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Aside from music, clothing, language, tats, pet, alcohol, curfew, friends, there's not lot that teens and parents disagree about more than what's the right car for the kid.
I'm here to settle it but kids you may not like it because I'm going with the latest rankings and recommendations from the insurance Institute for highway safety, who recommend that a teen get a car as large as possible, as underpowered as possible, old but modern enough to have things like stability control.
There's a party, wouldn't you say?
I'm going to also roll in the Kelly Blue Book price, for the oldest acceptable model of each car IIHS recommends to get some bottom lines.
Here we go.
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Number 5 is a 2011 or so Ford Flex, ouch.
This big ole slab-sided thing is something only a Country Squire owner like me could love.
And I don't even love it.
But I am giving you the gift of physical fitness, because you're gonna have to park this thing about a mile from school and hike in the rest of the way.
By effect streets, wearing a bala klava.
Number four, a 2013 or so Ford Fusion.
The bright side is you can credibly tell everyone this is your long term rental while your E46 M3 is being restored.
You can sell that line of bull for about a year.
Then you've gotta transfer out of the district.
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Number 3 would be a 2013 BMW Passat.
Now at least we're sniffing around cool territory here a little bit, although CNET did give this guy a miserable 5.5 out of 10 when we reviewed it back in the day.
But that was largely because of its awful cabin tech, even awful then.
The interface so bad, I think this is the car that inspired the line, ugly is included at no extra cost.
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Number 2 would be a 2007 Volvo S80.
You'll be safe as hell, but I don't know how your image survives this one.
This screams I'm driving my grandparents' car.
Maybe that's it.
Tell everyone gramps died and you inherited this thing.
But he cannot come to graduation.
Number on is an 05' Volvo XC90.
This is the biggest, oldest, cheapest thing on my list.
But driving this is safer than working in a bubble wrap store.
And I did get you into an SUV, didn't I?