As a recent event has confirmed for the billionth time (a bit hyperbolic, but fine), teenagers in cars do not make the best behind-the-wheel decisions no matter what they’re driving, but especially when piloting high-powered “ultimate driving machines.” And even modest modern cars can be pretty dang quick compared to what some of us oldsters used to think counted as “performance” back in the day, with car commercials touting 8-second 0-60 times as if the NHRA should take notice. Parents purchasing a “cool car” of recent vintage for the newest driver in the family (or teens who saved scrupulously to buy the sweet wheels themselves) can easily score a vehicle that puts up good numbers, as they say, which may not be a good first-car experience as measured by sliding into a ditch or not. Which brings us to our question:
What’s The Best Enthusiast Car For Beginners?
That’s a Q you can take in at least two ways. To wit: what do you recommend for an enthusiastic driver who isn’t necessarily a driving enthusiast, in which case you’re looking a noob-proof handling and safety assists like electronic stability control (perhaps with the OFF button relocated to the trunk)? Or, what do you recommend to a young, respectful-of-safety driver who wants to learn how to really drive a car with performance in mind and gain experience and appreciation for handling dynamics in a forgiving vehicle? And since we’re talking best choices, you probably have worst-choice takes too—feel free to share.
We’ll see you in the comments!
The answer is very, very dependent on the means of the teenager/family for this one.
If costly repairs aren’t going to ruin your life, or your budget is basically new car money, I’d say a GTI or honestly, even just a regular Golf or Sportwagen is a great choice.
If this is more of a “I badly need a car and I don’t really have money and if it dies I’m screwed” sort of situation, I’d lean towards trying to find a regular first gen Mazda3 hatch, with as little rust as possible (hopefully).
Really, any car should propel a teenager towards car enthusiasm if they’re wired a certain way. My first car was a Geo Prism.
That depends….how responsible is the kid? Assuming that they are reasonably responsible, I’d go with a manual small car like a Fit, Corolla, Civic or a Yaris. They are new enough to be reasonably safe and low enough power so minimize the trouble potential. A Miata is a decent answer also. It has a bit more power and rear wheel drive which can get them into more trouble, but it also has only two seats so they have fewer kids in the car at any one time. The more out there answer is an old MG/Triumph. Not very safe, but plenty slow and will teach wrenching skills whether you like it or not!
Dipping into my Golden Memory Book, I’ll mention that I learned to drive in an Austin-Healey 3000, and was later chastised by my Driver’s Ed teacher for applying some of what I learned to the school’s ’65 Chevy sedan.
When licensed, I got a ’59 Hillman Minx, which was a good enthusiast kid car. No power, a manual shift, went around corners okay, and the brakes worked. I could flog that piece unmercifully, and it stayed on the road. Later, my Honda 600Z was marginally faster, stopped and handled better. I learned a lot. Made all my mistakes slowly and correctably.
If I were putting a kid who liked to drive in beginner wheels, I’d choose a GTI.
I digress from the actual question, but I’m curious if it even is hyberbolic. In all of driving history I feel like there must have been at least a billion teen drivers combined, and you know every single one of them did something stupid somewhere along the way that supports your statement. If anything, a billion bad decisions by teen drivers might be estimating on the low side. 😉
My Chevy Citation slid around a few corners in its day, and I certainly bombed too fast down gravel roads (a trucking road made of bigger rocks took out my muffler once). I also once wrote a poem (forgotten homework) while driving with three other teens in the car. I don’t know if I brought up the average, but I certainly made more than one stupid driving choice.
Pretty much anything Mazda.
Any car is an enthusiasts car for a beginner. My 1st car was a shitty Cutlass Ciera which I drove into ruin. My 2nd car was a four banger Mustang with 88hp. Also drove that one into oblivion. I’m completely happy I didn’t have access to any more HP.
I think a Civic Si would be a good starter car. It’s manual, it’s not overpowered but it’s also not sluggish, and it’s a blast to take around corners. It’s quick but it doesn’t *have* to be quick all the time, which is nice. On top of that, it’s got good reliability, good fuel economy, decent practicality, and a reasonable price.
1999 Jeep Wrangler. No lift. 4 cylinder, 5 speed, soft top, half doors. They’ll be too busy driving and can’t go over 60 mph. Kept my 3 boys outta trouble. Other than the third one. Thought he could drift it. Tree said no. Walked away and still drives it now, 10 years later.
I had a 4.0L TJ and my friend had 4 cylinder YJ in college. The 4 cylinder can be pretty terrifying on highways when the average non rush hour speed is 20 mph faster than you can drive.
I think the 4cyl is too underpowered for anyone that needs to use the interstate system. It’s not like 4L is overpowered or fast.
