Ever since ForbesAutos.com disappeared down the media rat hole, the autoblogosphere has been more or less listless. Into this breach (dear Horatio) strides everyone’s favorite misnamed bi-weekly motor mag. AutoWeek presents their “best rides for campus cruising.” Which is, of course, the headline writer’s “inventive” take on a top ten list of entirely sensible cars that Mom and Dad should purchase on behalf of their education (i.e. party) seeking progeny. Well, it’s not really a “top ten” list per se—’cause that would mean AW would have to rate the cars in some sort of order, which would risk pissing off the people paying the bills. So here are their random choices for aspiring didacts.
2009 Hyundai Elantra Sedan – AW likes it ’cause J.D. Power rates the Elantra as one of its “Ten most problem-free cars and trucks” for 2009.” Punishment for good grades, perhaps? Anyway, we’re off to an exciting start!
2009 Honda Civic – Safe! AW likes the Civic because the IIHS (a quasi-governmental organization) rates it a top safety pick. For small cars. And everyone knows college kids should be driving small cars. Oh, and “The Civic also features available satellite-linked navigation with voice recognition, perfect for finding your way around campus for the first time.” As opposed to, say, an iPhone or portable sat nav device.
2009 Mitsubishi Lancer – OK, they’ve done the safety thing. Now . . . the “Lancer gives you plenty of bang for not so many bucks [152 hp, unless you buy it in CA, where it’s 143 hp]. Standard features sure to impress the academics include auto-off halogen headlamps, two-color multi-information display and a 140-watt CD/MP3 head unit with a digital signal processor and speed-compensated volume control.” I hope my kids aren’t that easily impressed.
2009 Ford Escape – Back to safety. “All Escape models come with a standard AdvanceTrac with roll stability control.” While that’s nice and all, if a parent’s worried about SUV rollovers, maybe they shouldn’t buy their kid an SUV.
2010 Toyota Prius Hybrid – “Eco-friendly autos are a must on the college scene.” So that’s that, then.
2010 Kia Soul – “The Soul has a quirky, youthful design with a reasonable price tag.” Agreed.
2009 Dodge Caliber SE – Ha! The same people who laud the Elantra for its reliability DARE suggest that a parent provide their prospective scholar with a Caliber? On what grounds, counselor? Drink driving! “A big part of college is tailgating, and this car would be perfect to fill with party supplies. It has a cooled beverage storage bin that holds four 20-ounce bottles or cans with illuminated cupholders in the front.”
2009 Ford Focus – Back to Eco-Weenieism 001: “This environmentally conscious car has Earth-friendly seating with bio-based foam cushions derived from plant seeds and can get up to 35 mpg highway with a manual transmission.” Who knew cars had a conscious. Hal. Open the penalty box doors. Hal?
2009 Chevrolet Cobalt sedan – “As far as assistance goes, this car is stacked. OnStar is standard for one year when purchasing or leasing a Cobalt. In addition, the Cobalt is backed by a 100,000- mile/five-year transferable powertrain limited warranty, plus roadside assistance and courtesy-transportation programs.” That joke writes itself.
Used cars will do the trick, too – So, here’s our list of the best cars for college-bound children and BTW everything else is OK, too. And just ’cause Toyota didn’t get a shout-out, here it is! “Consumer Reportsalso ranked Japanese brands such as Toyota and Honda as “reliable” used cars with some newer safety features built into them.”
My take: buy them a pre-owned sedan that’s reliable, slow and safe. Your take?
The prospective college students that I happen to know are looking at community colleges to save money on the first few years of education, or simply bypassing college at the start and going into the military to gain money for college later (assuming they come back alive, of course)
Plus even the well-to-do on Long Island are paring back expenses on their (very spoiled) kids, I read when I was visiting my sister there in May.
Bad timing for such an article….
Man, I would have taken any new Hyundai when I was in college, a dead reliable Accent hatchback would have been sweet. A cobalt would have been punishment for good grades.
