t worry if you’re looking at a used one, they were rated just as good in previous years. In 2016 it had an average rating of 4.8 across the major review sites.

2. The Best Cars for Teens Have Manual Transmissions

The fact that the Honda Accord has an optional transmission makes it a great car for a new driver.

This is often a consideration for parents when searching for the best car for their new drivers. They want to make sure their kid can “learn how to drive anything”.

I definitely don’t think this is a bad idea, but it’s nice to see a sedan with a manual transmission these days.

Manual transmissions can also have the effect of reducing a driver’s ability to do other bullshit while driving like talk on a phone or text and shift.

That’s not to say it will stop them, but it makes it a little harder for them to do. So, it’s a plus in my book.

3. The Best Cars for Teens are Easy to Maintain

Another great aspect of the Honda Accord is how little maintenance is required.

That’s because it only requires maintenance every 15,000 miles. That’s once a year for normal drivers.

That’s less than what my gutters require.

Good first cars for teens require little in the way of maintenance because by-and-large teenage drivers don’t maintain their vehicles well.

It’s just a fact of life. They are inexperienced with maintaining a vehicle, so reducing the risk of poor maintenance is critical.

4. The Best Cars for Teens Are Cheap to Own

Add to low maintenance the low cost to own and operate and this package keeps getting better. Especially seeing as how teenagers beat the shit out of everything they use.

It’s important to have a car that doesn’t cost a lot to upkeep or repair, because we all know that if teenagers do one thing well, it’s destroy everything in their path.

But it’s beyond repairs and maintenance, the Honda Accord depreciates less than other vehicles do as well.

In fact, depreciation accounts for less than a third of the new car price after five years.

If that doesn’t butter your eggroll automotive data house shows that the average five-year repair cost for the Honda Accord is $800.

You read that correctly. In five years the Honda Accord had an average repair cost that’s less than the average mistake made in Vegas at a New Year’s Eve party.

5. The Best Cars for Teens Have Driver’s Assistance

For the 2018 model year, the Honda Accord comes with optional driver’s assistance goodies that include a heads-up display and blind spot monitoring.

All of this keeps your child safe while they text and drive.

Just kidding, but in all honesty, things like blind spot monitoring and lane departure warnings are great for new drivers.

Teenage drivers tend to get distracted so the more assistance they receive, the more safely they will drive.

6. The Best Cars for Teens Are Not Large

The Accord is sort of the perfect size too.

It’s perfect for four passengers to sit comfortably and has room for hockey gear and backpacks and whatever other shit kids fill their cars up with.

There’s plenty of cupholders for all of their Frappuccino’s and with Apply Car Play their phones will sync up with the infotainment center and everything.

7. The Best Cars for Teens are Versatile

It also serves more than one purpose. It doesn’t just have to be your kid’s car, it can double as a family sedan. I mean you did pay for this thing, didn’t you?

Let’s assume you have always wanted that badass Audi TTRS but never committed because you needed room for the family and your Cocker Spaniel.

Give your kid this and go treat yo’self. Now you have a sedan and a sports car. #Winning.

8. The Best Cars for Teens are Boring

All of that brings us to the most important aspect of the Accord and that’s how boring it is.

It’s not fast, it’s not sporty, and it sure as hell isn’t flashy. But that’s the ideal situation for a first car.

That last thing you want is your teenager out there in a Corvette doing donuts in the school parking lot.

You also don’t want them in something so flashy the cops are constantly going to be on the lookout for them.

And don’t worry – they will never get a girl in this car so you can ditch the fear of unexpected grandchildren as well.

It’s the most ideal car ever made for new drivers.

So, let’s recap – it’s pretty nice inside, comes in a manual, has good technology, it’s super safe, doubles as a family sedan and won’t attract unwanted attention.

This is literally like the best car for teen drivers ever made.

It makes so much sense to me why so many people I went to high school with owned these.

And now you can continue that tradition with your new driver.

Before you buy don’t forget to read my post: How To Buy A Car (With A Salesman) to make your car buying experience better.