By Paul Della · Licensed Insurance Agent · The Della Agency
Choosing a teen's first car is two decisions: how well it protects a new driver, and what it does to your premium. Here's how the 2026 IIHS teen list and New York's required equipment discounts fit together.
The best cars to insure for teen drivers in New York are usually modestly powered used sedans and small SUVs from the 2026 IIHS and Consumer Reports teen list: over 2,750 pounds, rated good in the small overlap crash test, with standard stability control. Those traits protect a new driver, and New York law requires insurers to give appropriate discounts for equipment such as anti-lock brakes, air bags and daytime running lights. Skip high-horsepower cars, minicars and very old models.
- The IIHS list (updated May 27, 2026) names 45 used picks starting under $10,000 and 29 better-equipped used picks under $20,000.
- New York Insurance Law §2336 requires discounts for five kinds of equipment, each on specific coverages; the law sets no percentage for them.
- A car that's cheap to buy isn't automatically cheap to insure: value, repair cost and horsepower all show up in the premium.
- Collision and comprehensive are optional under state law, typically required by a lender, and a math question on an older paid-off car.
Do this: before you sign for a car, send us the year, make, model and trim of your top two or three choices, and our team will show you how each one prices with your teen on the policy, free.
You've found a car that looks right for your teen, safe enough and affordable enough, and then someone asks what it will cost to insure. Suddenly the car that fit the budget might not. Most New York parents we talk with do this in the wrong order: buy first, price the insurance second. This guide flips it: what makes a car good for a new driver, which models the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) recommends for teens in 2026, which equipment New York law ties to a discount, and how to decide on collision and comprehensive.
What Makes a Car “Best” for a Teen Driver?
The short answer: the best car for a teen driver protects an inexperienced driver in a crash, doesn't tempt them to speed, and doesn't carry more value or repair cost than your family needs to insure.
According to the IIHS Fatality Facts: Teenagers (posted June 2026), 2,899 teenagers aged 13 to 19 died in motor vehicle crashes in 2024, and risk is highest at ages 16 and 17. A car can't fix inexperience. It can change how a mistake ends.
New York's own data points the same way. Drivers aged 16 to 20 were 7.3% of all drivers involved in crashes in 2024 but only 3.6% of licensed drivers. Unsafe speed was 14.0% of contributing factors for New York drivers 16–20 in 2024, against 6.7% for all drivers, according to the ITSMR young-driver fact sheet (December 2025). That speed number is why horsepower belongs in this conversation.
So “best” here means best fit, not a ranking of companies or the lowest sticker price: protection (weight and crash-test performance), restraint (modest power), and insurability (a value and repair profile that keeps collision and comprehensive affordable).
In our experience, the families happiest with the teen's car treated it as a safety purchase first and priced the insurance before signing anything. For limits, discounts and license rules, see our guide to insuring a teen driver in New York; this one stays on the car.
Which Cars Does IIHS Recommend for Teens in 2026?
The short answer: the 2026 IIHS and Consumer Reports list, updated May 27, 2026, names 45 used vehicles starting under $10,000, 29 better-equipped used vehicles under $20,000, and 22 new 2026 models.
The IIHS “Safe vehicles for teens” list is built with Consumer Reports and sorted into tiers. Every used pick clears the same floor, and Best Choices add crash-avoidance technology and better headlights. Here's how the tiers work, per the ratings page and the May 27, 2026 announcement:
| Tier | What every vehicle must have | Starting prices IIHS lists |
|---|---|---|
| Used — Good Choices | At least 2,750 lb curb weight; good IIHS driver-side small overlap rating; standard electronic stability control; average-or-better Consumer Reports braking and handling | About $4,600 to $9,900 |
| Used — Best Choices | All of the above, plus standard automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection and good or acceptable headlights | Up to about $19,700 |
| New 2026 models | 2026 Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+, Consumer Reports “Best” safety verdict, standard highway-speed emergency braking, blind-spot and rear cross-traffic warning | Varies by model and trim |
Some familiar names, checked against the live 2026 list:
- Used Best Choices: Mazda 3 (2019–25 hatchback), Toyota Camry (2019–25, including hybrid), Subaru Outback (2020–25, built after October 2019), Mazda CX-5 (2018–25, built after March 2018), Subaru Forester (2019–25) and Hyundai Tucson (2022–25).
- Used Good Choices: Honda Civic sedan (2014–25), Honda Accord sedan (2013–25), Subaru Impreza (2014–25), Hyundai Elantra (2017–25) and Chevrolet Equinox (2014–24).