But I agree with you, Farago, any used 4-cyl Camcordima would be fine.
I think a Honda Fit would be a better choice than almost all of these cars. Cheap to buy and run, hatchback versatility, very flexible seating.
When I went to school, I had a battered 1973 Nova. In my private college, I was nowhere, car wise. Friends had Mercedes, late model Camaros, even a few Porsche 924’s. Dare I admit I was embarrassed ?
I visited a friend in a community college. I stunned the entire group by saying I drove there. YOU HAVE A CAR ???????? I was again embarrassed for the opposite reason. I may as well have said my driver dropped me there and is waiting outside.
Any car that runs, and is not crappy enough to be pulled over by police on pretext stops regularly is good enough for college. (battered Nova, pulled over once a month, show cop license and Law School Id…have a nice day, sir…replaced with a new Omni, never stopped again unless I was doing something like speeding).
My wife had an old diesel Rabbit, also a perfect college car, as it cost next to nothing to keep running.
As an undergraduate at MIT in the 1970’s, I took “The T”. My parents paid for my education rather than a car which turned out to be a pretty good investment. After graduating, I bought my first car — a 1967 Porsche 911S.
Twotone
I campus cruised in a dodge Aries. Dead reliable until my sister crashed it.
A new car is not for college campuses, unless you are prepared for keyings, scratches, broken exterior items, and other things that happen when you have a high density of late teens early 20’s kids who really couldn’t care less about respecting your car.
Funny! My kids will be lucky if I can pay for tuition at this point. A car of any kind is out of the question.
If we don’t get the government out of the hands of the socialists, even tuition’s in question.
At school, which I just finished, I drove an ’04 Ford Ranger. Great for hauling my stuff to school, sucked for everything else except when people wanted me to haul their stuff around. I feel the requirements for a college car should be reliable, fuel-efficient, safe, somewhat sporty, and enough room to haul a lot of stuff. So for me, I feel the Mazda3 hatchback would be a great choice. Good reliability, decent fuel efficiency, enough room to pack four friends in the car, certainly known for the sporty handling, and, with the seats down, a lot of room to take your stuff. A new one is kind of expensive for compact cars, almost $20,000, but I’m sure you could also find a used one for cheap.
i had a 77 Cadillac DeVille in college. perfect car. the embarrassing shape and color (geriatric green) plus the thirsty 425 under the hood meant the only place i drove was home.
A couple of years back, a friend bought his daughter a new Hyundai Tiburon for college use.
He figured that it was sporty enough to look cool and had a 10 year warranty.
Imagine his pleasure when she came home, and he noticed that the stainless steel exhaust system had been removed, discarded, and replaced with a tin “coffee can” exhaust system. Bonus points were awarded for the fact that the beam rear axle had been cut to make the pipe fit on the car.
You can draw your own conclusions about what this means.
A car was considered a luxury when I was in college. As a matter of fact, a few of my fellow students at UC Davis let me know that I was wierd for driving to campus and around town instead of riding a bike or using the public transportation system. I drove a mid 80’s Dodge Aries and later a 58 Chevy truck. This was in the early 90’s. I agree that the perfect car for a young driver whether they are in college or not is something slow and reliable. That doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be boring though. I also owned a 93 240 sx for several years. It was reliable, got decent gas mileage, and looked nice and sporty. On the other hand, it was anything but sporty when trying to carve corners and was only adequate in the acceleration department.
The Suzuki SX4 hatchback should be on this list. Flexible interior, a lot of standard stuff included for a good price. Way better than a Caliber.
A used option would be a 6 or 7 year old Taurus. Huge back seat and trunk, pretty reliable and can be had for cheap.
God I miss my B2400, regret the day I gave it to my friends little brother.
My parents rule, if you wanted a car and you were a) boy, you had to get your eagle scout or b) a girl you had to make “honer state”
Brother and sister both got cars, I spent alot of time bagging groceries to get mine, but lasted for one year of HS, 7 years of work/College and 2 years after that, plus it was 2 years old when I bouoght it (albeit with 12k miles).
Personally, I didn’t think the list was as bad as you made it out to be. Although the Dodge Caliber being “perfect for tail-gating’ negates the reason why said parent would by a vehicle at all for said student.
I’d have been lucky to have a BRAND NEW car when I went to COMMUNITY college. Instead I bought an ’88 Accord Coupe for $1200 and ended up paying over $4000 in repairs over the time I had it before it finally gave out.
It ain’t THAT bad though RF
I think it was Milton Friedman who commented that the (then and still) current ‘4 year day spa’ college experience was unsustainable. Brand new cars. Really? Really?
My son, like I, waited two years before he could have a car – several years old. My daughter got one a few years old immediately, but then she was in a neighborhood where bikes and hoofing it weren’t recommended. Car requirements depend on circumstances.
I miss only the capaciousness of my old wheels. 1966 Dodge Polara with a 318 V8, no radio, no power anything and most certainly no AC. It was so big it could swallow all my worldly goods and more. Hood and trunk lids so big it seemed you could land a helicopter on them.
Having a cheap used car in college should be REQUIRED….for the following life skills it teaches:
1. It teaches creativity….think “99 uses for duct tape” kind of creativity, which will eventually pay off in improved problem-solving skills.
2. Teaches the meaning of friendship: Few people will want you to drive them anywhere. Those that do, really are your friends.
3. Not knowing if the car will make it back keeps a student from zapping off to weekend jaunts instead of staying home and studying.
4. Teaches the value of regular inspection and preventative maintenance.
5. Teaches networking skills…you’re always trying to find the guys who know how to fix cars and keep ’em running.
6. Keeps campuses clean….scored enough empties for the deposit return to pay for your next oil change? Bonus!
7. Teaches contingency planning. In case my beater won’t start, I know the local bus schedule….
8. Teaches the value of time management: “I gotta get up 15 minutes earlier to make sure I find a parking spot near my class!”
9. Teaches the value of preparedness….ya’ know…jumper cables and a toolkit in the trunk….
10. Teaches finance and budget skills….saved enough on car payments to pay for the on-campus parking sticker!
BTW…this article should have been headed by a picture of Ken Dorfman’s brother’s 1963 Lincoln Continental….Perfect for those road-trips to see Otis Day and the Knights….”You f$cked up! You trusted us!”
Just helped my sister-in-law, who’s in college, buy a Mazda3 sedan to replace the used infiniti G35 her father handed her down. $3,000 for a tune-up??? Let’s get you a cheap car!
Certainly nothing new – most sub $5K medium or compacts will do the trick with Civics, Corollas and Camcords leading the field. For those who pine for more room there are also a host of mid 90s full size domestics to be had in that price range.
In no particular order:
*Toyota Tercel – Cheap, good gas mileage, hard to kill.
*Mid 90s or older Corolla – Cheap, good gas mileage, reliable
*mid 90s or older civic – (see above)
*4cyl Ranger – cheap, acceptable gas mileage, reliable when properly maintained, one passenger seat means you won’t always have everybody asking you to drive everywhere
*Air Cooled Beetle – cheap, acceptable gas mileage, easy to fix, 1600s are fairly reliable
*1980something Volvo wagon – cheap, reliable, safe, versatile
*Accord wagon – cheap, reliable, good gas mileage, versatile
*Geo Metro – cheap, prius-like gas mileage, semi-versatile, fairly reliable
*Datsun 210 – cheap, reliable, good gas mileage
*Honda CRX HF – cheap, reliable, prius-like gas mileage, semi-versatile, only one passenger seat
All the cars listed are 4cyls (or less), none are anything brag-worthy, all get gas mileage in the 20s or higher, all are fairly reliable, and all can be bought for $3k or less. That would be a good used top 10 list (IMO). At colleges near big cities you don’t need a car because there are buses or you can walk (although its useful to help move out of dorms). Colleges that are somewhat desolate generate a slightly larger need for an automobile, but buying your own new/nicer car with your own money should be an incentive to get through college rather than awarded (essentially) for graduating High School (not that hard to do anymore).
I gave my son his college car , a 1980 caprice diesel wagon with over 100,000 miles, he loved it. He learned plenty, like changing the jelled up fuel filter out side in minus 20 degree weather on the road. He is a great kid.
I’m a bit surprised that anyone has a car in college, as I’d suspect most college/university towns already have well-established public transit systems and adequate, ah, facilities to service campus. I don’t think I’d have a clue as to where to park a car when I was in school.
That said, there’s nothing really wrong with getting a college kid a new car if you (or they) can afford it and if the kid is already responsible enough to handle car ownership. There’s no reason to reenact Monty Python’s Yorkshiremen skit just to remind kids how you tough you had it, and how they should consider themselves to be fortunate to have a car they can push uphill both ways in the snow.
If you, or they, can swing the payments on a new Civic or Corolla, so be it. It’s a good, safe, comfortable, reliable car. They’ll probably have it for years after school, too, and having something to get you to job interviews on time can’t be underestimated
When I was in college, I bought, from my sister’s mechanic, a ’62 Buick LeSabre that got 10 mpg ( I couldn’t afford to go anywhere except school), and had bubble-balanced tires. When I got an oil change, I told the mechanic the front end wobbled when I got past 82-83 mph. He told me I shouldn’t be driving 82-83.
With that lesson in mind, I gave my son my old 1980 Buick Regal with the “3800” engine and smog (bleep) on it so it got 12 mpg, and I had the tires bubble-balanced. My kid sold it and bought a moped, banking the difference. He got odd jobs and kept feeding the bank account, until he graduated with more money in his college fund than he started with.
Sometimes you have to start out with a clear-eyed assessment of your kid.
In college I had a Ford Expedition (new 2002)
In Grad School I had a Chrysler 300 (used with 10,000 miles) I still have it.
Now, I have an S550.
in 2012, I’ll buy the next S550.
I was trying to talk my friend into getting a Kia or a Scion as her first car so she could buy it new rather than buy a used piece of who knows what. If I’d ever own a Hyundai i couldn’t go lower than the Genesis.
Gotta make sure you keep your credit good and invest in penny stocks of Pharmeceutical companies.
Alot of problems with the list…for example, most college students wouldn’t want to be caught dead in a Caliper, and the Cobalt has all of the social status of an economy rental car. A used european car is probably best for “campus cruising”, hell, an early-90s BMW is cooler than a Hyundai or Kia. And cheaper.
Well I just graduated from university with a Bachelor of Science so this is a topic I can relate to. My “campus cruiser” was (and still is) a metallic beige four-door 2001 Pontiac Sunfire with an automatic transmission. It’s ugly, terrible to drive and hasn’t given me so much as a hint of trouble the entire time I’ve owned it. In other words, it’s a perfect college car. And yes, in case anybody was wondering, my parents did give it to me.
A couple of my friends had Sunfires as well, one had a Lexus (a 1992 ES300 with 275,000 km), and a lot of people had ~10 year old Civics or Corollas.
I’m in full agreement with Robert on this one. It’s stupid and wasteful to buy a new car for a college student, even if you can afford it. A university parking lot is an absloute nightmare of terrible parking jobs, and it’s a miracle that after six years of school, my Sunfire has as few dents, scrapes and dings as it has. The used car market is full of decent and reliable <$10k small sedans. That’s the better choice.
I wouldn’t buy either of my boys a car for college.
If they scrape up enough money to pick up a beater, I’ll gladly cover AAA membership and maybe toss em a few bucks to cover repairs or if they are a few hundred short on a car they want I’ll help.
