Sunday, February 26, 2012

With May approaching I know there will be many families with graduation on the mind.  I know I myself have a senior graduating high school and so this is especially true for me.  Some students are lucky to receive a car to drive as they turn the driving age, but many receive a vehicle as a graduation gift.  With this in mind I refer to Kiplinger's post last summer on the top vehicles for young drivers.

Here's the list in no particular order of rank:

1.  2011 Kia Soul.  This has a sticker price for under $20,000, one of the advantages to this was a roadside assistance package it came with.

2.  2009 Honda Civic.  This is an obvious pick, along with it just being a Honda it has great gas mileage and it comes in under $20,000.

3.  2011 Hyundai Sonata.  Although the price tag on this one was a little over $20,000 it was rated the winner for best car in class 2011.

4.  2008 Chevrolet Malibu.  One of the best features of this car was the sticker, under $15,000.  Plus a great bonus was that it came with On-Star for 3 months.

5.  2011 Subaru Forester.  Although this one comes in a little over $20,000 this is one of my personal picks.  I like the fact that it still has a car feel even though it's a cross-over and it has all-wheel drive.  Can anyone say "get around in the snow"!!!


6.  2009 Toyota Rav4.  Also a great pick if you live in an area that gets a lot of bad weather in winter.  This car comes in under $20,000 and even with it being all wheel drive it still gets 27 mpg.

7.  2011 Ford Mustang.  I must say this was a big surprise to me.  Although a little pricey coming in a little over $20,000, you could get the base model for $7,500 less and it will get a better fuel economy as well. 

8.  2008 Nissan 350Z.  Last but not least, this one comes in right at $20,000.  The Touring model is the one that Kiplinger's recommends due to it's stability control.


Thinking about first cars brings up reminicing from our own first cars.  I have to admit I was given a beater by my dad when I turned 16 a 1979 Dodge Omni.   But I loved it anyway. 
My husband was much luckier than most.  His parents awarded him a 1971 Mustang Mach 1.  Obviously he was special!!!



So are any of you giving your graduates a new or used car as a gift?  If so what are your thoughts?  Any cool memories of first cars?  We would love to know.

1 comment:

  1. Ok, I have 3 favorite cars. I can't really remember what my first car was except that it was a small station wagon with push button shift. Not one of my favorites. But I have owned a 69 Olds Cutlas, Metalic Sable in color with 2 wide stipes down the hood, bucket seats, but an automatic. It would have been way more fun if it had been a 4 speed, but it was still a lot of fun. I was stopped by a cop once and he told me to reve it up. I did and he just looked at me with a disgusted look. "Come on...now goose that thing good." I think he just wanted to hear it. I owned a CJ7 Jeep, Levi series, silver with blue levi top and seats. 6 cylinder. Take the top off and turn up the tunes on a nice day and your in heaven. We used to go 4 wheeling on Sunday afternoons, that was a lot of fun. The other favorite I owned was a 72 Monte Carlo. Silver and black leather seats. Classy looking car. I have been very fortunate to have nice cars most of my life. Ones you can sort of be proud be seen in. I like'm fast and loud.

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