Kyodo News Stills via Getty Images
Toyota Prius.
- Crossovers from Honda, Toyota, and Mazda offer the best combination of safety, value, and reliability for college-age drivers.
- Vehicles from Nissan, Chevy, and Ford are also worth a look.
- For some freshman, an electric car could be a superb option. Look no farther than the base Nissan Leaf. Doubts about EVs? Then the Toyota Prius is our top pick.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
You might send your kid off to college with new clothes and high ambitions, but you might also want to gift them some wheels.
Young drivers tend to benefit from a combination of safety, fuel-economy, and low car payments when it comes to their cars. But that doesn't mean you should automatically look to the cheapest vehicles on the market. These are an options, but a solid, mass-market crossover from a Japanese manufacturer has always been an excellent choice.
That hasn't changed, which is why most of the vehicles on our list fit that description. Still, we threw in a bit of variety.
Read on to explore the ten best new frosh-mobiles, in our opinion: