A student’s automobile is not always about luxury but comfort. In this case, a budget matters a lot, especially if it is the first vehicle of a college student. It is reasonable to save some money and invest it in education or additional courses rather than to buy a vehicle that can be crashed due to the driver's low experience level. Insurance is the other source of payments when purchasing an automobile for a newbie student driver.

Moreover, ongoing payments (maintenance, petrol, additional services) require a lot of funds, too, even in our time of super-fuel-efficient city cars. If you are a newbie driver, then buying a small and safe hatchback car which is easy to control and park in city environment makes sense.

In the article below, we gathered the best new cars for college students. Usually, they are all beginners, so safety and affordability of models were our main factors of choice.

By the way, if you like driving, consider this topic for your essay or research in college. In case you don’t have enough time to complete academic tasks in time, check the cheapest essay writing service and find professional help there.

So, which are top cars for college students? Which models provide the most safety with the lowest prices? 

And yes, we avoided including used cars for students into this list. Here you will find new automobiles only.  

If safety is your main priority, then pay attention to the Skoda Citigo, which is one of the best cars for students. It is one of a few models in this class that gained five stars according to Euro NCAP crash-tests despite its small size. But here you can find not only safety. Owning one of the greatest cheap cars for college students, one can get fun while driving, too.

Citigo is the almost full analog of Seat Mii or Volkswagen Up. But it is cheaper. We recommend Skoda Citigo due to its excellent price/quality correlation and excellent company service. Citigo is available with three or five doors. Though its inner space is not huge, it is almost equal to that of competitors in this class of cars. Citigo is not too pricy, but it is good. Additionally, the automobile is one of the most stylish cars for college students. 

Dacia Sandero once became famous as the cheapest new car in the UK. But when buying the basic modification you won’t get either a central lock or radio. We’d recommend spending some more to get the Ambience modification as it has much more equipment on board. This is not the best automobile for students, but it is a fair thing for its price.

Important note: Sandero got only three out of five Euro NCAP crash-test stars, this is the lowest result among all best new cars for college students from our list. 

So say it more straightforward, Hyundai i10 is the quintessence of all good things featuring Hyundai cars nowadays. It is cheap, well-equipped and it has a complete five-year warranty. This is a more practical and efficient proposition than those of competitors. i10 is available only with five doors, so there won’t be any problem to give friends a ride. Isn’t it a feature of good cars for college students? Delegate your homework to professionals and go for a picnic with your BFF’s on a new Hyundai i10!

Besides, you get the sharp, aggressive design and a choice of some good engines combining efficiency with enough power. What is not perfect in i10 is the crash-test result: four stars in the Euro NCAP rating. Still, this result is good enough.

There are several reasons Ford Fiesta became the top sale car. First, it is entirely fantastic to drive it. It is a bit more expensive than other cheap cars for students from this list, but much more spacious and useful than most of them, too. Another feature critical to students: this auto looks stylish and attractive even despite being positioned as the “entry” level automobile among Ford models.

Fiesta does not have such number of standard equipment like in Hyundai i10. Still, Ford behaves much better on the highway. Comparing to Kia, Toyota or Hyundai, Ford has only one severe disadvantage: average warranty. 

Why did Kia Rio enter the list of great cars for college students? Driving Kia Rio, one will notice it is about comfort, not sports, unlike Ford Fiesta. That is why Kia Rio is a smart choice to be the first automobile of anyone. A stylish and usable design, sturdy and fuel-efficient engines are additional cool features. Moreover, its maintenance won't be too tight in terms of budget. Great choice!