Safety and value are at the top of the list for parents whose kids will be driving to school or around campus.
Here are ten top-rated new cars for back-to-school, all of them a great mix of affordable, fuel-efficient, reliable, good looking and filled with the tech connectivity younger drivers want and the safety features their parents want.
Eight of these vehicles are under $20,000 and the other two are under $21,000.
While all of them are foreign nameplates, many of these top-rated models are manufactured here in the USA, including the Toyota Corolla and VW Jetta, shown here.
Kelley Blue Book’s 10 Best Back-to-School Cars of 2019
Rank | Year | Make | Model | Kelley Blue Book® Fair Purchase Price* |
1 | 2019 | Toyota | Corolla Hatchback | $19,205 |
2 | 2019 | Kia | Soul | $16,138 |
3 | 2019 | Honda | Civic | $18,505 |
4 | 2019 | Mazda | Mazda3 | $20,913 |
5 | 2019 | Volkswagen | Jetta | $16,749 |
6 | 2019 | Honda | Fit | $16,080 |
7 | 2019 | Hyundai | Kona | $19,638 |
8 | 2019 | Honda | HR-V | $20,538 |
9 | 2019 | Subaru | Impreza | $18,141 |
10 | 2019 | Nissan | Kicks | $18,290 |
*Fair Purchase Prices for base models were sourced on July 27, 2019. Prices are updated weekly and vary based on region.
Click here to see KBB.com’s complete coverage of the 10 Best Back-to-School Cars of 2019, including full editorial comments about each model, pricing details and more.
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