Anything with good brakes will do…and figure most beaters on the road today have at least an airbag for the driver.
I’d nominate an old Miata. For the winter I’d also buy them an extra set of steel wheels with some blizzacks on em.
Two seater means they aren’t taxing around a 3-7 other distractions from the road….but have space to bring a girl out on a date.
Miata’s are easy to work on – so they can do their own repairs.
Has a Trunk big enough for a few weeks worth of laundry (for those monthly visits home)
Handling = Safety
Worn out 1.6 motor = No street racing for them
Make it a 5spd so they learn proper control of a vehicle and allows them to exclude most of the campus from borrowing the car.
Alot of problems with the list…for example, most college students wouldn’t want to be caught dead in a Caliper, and the Cobalt has all of the social status of an economy rental car. A used european car is probably best for “campus cruising”, hell, an early-90s BMW is cooler than a Hyundai or Kia. And cheaper.
I can’t agree with this. Most college students would die to have any kind of a car, unless perhaps they come from a privileged family. People walking around in sweats and no make up aren’t really looking for social status. It’s after graduation that the rat race begins.
I’m with Mark MacInnis. Used is better.
I was a commuter and went through 3 cars (none of them ‘cool’) before I finished college, doing my own repair work, too, including engine rebuilds. I wouldn’t wish that much experience on others, but supplying my kids a new car doesn’t teach them the kind of lessons I want them to learn.
But there isn’t anything wrong with an Elantra.
I agree that a new car is not required for college students.
I am reminded of the year before I started college when my dad bought his first new car ever. A 1975 maroon Nova, straight six, auto trans, black vinyl interior, no radio, no A/C, manual steering. (If I drove fast enough in the curves instead of braking it felt like power steering.)
A year and 12 weeks later dad said I could drive it to school (300 miles away from home). He drove me to school the first time and said no car on campus. After one school session and one
co-op work session he changed his mind. I guess he didn’t like the thought of a 600 mile commute every six weeks.
My son starts college in Sept. He is driving a 2003 Silver Saab 9-5 Sedan 2.3t, leather seats, heated power seats, heated power OSRMs, sunroof, etc. that my hubby bought new. Last year my son started driving it with around 93K miles on it. We haven’t taught him how to work on it, but it is his responsibility for getting in for service. We coach him on how to describe problems to service managers and how to resist their speils for more, unnecessary service.
If he ever graduates from college, I will continue the tradition my dad started – his college graduation present is the car he drove through college. It is up to him to buy himself a new car just like I figured out how to buy a new car once I graduated.
Well, I went to school in a place so rural that for the first 3 years the closest McDonalds was 50 miles away. University of Maine at Machias class of ’93. Campus transportation – surely you jest. I think there was a van service to Bangor once a week. So a car was nearly mandatory. I had a succession of VW Jettas, first an ’85 2dr, then an ’84 GLI. Perfect college cars. Reasonably cheap to buy, easy to maintain on no budget, and very fuel efficient. Also, dare I say, the ’84 GLI was the coolest car on campus by a country mile. This was a state school obviously, so nobody had a new car. The kids from away nearly all had cars, as who wants to drive a 12-16hr round trip to pickup a kid at school a bunch of times a year?
Not all schools are in the middle of Boston.
See the U S A…
…in a Hi un day…
People walking around in sweats and no make up aren’t really looking for social status.
As the song goes – “Girls don’t like boys, they like cars and money.”
Almost none of my college friends had a car their first year. My kids won’t either. When they move off-campus or get a job, my kids might be able to beg and wheedle us out of the following:
-A hatchback or wagon, for space and versatility;
-A manual transmission;
-FWD or AWD;
-110 to 175 horsepower, no more or less;
-Airbags, ABS, decent crash ratings;
-30 combined mpg on regular gas;
-50,000 or more miles on the odometer;
-A paid AAA membership;
-New all-season radials and a thorough maintenance before departing for school.
