[seiwonlee]

Buy her a civic sport. She doesn’t need all the bells and whistles. She’s going to be hitting curbs. Backing into things and shit. Why spend all that money to be damaged? It’s a first car.

Only thing about the civic sport is things like the seat adjustments are all manual. We have a 2022 sport hatch as well and my son drives it, but he's more of a seasoned driver. There were times we'd start driving and the seat position wasn't quite right, so we'd have to pull over because trying to adjust the manual seat during driving can be super hazardous.
My daughter enjoys the sunroof as well, whereas being in my son's sport makes it feel super dark (i know it doesn't help that the windows are also tinted).

Oh one more thing, the parking assist, SUPER helpful for new drivers. These seem like little things, but will help her avoid the usual accidents during parking, etc.

 

[midnightscavenger]

I have a teenage daughter who will soon be getting her license, and we are trying to decide what vehicle will be best for her as a first car. My priority is for it to be safe, so able to avoid accidents as best as possible, and able to walk away from them as best as possible also.

Additionally, we would like something that is enjoyable to drive, reliable, and a good value.

Our top pics are 4 Hondas:
Civic Sedan Touring
Civic Hatch Sport Touring
Accord Hybrid EXL
CRV hybrid sport touring

We live in the suburbs of New Jersey, and she will likely go to college in New England or the Carolinas.

I know that there is no one right answer, but I would appreciate your subjective and personal thoughts. If you were in my shoes what would your top pick be and why?

thanks!

I think the Civic Sedan Touring. For a college environment, it’s the right sized car, safe, and fun to drive. All college students are crappy drivers and it will get dinged whether it is her fault or not. I think it might be the cheapest to insure and fix. I have a college aged son and nephews and niece. Fender benders will happen cause everyone suck at driving at that age. I have a 22 Civic Touring and a 23 CRV Sport Touring. The civic is more fun to drive. I would hesitate driving the larger CRV onto a crowded campus. Just my opinion. Let us know what you decide!

 

[Giarc]

I have a teenage daughter who will soon be getting her license, and we are trying to decide what vehicle will be best for her as a first car. My priority is for it to be safe, so able to avoid accidents as best as possible, and able to walk away from them as best as possible also.

Additionally, we would like something that is enjoyable to drive, reliable, and a good value.

Our top pics are 4 Hondas:
Civic Sedan Touring
Civic Hatch Sport Touring
Accord Hybrid EXL
CRV hybrid sport touring

We live in the suburbs of New Jersey, and she will likely go to college in New England or the Carolinas.

I know that there is no one right answer, but I would appreciate your subjective and personal thoughts. If you were in my shoes what would your top pick be and why?

thanks!

My daughter was relocating from NYC to Los Angeles and we all know you most definitely need a car when living in LA.
I bought her a used low mileage 2019 Honda Fit Sport with auto trans. She absolutely loves the car.
Fun to drive, super easy to park, dead reliable, great on gas and has an amazing amount of useable cargo space.
Unfortunately they don’t import them any longer.
If you’ve decided on a new car the Civic Hatchback is a great car as well. The hatchback is really accommodating when it comes to useable cargo space as well And gets great mpg’s.
Best of luck,

 

[ReverendHonda]

I think the Civic Sedan Touring. For a college environment, it’s the right sized car, safe, and fun to drive. All college students are crappy drivers and it will get dinged whether it is her fault or not. I think it might be the cheapest to insure and fix. I have a college aged son and nephews and niece. Fender benders will happen cause everyone suck at driving at that age. I have a 22 Civic Touring and a 23 CRV Sport Touring. The civic is more fun to drive. I would hesitate driving the larger CRV onto a crowded campus. Just my opinion. Let us know what you decide!

Thanks so much for these suggestions! I will definitely let everyone know what we decide! Hopefully during May we’ll make a decision.

 

[ReverendHonda]

So today I called 4-5 nearby Honda dealers and found just one with a 2023 Civic Hatchback Sport Touring in stock. It was white, and 6 speed manual. No way is my daughter interested in a manual, but I decided to take the 30 min drive to check it out.

What a sweet car! Just beautiful inside and out. And the rear hatch area is enormous and super practical for a future college student, or anyone else.

I took it on a test drive to get a feel for it, and LOVED it! I also loved the 6 speed manual! Can’t remember the last time I had that much fun in a car!! Now considering one for myself as well. But first things first, I’m eager to get my daughter to test drive one as soon as we’re able, and can locate one with an automatic.

Thanks for all the encouragement, camaraderie, and suggestions!

 

[yitznewton]

How about HR-V? Small, lower on power, I'm guessing it's more forgiving about rolling over stuff than a Civic.

