The top new and used cars for teens

If your teen is ready to drive, you may need another car.

Not just any car. But a car that's safe and affordable enough to satisfy you, yet cool and trendy enough to satisfy your kid.

We can tell you what to look for and provide advice on the best new and used cars for high school students -- recommendations you and your teen can agree on without a lot of fussing and fighting.

Start by acknowledging that most new drivers suffer through an accident or two, even if it's just a fender-bender from a poorly judged parking maneuver.

So you'll need a car that's:

• Relatively cheap to buy and own.
• Small and easy to drive.
• Fully capable of protecting your kid in a wreck.

That's why we think anyone buying a car for a young driver should follow these three key rules:

Go for low horsepower. Kids just learning how to control a car aren't well-served by a high-performance engine. The happy circumstance is that the kind of vehicle you need -- an inexpensive compact -- is usually at the bottom of the horsepower food chain.

Another reason to avoid that V8 (or even V6) engine is that powerful vehicles almost always cost more to insure. An interesting report just released in 2008 by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows why: Higher-horsepower cars have more costly collision claims.

Load up on safety features. For us, that means antilock brakes (ABS) and side air bags, at least for front-seat occupants, are a must.

We also leaned toward models that offer electronic stability control (typically you'll see its acronym as ESC or ESP), which prevents slides and skids.

The best thing about stability control is that it's designed to intervene before a dangerous skid even begins -- the perfect aid for inexperienced teens on slick or snowy roads, or for those who may just, uh, be going too fast around a corner.

Finally, we decided our top three new cars must have earned at least 4-star ratings for front- and side-impact crash safety, as rated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

You won't see any light trucks or SUVs on our list. Regular cars handle better and sit lower, meaning they're much less prone to rolling over in extreme maneuvers or emergency situations. Nor do we recommend 2-door coupes -- also more expensive to insure.

Look for a solid record for reliability and comprehensive warranties. The best way to keep your kid from being stranded somewhere is to buy a car that tends not to break. The best way to avoid high-cost repairs is to have a long warranty.

Here's where to check out our picks for:

The best new cars for teens.

The best used cars for teens.

By Bill Visnic

Interest.com Contributing Editor