At the start of each semester my school had two lines – one for kids who had parents that prepaid tuition and another for kids on financial aid. I always had a great deal of respect for the dads who were able to pay cash for tuition and buy new cars for their kids. Something about that kind of old school breadwinning always appealed to me.
That said – the kid’s car often functions as a status symbol for the parents. It’s one thing to drive a 335xi it’s quite another to buy one for you child while still being able to come up with 44k a year in tuition.
That being said I think a nice loaded Prius would be the best bet for subtlely flaunting your breadwinning prowess.
I recommend a B12 Nissan Sentra. I drive one – my father’s actually – and it’s everything you want for a college student like myself. It’s reliable, cheap, interchangeable spare parts with other Nissan, fuel efficient and blue book value is around $500. Fast it is not – 90HP! – but it can carry five people and groceries.
I got around through my college years with a Schwinn 10-speed.
And I was a lot skinnier than I am now, and a lot skinnier than a lot of college kids are now.
As mentioned on a thread elsewhere on TTAC, the best school car is a crown victoria with an 8Ohp four cylinder engine a roll bar and Nascar brakes.
I cannot imagine buying a new car for a trip to “Teenage Wastland U.” School cars/college cars are throw away cars.
I’m thinking 8 year old Taurus.
Get kids a really slow car? Noooo. I have the 4-cylinder Camry and it’s so slow and power comes like 2-3 seconds after the gas pedal. It’s unsafe. Get the V6! Low limits of grip with those crappy all-season tires and mushy suspension means they won’t be able to turn fast in corners and do risky stunts. However, adequate 260 hps is alot safer feeling to me.
When my daughter turned 16, we got her a new 1997 Geo Prizm. It actually was not a bad car, good mpg, seemed fairly well put together. Well, she is out of college now, married, buying her first house, and STILL has the Prizm. Her and her husband still use it as dependable transportation along with a 2008 Outback. So, I think we made a good choice. Not a sports ride, but darn it, it still goes.
B12? I’d prefer the B13… then you get almost complete parts interchangeability (except for the rear axle… front suspension is close enough not to matter… I used to run B13 struts in my 14) up to the last B14 model… a span of around ten years. And your parents don’t have to know how fast your two-door two-liter rental car actually is… :)
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I suppose if I were to give a College kid a new car, I wouldn’t disagree with many of the above… though the Caliber is overpriced for what you get, and who in their right mind would buy something as expensive as a Prius for their kid’s college car?
And it’s missing the best bets for College… the Mazda3 hatchback and the Honda Fit. Both cars that are useful and enjoyable… and safe, which should appeal to parents everywhere.
These suggestions don’t make too much sense. If you’re going to be in college, you’ll be around a well-sorted public transportation system and plenty of bike/walk paths, so it is quite possibly the only time in your life wherein you can have a risky unreliable car without major problems.
I had a Corolla when I first arrived to college, and after a year of working near campus I bought an old Nova. Seeing as it proved much more reliable than even the Corolla was, I sold it for five times what I paid for it and sunk the profits into an Alfa Spider. I figured I had plenty of options for when it wouldn’t start, but strangely enough it hasn’t given me any problems in two years of ownership.
early 90’s Maxima would be a great college car.
if buying new, i’d take the Hyundai from that list. i quite like Hyundai in general really
Wow, a car magazine recommends buying cars.
Next we’ll get a Cat Fancier magazine recommending keeping cats. (You can breed them and eat them).
….or an Apple commercial recommending an iPhone.
This, all for students probably already upside-down on loans loans loans!
Keep that competitive consumerism going USA and sending those $$$ to China.
Anything works really, the bigger the engine, the bigger the brick you’ll have to stick Under the throttle pedal…
My take: Don’t buy them shit! Especially not a new car. Instead, guide them while they try to find a fairly reliable, used car that floats their boat and is within their budget. Kids don’t need a car in college, we just want one.