I’m frequently told that the Yaris is an amazing car for driving a slow car fast. Nimble, modern safety features, and small enough they can’t really get a huge number of friends in at once without really meaning it. (my brothers definitely fit 6-7 people in a 90s civic hatch at times).
Surprised not to see a Wrangler make the list here yet. Relatively simple, slow, and appealing.
Remember, not all car enthusiasm is about acceleration and handling.
A fair point. I think the XJ cherokee deserves a mention in this aspect as well.
Too old and unsafe IMO. I’d struggle putting my kid into anything too much over a decade old, and XJs are usually closer to 30 by now.
Evidenced here with a Smart car enthusiast, a Yugo and Changli owner, and whatever David’s rust fetish is.
I’d worry about the stability issues with a Wrangler. The death wobble and rollover risk are real.
What’s The Best Enthusiast Car For Beginners?
There is not and should not be one for beginners. They just need safe transportation, at least while they’re a rider on my insurance policy!!
A Smart. I never would have thought of it as an enthusiast vehicle, but Mercedes (the person) certainly changed my mind on that.
Really, any newish budget manual. Get them the safety features of something recent, but in a cheap manual, and they can have some fun without too much power. You could even just get them something in a manumatic, since manuals are probably going to become even more scarce as the push toward electric moves forward.
You want to bump them up into something fun after they’ve done some time learning in that budget car? Talk to them. Figure out a good budget and the things they like and dislike. Every enthusiast is going to find their thing, and it’s really hard to make a blanket statement. Maybe they end up in an old Samurai they can bomb off-road in. Or a slammed Ranger because they like a low pickup. A Focus RS, a Miata, or a WRX for the kinds of fun they provide. Or they end up in a Prius or a Leaf. I’m sure there are enthusiasts for those, too, and there’s nothing wrong with finding your joy in something we might find weird.
I would like to nominate the Honda CR-Z. It’s got the look. It’s slow AF, but handles nicely. It’s available with a stick, and with only two seats it minimizes the number of chowdaheads that can egg-on and/or distract an impressionable driver.
I’m going to interpret this question as a good starting point for someone who can already drive and has some time behind the wheel of regular cars. Do not buy any of these for your kids.
A GTI is the throw over home plate answer and I really enjoyed the driving dynamics of mine but I can’t in good conscience recommend modern VW due to their ghastly reliability. But anything in that general class is probably a good place to start if you need to actually use it as a daily. The Civic SI is great (although still selling for over MSRP, god do JDM fanboys piss me off sometimes), the WRX is always a safe choice, and obviously I love the Ns but I think they’re a little too unhinged for a novice driver. If you push them and don’t know what you’re doing you can get into some trouble. I have a lot of experience with powerful cars and even I have come a little closer to losing control of mine than I want to admit.
Obviously if you can live with a coupe than a Toyobaru is a great call, although again…manual GR86s are selling for above sticker in my area. I am once again asking JDM bros to to calm the fuck down and stop opening their wallets recklessly. For whatever reason BRZ seem to be going for sticker. A dark horse for me would be a base BMW 330i as well. That car is excellent for what it is dynamically and you can find nice certified ones coming off leases around $35,000 all day.
Of course, it’s hard to beat a Miata. I cut my teeth driving stick on an NA and they really are perfect. They’re engaging and will help you become a better driver…plus they don’t have enough power to really get yourself into trouble with. The only issue is they really can’t work as a daily for most people. They’re pretty firmly weekend cars. Buying an automatic one is a crime worthy of The Hague. Driving a slow car fast is indeed more fun than driving a fast car slow.
My final contender might be a controversial one, but I’m going to say a 4 cylinder or V6 pony car. The Coyote and LT1 are entirely too much engine for most people. There’s a reason why all of the Mustang crowd killing videos exist and why they cost a ludicrous sum of money to insure. At the end of the day 450+ horsepower is more than most people should be trusted with. I’ve spent a week with a Camaro SS and although I loved it there were a few times when I was like “this car is a bad influence” and I managed to light up the tires in situations that didn’t call for it. It’s damn hard not to do stupid shit in those cars. Your monkey brain tends to take over.
An Ecoboost Mustang is still plenty of fun. I’ve also driven a V6 Camaro and I thought it was arguably the correct amount of power for that platform as a daily. You can also have fun tracking and auto crossing them, the aftermarkets are absolutely massive, and Ford/GM offer in house tuning that doesn’t void your warranty if you want MO POWA later. Also the V6 Challenger is an absolute dog. If you want a small taste of the enthusiast car life but have issues with tickets or self control that car is a solid choice and I think the Mustang, Challenger, and Camaro can all be had in stick with the “lesser” engines, at least for now.
