What are good trucks or cars for first time drivers?
Saturday, January 30th, 2010
I’m working on getting my permit and I wanna know what trucks or cars are good for first time drivers.
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Tags: Cars, Drivers, first, Good, time, trucks
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Ian F says:
January 30th, 2010
5:07 am
Ideally it should be something that’s relatively safe in a crash, cheap to fix and maintain, EASY to fix and maintain (thus encouraging you to learn about how to do your own work, which helps you know when something is wrong, and helps you avoid being screwed by mechanics), good fuel economy (because odds are you’re poor), and reliable. It shouldn’t be too powerful, and shouldn’t have really squirrelly handling characteristics.
Also, something rear-wheel drive would help in the long run, because, basically, if you learn to drive RWD, you can drive FWD at least as well (probably better), but that does NOT work the other way around.
Also it should be a manual for the same reason.
Basically, you’re looking for something that requires you to learn a lot, but doesn’t make it hard to do so, and forgives your mistakes.
So you don’t want any transversely-mounted V6 or V8. (That’s the engine running from left to right) If you get a front-wheel drive car, make sure it’s a 4 cylinder. Transverse V engines take up a lot of space in small engine bays, and usually have critical parts so close to the firewall you can barely reach them. Also they’re usually more powerful models than their inline-4 siblings. Actually, 4 cylinders in general will meet more of the criteria I mentioned.
Oh yeah, and cars that meet these criteria are usually cheaper to insure.
Among trucks, I’d recommend Toyotas, the Ford Ranger/Mazda B2000, and Jeeps with the 4 liter inline 6 (they don’t get good fuel economy, but they’re known for being reliable, easy to work on, and there’s tons of support for them if you need help.)
Among cars, I’d say the Mazda Miata is a good bet, if you can live with only 2 seats. Cheap insurance (cheaper than many econoboxes), decent fuel economy if you keep the RPMs low during regular driving, forgiving handling, cheap parts, reliable, and easy to work on. Also it’s RWD, and most of them are manuals. The only down side is that for their age and mileage, they tend to be very expensive (they hold their value VERY well). For example, a 11 or 12 year old Miata might still be worth 6-8000 dollars.
The Ford Crown Vic/Mercury Grand Marquis and Ford Thunderbird/Mercury Cougar (1990-1997) are a good choice, too. Not overly powerful, but it’s got a fair amount of oomph. The T-bird has handling which is a bit more sluggish than the Miata, but even more predictable (probably due to the sluggishness). On mine, my tires might have had something to do with it, but part of it is the car. This is only an option to consider if you live in the country, since the city mileage on these cars sucks.
A lot of people swear by old (80s-early 90s) Volvos and BMWs as being great first cars. The only down side to them is the price of parts…which isn’t ALWAYS bad, but compared to the car I use as a baseline, the Miata, an early 90s 3 series will be about 10-20 percent more expensive for most items.
I’d also suggest a Toyota Corolla or Mazda Protege. They don’t have the boy-racer stigma that the Honda Civic has. The Civic is a good car, but you might end up being tempted to do stupid shit to it, as a lot of your friends will likely be encouraging you to do so. Same with the Subaru Impreza (also, Subarus are not known for being easy to work on) The Protege 5 is an especially fun car, but might be a bit of a handful for a first time driver.
If you really want to learn a lot about cars, though, get something finicky, like a Volkswagen or an old Datsun. Something that requires you to work on the car to keep it running.
My first car was a 1977 Nova 6-cylinder. Fuel economy wasn’t great, but otherwise, a good option. (Gas was cheap back then) If that doesn’t bother you, actually, any 60s-70s straight-6 American car in good shape would be a decent option. But this is a bit more work and requires you to have some more expert help on your side.
Black Panther says:
January 30th, 2010
6:04 am
Its better to drive a car of less than 1000cc. You will be able to drive everywhere even steep slopes. This car will not be nervous and hence would would learn faster and safer. Try a toyota vitz or nissan march.