 

[robardin]

How about HR-V? Small, lower on power, I'm guessing it's more forgiving about rolling over stuff than a Civic.

Yeah, I would have thought the HR-V was a very attractive option compared to the Civic Hatchback but for the power deficit.

After being used to borrowing my wife's 2016 Civic EX-T with the 1.5T, the HR-V would have felt VERY pokey and boggy... Not sure why they don't equip it with the 1.5T as well!

And the added weight makes it noticeably less fuel efficient, too: 27 mpg combined for the 2023 HR-V EX-L versus 31 mpg for the Civic HB EX-L, and 30 mpg highway compared to 37 mpg for the Civic EX-L.

The HR-V EX-L had AWD for about $500 more than the Civic HB EX-L, that was a plus, but in the end the hatchback won out for the better fuel efficiency and being more fun to drive (a lot more power, lighter, lower to ground, more nimble), while not being all that less practical with the hatch.

 

[5358]

That'll be my next purchase HRV with the K series engine. I think in Indonesia Malaysia other domestic markets they put the turbocharged L series. I would like to see them turbocharged the K series drop in there 😁. A Type R engine in an HRV that sounds fun.

 

[ReverendHonda]

How about HR-V? Small, lower on power, I'm guessing it's more forgiving about rolling over stuff than a Civic.

Thanks for the suggestion. I did test drive an HRV when the new model came out, and found it lackluster in power and handling. Love the look, looks to me like an Acura MDX from 50 feet away.

 

[Primetime]

I have a teenage daughter who will soon be getting her license, and we are trying to decide what vehicle will be best for her as a first car. My priority is for it to be safe, so able to avoid accidents as best as possible, and able to walk away from them as best as possible also.

Additionally, we would like something that is enjoyable to drive, reliable, and a good value.

Our top pics are 4 Hondas:
Civic Sedan Touring
Civic Hatch Sport Touring
Accord Hybrid EXL
CRV hybrid sport touring

We live in the suburbs of New Jersey, and she will likely go to college in New England or the Carolinas.

I know that there is no one right answer, but I would appreciate your subjective and personal thoughts. If you were in my shoes what would your top pick be and why?

thanks!

I have a Civic touring and I love it because of the looks. The reliability is in the name so you can go wrong with a Honda. I believe suvs are more safer because of its size. Just ask her which car she likes and that's that. Life is unpredictable and we shouldn't stress over things you can't control.

 

[Mcgugupapa]

CRV for 4WD in winter plus room for college. Insurance will be slightly less as well. GL

 

[ReverendHonda]

We had a good discussion about it at dinner a couple of nights ago and she expressed a little bit of a preference for CRV because of the higher riding position. My present car is a Toyota RAV4 prime, and that is what she is learning to drive on, so it makes sense that a CRV is more appealing.

Many thanks for all the insights and suggestions! I welcome any other comments or personal stories.

 

[Zeroptzero]

CRV for 4WD in winter plus room for college. Insurance will be slightly less as well. GL

The CR-V AWD system can be a bit tricky for new drivers in winter. I own one and I'm not a big fan of that AWD system, the transfer of power from front to back once slippery conditions are experienced causes some rear end sway and oversteer. I much prefer my Subaru's AWD system as there is much less weight and power transfer. The CR-V is a nice vehicle but I wouldn't want a young driver driving it in tricky winter conditions.

 

[Mcgugupapa]

The CR-V AWD system can be a bit tricky for new drivers in winter. I own one and I'm not a big fan of that AWD system, the transfer of power from front to back once slippery conditions are experienced causes some rear end sway and oversteer. I much prefer my Subaru's AWD system as there is much less weight and power transfer. The CR-V is a nice vehicle but I wouldn't want a young driver driving it in tricky winter conditions.

CRV 4WD is a POS, definitely not as good as Subaru’s full time AWD. But I would take a Honda any day over a Subaru due to build quality and reliability.

 

[5358]

CRV 4WD is a POS, definitely not as good as Subaru’s full time AWD. But I would take a Honda any day over a Subaru due to build quality and reliability.

Is the CRV all wheel drive system setup like the HRV for 2023? I've never looked under the CRV to see. I know the HRV has a drive shaft that comes out of the CVT with a sort of transfer case. Still not a full time not even really a part-time system but it is driven by connected directly to the transmission. If the CRV has the type with the electric transfer case electric motor driven. Completely disconnected from the transmission. Yeah I wouldn't want that either I've seen that on some new vehicles not a fan. I've replaced plenty of those electric driven systems that send power to the rear wheels. 🤮