- New 2026 models: Toyota Prius, Toyota Camry, Mazda CX-30, Hyundai Kona and Subaru Ascent.
Two cautions: some entries carry a build date (see Related Questions below), and the list measures crash protection, not insurance cost, so two cars in the same tier can price quite differently. What's missing matters too. IIHS excludes minicars and “anything under 2,750 pounds,” and the 2026 edition has no pickups in any tier.
Which Car Features Lower Insurance Costs in New York by Law?
The short answer: New York Insurance Law §2336 requires insurers to give an appropriate discount for anti-lock brakes, passive restraints such as air bags, daytime running lights, electronic recovery devices and VIN window etching, each applied to specific coverages.
This part of the car decision is written into state law. Under New York Insurance Law §2336, rating plans must include a reduction for certain equipment, and each one applies only to particular coverages:
| What's on the car | Coverage the required discount applies to | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Factory-installed anti-lock brakes | Bodily injury and property damage liability, personal injury protection (no-fault), medical payments and collision | §2336(c) |
| Passive restraints (air bags or automatic belts for front-seat occupants) | Personal injury protection (no-fault) and medical payments only | §2336(b) |
| Factory-installed daytime running lights | Bodily injury and property damage liability, no-fault, medical payments and collision | §2336(g) |
| Electronic homing and recovery device used with a participating police agency | Comprehensive | §2336(e) |
| VIN etched into the window glass | Comprehensive | §2336(f) |
The statute requires an “appropriate” or “actuarially appropriate” reduction; it sets no percentage for any equipment discount. Because most modern cars have anti-lock brakes and air bags from the factory, those credits are often already built into the rating. Make sure they're applied to the car your teen drives; VIN etching can be added after purchase.
The only fixed number belongs to the driver: per the NY DMV, an approved defensive-driving course earns a 10% reduction in the base rate of liability, no-fault and collision premiums for three years, for the principal operator. See our PIRP defensive-driving discount walkthrough.
What's not on the required list surprises people: automatic emergency braking, blind-spot warning and backup cameras. The NY Department of Financial Services lists collision-avoidance systems, anti-theft devices and telematics among discounts insurers may offer, so those vary by policy. Our complete list of New York car insurance discounts separates required from optional.
When you add your teen's car, ask which equipment credits are applied to that specific vehicle. It's the one discount conversation that happens at the car level, not the driver level.
Why Do Some “Safe” Cars Cost More to Insure?
The short answer: crash safety mostly shapes injury costs, while a car's premium also reflects what it costs to repair or replace, how attractive it is to thieves, and how much power it puts under a new driver's right foot.
Liability and no-fault follow the driver, the household and your limits. Collision and comprehensive follow the car: its value, repair cost and theft risk. So a car with excellent crash scores can still carry a higher physical-damage premium than a plainer car in the same IIHS tier.
Repair costs have climbed, too: the average incurred loss per collision claim rose 17.6%, from $6,113 in 2021 to $7,191 in 2022, per the NAIC's February 2026 Auto Insurance Database release. Six forces we look at:
Value
Collision and comprehensive pay up to the car's actual cash value, minus your deductible. A $19,000 SUV has more to protect than a $6,000 sedan.
Repair cost
Bumpers and windshields that house cameras and sensors can cost more to replace and recalibrate. Great safety tech, pricier fender-benders.
Theft appeal
Models that thieves target cost more to cover for comprehensive, which is why New York requires a comprehensive credit for VIN etching.
Horsepower
More power gives a new driver more ways to get in trouble fast. Performance trims usually price above the base version of the same model.
Occupant protection
Strong crash performance helps on the injury side, and New York requires a no-fault discount for air bags.
Who's rated on it
The same sedan can price very differently depending on whether the teen is its main driver.
National “lowest-cost cars to insure” rankings are built from rate samples for a sample driver. Some have even placed high-performance sports cars near the top, which says more about who typically buys them than about how a 16-year-old would be rated in one. None reflect your New York rating territory, limits, deductibles or teen assignment. Use them for ideas; use a price with your own household on it for answers.
Weighing two or three cars? Start here, and tell us the models when we call.
Should a Teen Drive a New Car, a Used Car, or the Family's Oldest Car?
The short answer: for most New York families a late-model used car from the IIHS list is the best balance, while the family's oldest car only makes sense if it still has modern safety equipment and the policy honestly reflects who drives it.
A new car brings the latest crash-avoidance technology; every new pick on the 2026 IIHS list has standard highway-speed automatic emergency braking and blind-spot warning. It also has the highest value to protect, so collision and comprehensive cost the most, and a lender will typically require both.
