“Safe Vehicles for Teens” List Includes Many Mazda Cars and SUVs

Anyone who has experience with a teen driver knows that the safer the vehicle they’re in, the better. That’s one reason that the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and Consumer Reports, the respected independent reviewing and testing organization, teams up every year to issue its “Best Cars for Teen Drivers” list. 

We’re happy to report that they named 17 different Mazda cars and SUVs to the “Best Cars for Teen Drivers” list, now in its sixth year. It is a compilation of vehicles, new and used, that have the necessary safety equipment and have performed well in the rigorous testing that both the IIHS and Consumer Reports do. 

The list is broken into three broad categories: New, Used Good Choices and Used Best Choices, and in subcategories based on size and type:

New Mazda Vehicles

• Mazda3 hatchback and sedan – Small cars
• CX-30 – Small SUVs
• CX-50 – Small SUVs
• CX-70 – Midsized SUVs
• CX-90 – Midsized SUVs

“Good” Used Mazda Choices

• Mazda3 sedan and hatchback (2014-19; built after October 2013) – Small cars
• Mazda6 (2016-18) -Midsized cars
• Mazda CX-3 (2016-19) – Small SUVs
• Mazda CX-5 (2014-19; built after October 2013) – Small SUVs
• Mazda CX-9 (2017-20; built after November 2016) – Midsized SUVs

“Best” Used Mazda Choices

• Mazda3 hatchback (2019 or newer) – Small cars
• Mazda3 sedan (2020 or newer) – Small cars
• Mazda6 (2019-21; built after June 2019) – Midsize cars
• Mazda CX-3 (2020-21) – Small SUVs
• Mazda CX-5 (2020 or newer) – Small SUVs
• Mazda CX-30 (2022 or newer) – Small SUVs
• Mazda CX-9 (2021 or newer) – Midsized SUVs

CR and IIHS Criteria

Securing a place on the Teen Vehicle List for new cars meant that each vehicle had to have scored either a Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+ in IIHS crash tests and evaluations of some safety equipment. Among the requirements: loud reminders that the driver and any passengers buckle their seat belts.

All of the included used vehicles are from model years after 2012, when government regulations mandated electronic stability controls. They all have earned top ratings in IIHS tests as new cars, including three crash tests, roof crush resistance and the ability of headrests to control head movement in a crash.

Consumer Reports included tests on emergency and routine handling and braking. Their controls and displays could not be too distracting. Very large or very lightweight vehicles were also ineligible, as were vehicles that were too powerful for their size. 

Protecting young drivers, their passengers and the drivers of other vehicles is an important goal for all of us and Schomp Mazda is very happy we can help steer parents to the safest choices for their teenagers.