It's a lucky teenager who gets a brand new car early in life, but if you and your kid can afford a trip to the dealership, there's one significant advantage: safety. You're taking a chance that a young, inexperienced driver might mess up this expensive investment, but new cars' modern safety equipment helps increase the chances they'll survive the teenage years unscathed.
It's worth noting that some 2016 models haven't yet completed the United States federal safety tests at the time of this publication. In such cases, we considered the ratings for the 2015 model, as long as there were no significant design or engineering changes to the vehicle between 2015 and 2016. Here are the best safe cars for teens we found, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and National Highway Traffic Safety Institute (NHTSA).