A late-model used car from the IIHS Best Choices tier is where we'd start for most families. You keep standard automatic emergency braking and rated headlights, and the lower value keeps the physical-damage premium more manageable. IIHS lists these picks up to about $19,700.
The family's oldest car is the most common plan and the most misunderstood. The Insurance Information Institute suggests assigning a teen to the least valuable car where the insurer allows it (“Auto insurance for teen drivers”). But an old car can lack stability control and side air bags, the equipment that protects a new driver most. And the assignment has to match who really drives which car.
Mind the timing: the NY DMV says a registered vehicle must stay insured even when it's not driven, so a car bought six months before the road test is insured six months early. For the driver side of the math, see what adding a teen driver costs in New York and whether to add your teen to your policy or give them their own.
Narrow the search to two or three cars from the IIHS list that fit your budget. Send us the year, make, model and trim of each, plus who will drive it most, and we'll show you how each one prices with your teen on the policy, before the deal is signed.
Does a Teen's Car Need Collision and Comprehensive Coverage?
The short answer: New York doesn't require collision or comprehensive, but a lender or lease typically does, and on a paid-off car the decision comes down to the car's value versus what the coverage costs each year.
Collision pays to repair or replace your own car after a crash, minus your deductible. Comprehensive covers most other physical damage: theft, fire, flood, glass, and the deer on a dark road. New York's minimum is 25/50/10 liability plus no-fault and uninsured-motorist coverage; collision and comprehensive are optional. Most drivers carry them anyway: 80% of insured drivers buy comprehensive and 77% buy collision, per the Insurance Information Institute's auto insurance facts (2023 NAIC data).
For a teen's car, the answer usually falls into one of three cases. Financed or leased: the lender typically requires both. A newer used car you own: usually keep both. An older, low-value car: run the numbers. We go deeper on how collision and comprehensive differ in New York and what full coverage really includes.
A newly licensed 17-year-old rear-ends another car. Damage to the teen's own car: $7,200, near the NAIC's 2022 average collision claim. Two cars, each with a $1,000 collision deductible:
| Older sedan, paid off | Used small SUV, financed | |
|---|---|---|
| Car's value | $6,000 | $19,000 |
| Damage | $7,200 (exceeds value: typically a total loss) | $7,200 (repairable) |
| Collision pays | $6,000 − $1,000 = $5,000 | $7,200 − $1,000 = $6,200 |
| Without collision | Family loses a $6,000 car | Lender typically requires it |
On the older sedan, the question is whether the premium is worth a maximum payout of about $5,000 that shrinks as the car depreciates. If collision on that car ran, say, $1,000 a year, three years would come to $3,000 against that shrinking ceiling. Keeping it or banking the difference can both be reasonable.
What doesn't change: the other driver's repairs and any injuries are paid by liability, on either car. That's the coverage never to trim. All figures are illustrative only and are not a quote or a rate.
Under New York Vehicle and Traffic Law §388, a vehicle's owner is liable for injury or damage caused by anyone driving it with permission. If you own the car your teen drives, their mistakes land on your policy and, beyond its limits, on you. Cutting to 25/50/10 to afford collision protects a car and exposes everything else. If something must give, a higher physical-damage deductible (with cash set aside) is a far safer lever than lower liability or uninsured motorist coverage.
Which Cars Should New York Teens Avoid?
The short answer: avoid high-horsepower cars, minicars and anything under 2,750 pounds, and older models without electronic stability control, because each one raises crash risk, raises the premium, or both.
IIHS puts it in one line in its May 27, 2026 announcement: “Powerful vehicles can entice young drivers to take risks or lead them to speed inadvertently.” Pair that with ITSMR's unsafe-speed finding, and the case against a fast first car writes itself. Here's how we'd rate the common options:
| Vehicle type | Safety fit for a new driver | Insurance-cost pressure | Our read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midsize sedan or small SUV on the IIHS list | Meets IIHS weight, crash and stability criteria | Moderate; mostly value and trim | Strong fit |
| EV or hybrid on the IIHS list | Meets the same criteria | Varies; repair and battery costs can raise physical-damage premiums | Price it first |
| Full-size pickup or large SUV | No pickups on the 2026 list; harder to park and maneuver | More damage potential to others; leans on liability limits | Think twice |
| Older car without stability control | Fails the IIHS standard-ESC requirement | Low collision value, less driver protection | Avoid |
| Minicar or anything under 2,750 lb | Excluded by IIHS | Cheap to buy; less crash protection | Avoid |
| Sports car or high-horsepower trim | IIHS: power can entice young drivers to take risks | Performance pushes the premium up | Avoid |
Trim matters as much as the nameplate. The base-engine version of a sedan on the IIHS list is a very different teen car from the turbocharged sport trim of the same model, in how it drives and how it's priced. On Long Island, our guide to teen car insurance on Long Island covers the local license rules that shape when and where that car gets driven.