The two cars that immediately sprung to mind were a Mazda 3 (pick your vintage, any of them are fine) or Honda Civic Si. The Mazda 3 came out in 2003, so it’s from the era when safety started getting much better. I’d stick with the same era Civic Si.
As I see replies springing up, Mazda 3 seems to be a popular choice.
For a budding enthusiast who is new to cars?
Mazda 3 w/ manual. Modern, safe, fun-to-drive but forgiving. Reliable enough to keep you on the road rather than bumming rides off friends (sorry GTI lovers).
For a driver with some miles behind them but wants to expand skills?
Triumph Spitfire. Cheap, fun, challenging without being fast. Zero nannies so you’ll learn real quick what not to do. Easiest engine to work on, so you’ll learn maintenance and repairs with minimal effort.
Can confirm, a triumph spitfire will expand your skills, although it will probably be a painful process. (Source first car was/is a 71 Mk4, now have 3.5)
My first car was a 74 Spitfire. Had it 10 before attempting a barrel-roll. Unfortunately, it was a Triumph and not a Supermarine Spitfire. I recommend it only for someone who has mastered the basics.
A Spitfire will absolutely make you learn maintenance and repair. My best friend had one when we were in high school and college, and our sarcastic guideline was an hour of wrenching for an hour on the road. Nonetheless, we loved that car and remember it fondly as my buddy wrung out every ounce of what little it could give while driving.
The great thing is the clamshell hood makes the little engine soooo accessible. And you can sit on a front tire while you work on the engine. Fantastic car for learning to wrench. And since it is a 70’s British car, there will be ample opportunity to flip that hood open.
I will say a working on a spitfire will spoil you for other cars. Half the time working on normal vehicles I get irritated that everything is so hard to access!
My current build is to combine GM powertrain and suspension with a spitfire body for best of both worlds.
Honda Insight Gen 1 with the manual transmission. Low power, great fuel economy, not plenty of seats so he/she will not get his/her friends in the car and destroy it. At some point you can K-Swap it if school grades are good lol
Thats the plan I have for my 9 years old son, we will see when he turns 16 if he wants it or complain about his friends driving trucks and newer cars.
A manual Mazda3 would be fun to drive, the stick shift would protect against distracted driving, and they’re pretty well handling for engaged driving!
I was almost typed 5-15yr old Malibu or Camry, but this is for a young ‘enthusiast’ that wants to ramp up the skills. I thought of used V6 powered Stang/Camaros, however, those are still pretty quick (relatively speaking.) Miata and FR-S for the win
I don’t know if there is an answer with modern cars. Getting any car up to 100+mph is going to make it hard to control in a lift-off situation with or without traction control and any modern car can do 100mph given enough runway, even the obvious suspects like the Miata or Toyobaru or Golf or Civic.
The only real option would be Jason’s Yugo or perhaps his Beetle.
Some old land barge. Too slow to get in trouble and horrible enough handling to make a good driver.
Ford Crown Victoria
Yeah, but huge back seats for them to make some tangentially car-related bad decisions. 😉
That’s what my mother did. I was a far bigger car enthusiast than my siblings, which is how I ended up with the 1972 Oldsmobile Delta 88. No feel finger light steering, five full turns lock to lock, a 2.73 open differential to blunt whatever power the engine has, handling and brakes… are things that exist, a vinyl bench seat to ensure I will not be held in place if I should dare to test the handling.
Still have it more than 20 years later.
I suspect many of the comments will be about getting some old unsafe POS that may predate seatbelts and for sure airbags. Remember that is it more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow. Get as new and safe small car with a manual transmission as one can afford. Hot hatches have created many an car person and get one that is at least somewhat reliable and safe. Crap that does not run and constantly broken may kill any enthusiasm in that new car person.
A 1979 Chevette. You’ll never learn to appreciate even modest modern cars until you know what us oldsters had to put up with.
Low HP with a good chassis. Golf/GTI, Civic SI, Scion FRS. I’ll probably get my son a Mk5 GTI because they’re not scary fast and there’s a big aftermarket. He’s always helping me work on our cars so I’ll be helping him with his.
You know the answer. It’s always the answer.
Yeah, it’s ideal. They can have fun, they can’t load it with a pile of teenagers, and it’s not that hard to keep under control.
Not great in places that get severe winter though.
Yes, I know some guy is going to jump in regaling us with how he dailied his Blizzak-equipped NA with no issues on the North Slope of Alaska or something….but we are talking about a HS kid here. RWD, low ground clearance, and convertible top don’t make sense to me in a place that gets cold and lots of snow.
Pretty straightforward then. It’s gotta be Miata for nice weather regions and GTI for everywhere else?