The Road Ahead: Cars for College Students

So the big day is coming up at last: graduation. If you’re the one graduating, you probably have a lot of mixed emotions. If you’re the parent of the one graduating, you probably have even more mixed emotions. Life is going to look very different for both of you once classes start and your student leaves home for the first time. But what is one thing that your student needs to thrive at a college campus? Reliable transportation. As a University City online car dealer, we have helped countless college students find the perfect vehicle. From getting around campus to getting to and from work, a car is one of the most important things anyone could own.

When it comes to shopping for a vehicle for students fresh out of high school and heading to college, as a parent, you are going to want something affordable, reliable, fuel-efficient, and safe. Students, on the other hand, will want something affordable yet fun. Now for some of the parents reading this, you may be sweating at the idea of funding a vehicle on top of college tuition. Students who are going to be working through college and paying for their own vehicles may be experiencing the worry of a recurring monthly payment. Not to worry, though, at Online.cars, we will help you find a high-quality used vehicle at a price that works for you. There certainly are plenty of options available so that parents will be happy that their child is safe and that students will be proud of their vehicle. With that in mind, we’d like to present to you three vehicles we feel are perfect for college students.

Kia Soul

This CUV is a superstar. For how compact of a vehicle it is, it offers a surprising amount of passenger space on the inside for all five of its passengers (including the driver), making it a good vehicle for providing rides to other students. Models from the early-mid 2010s will not have some of the technology features that more recent models do, but if the goal is simply to get from one place to another while in college, then saving the extra money and sacrificing the technology features could be a great option.

One of the things that makes Kia an exceptional brand altogether is its actionable dedication to producing eco-friendly vehicles. With a firm commitment to become a zero-emissions company, Kia now produces some of the finest electric vehicles on the market. But, before it even started touching the electric vehicles market and before it dedicated itself to zero emissions, Kia has been environmentally conscious in its production of all vehicles.

What’s more, the Kia Soul is a remarkably affordable vehicle. For the 2022 model year, the Kia Soul has an MSRP of $19,190. While this is already a very competitive number for a vehicle in its class, take a few years and a few thousand dollars off, and you’re in for a bargain.

Chevy Malibu

Chevrolet makes excellent vehicles. Unfortunately, because they produce so many exciting and iconic vehicles such as the Silverado, Suburban, and the Corvette, a vehicle that often gets lost in the mix is the Chevy Malibu. While it is neither a pickup, an SUV, nor a sports car like the other vehicles mentioned, it is a Chevrolet, which means that it is well-built and bears excellent safety features. A vehicle does not need to be a monstrosity to be a Chevrolet, and the company provides an excellent compact car in the Malibu. One of the main reasons we recommend the Malibu is because of its safety features.

In 2015, Chevrolet introduced its Teen Driver safety technology. Guess what car it first appeared in. You guessed it: the Malibu. Now, a point of contention when kids go off to college can be their status as a human being: kid or adult? The person in question will likely say an adult, whereas the parent in question will likely say a kid. So, before this mention of Chevy Teen Driver causes any family upheaval, we would like to state that one need not be a teenager living under his or her parents’ roof to make Teen Driver an excellent and useful technology feature.

College is a time in which people are transitioning from child to adult, and an excellent lesson to learn during that time is ownership; Chevy Teen Driver will allow the owner of the vehicle to employ certain features and limitations that keep him or her honest to safe driving habits. This will help them cultivate good ownership skills of a vehicle under their care.

The Teen Driver system requires the vehicle owner to register a certain key fob as the “teen” drivers’ key fob, which then automatically sets certain safety features, many of which are included in the Chevy Safety Assist package. Additionally, it allows the owner to set certain restrictions, such as a maximum speed, maximum audio volume, and so on. More recent models even include the Buckle to Drive feature, which requires the driver to buckle before the vehicle can do anything.

To any students who may be reading this: even if your parents don’t program the vehicle with these features, you could consider setting certain limits for your own safety. You could also set limits if you let someone else drive your vehicle.

Chevrolet Spark

While the Malibu provides a good option for a midsize Sedan, the Spark is an extremely fun mini car. This two-door cruiser was restyled in 2019 and has a good number of vibrant color options. Aside from that, it is extremely affordable; of course, you’re looking to buy used, but to give you an idea of pricing, the new 2022 model has a starting MSRP of only $13,600, so buying used, you’ll be looking at a highly-agreeable price. With the combination of these three things–its vibrant appearance, its compact size, and its low price, it’s no surprise that the Spark’s market is one of the youngest in the segment.

While it seats up to five, the vehicle only has two doors, which in itself encourages prudence in unnecessarily filling up the vehicle with passengers, and it provides a decent amount of cargo space for transporting things from one place to another across campus. Additionally, the 2019 Spark is fitted with the high-quality technology features for which Chevy is known, including an infotainment system and the high-quality safety features for which Chevy is also known, including automatic braking. This will surely reduce the risk of collision. While the Spark does not currently include the Teen Driver system, it certainly does not lack safety features. This car could be an excellent on-campus vehicle for any student.

Going Away and Coming Back

Going away to college can be an emotional experience. But you can always come back home. This pattern of going away and coming back is far easier when the student has his or her own car to get around in. The key considerations when picking your vehicle are safety, reliability, fuel efficiency, and affordability. With all of that in mind, what are you waiting for? Find yourself or your future college student a great car through Online.cars today.