The Bottom Line on Choosing a Teen's Car in New York
The best car for a New York teen is rarely the newest or the flashiest, and rarely the oldest. It's a modestly powered sedan or small SUV from the 2026 IIHS list, heavy enough to protect a new driver, with stability control and ideally automatic emergency braking, valued at a level your family is comfortable insuring. Check the exact trim, and make sure New York's required equipment discounts are applied to the car your teen actually drives.
Then make the coverage calls in the right order. Keep liability strong whatever the car, because the owner answers for a permitted driver's mistakes. Decide collision and comprehensive on the car's value and your cash cushion. And set up driver assignments that match how your household really drives.
Above all, price the car before you buy it. Our team at 1135 Deer Park Ave in North Babylon does this for New York families every week, and a coverage review costs nothing. Send us your shortlist, or call (631) 616-8884, Monday through Friday, 9 to 5.
Learn more about our auto insurance coverage, or request a free quote and we'll price your teen's car choices with you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not always. An older car usually costs less to cover for collision and comprehensive, because those coverages pay up to the car's actual cash value. But the liability part of the premium, often the largest piece for a teen, follows the driver, the household and your limits, not the car's age. Older cars can also lack electronic stability control, which the 2026 IIHS teen list requires on every pick. So the gap between an old car and a well-equipped one a few years newer is often smaller than families expect. Price both with your teen on the policy before you buy.
It depends on the model, and nobody can answer honestly without pricing the specific car. Several EVs made the May 2026 IIHS teen list, including the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 as used Best Choices, so an EV can be a strong safety pick. But collision and comprehensive reflect what a vehicle costs to repair or replace, and EVs with expensive battery packs, sensors or specialized repairs can price higher on those coverages. Quick acceleration is also worth weighing for a new driver. If an EV is on your shortlist, send us the exact year and trim.
No, not under the statute. New York Insurance Law §2336 requires discounts for five kinds of equipment: factory anti-lock brakes, passive restraints such as air bags, factory daytime running lights, electronic homing and recovery devices, and VIN window etching. , automatic emergency braking, blind-spot warning and backup cameras aren't on that list. The Department of Financial Services does list collision-avoidance and safety systems among the discounts insurers may choose to offer, so some policies reward them and some don't. Even without a required credit, automatic emergency braking is worth having: it's one of the features that separates the IIHS used Best Choices from the Good Choices.
If your teen really does drive one car most of the time, the policy should say so. The Insurance Information Institute suggests assigning a teen to the least valuable car where the insurer allows it, though how drivers are matched to vehicles varies by insurer. The key word is accurate: listing the teen on the old sedan while they drive the new SUV to work every day can cause problems at claim time. Also, when more than one person on a policy completes a defensive-driving course, only the principal operator gets New York's 10% reduction, per the NY DMV. We'll help you set assignments that match reality.
It can work, but it's rarely where we'd start. The 2026 IIHS and Consumer Reports teen list doesn't include a single pickup in any tier; its picks are cars and SUVs. A full-size pickup is harder for a new driver to park and maneuver, and a heavy truck can do more damage to other vehicles in a crash, which leans on your liability limits. If the truck is used for work, tell us: business use changes how a vehicle should be insured, and commercial trucks aren't allowed on Long Island's parkways. If a pickup is the only option, strong liability limits matter even more.
✓ Last reviewed by the Della Agency team on . We refresh our guides quarterly — the IIHS teen vehicle list, New York discount rules, and repair costs change over time.
General information, not a coverage recommendation. Premiums, coverage, discounts and eligibility depend on your policy, vehicles and drivers. Vehicle picks summarize the IIHS/Consumer Reports list of May 27, 2026; confirm model year and build date on the IIHS site before buying. Scenario figures are illustrative, not a quote.
Written and reviewed by the Della Agency team — licensed New York insurance professionals at 1135 Deer Park Ave, North Babylon, serving Suffolk, Nassau and the rest of New York. Figures come from the named sources cited above (IIHS, NY Insurance Law §2336, the NY DMV, NAIC, ITSMR and the Insurance Information Institute) and are reviewed quarterly. New York agencies are licensed by the New York State Department of Financial Services.