Having a teen driver often tests your nerves like no other, but providing your teen with the right vehicle can certainly ease the stress. To help search for the ideal auto, AxleGeeks created a list of the best cars for teen drivers. An authority on cars and car brands, AxleGeeks recently launched an app to provide users with the latest information on the go.

To identify the best cars for teen drivers, we focused on fuel efficiency, safety and price. We compiled models earning more than 25 miles per gallon with a 5-star rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and either Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+ awards from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Finally, we ranked them from most to least expensive.

#15. 2016 Volkswagen Passat

The 2016 Volkswagen Passat earned favorable marks for its 31 combined mpg, giving it a 3.3 percent advantage over other models in its segment. However, it clocks in at $22,440, making it more expensive than sedans offered by Mazda and Chevrolet.

#14. 2016 Subaru Forester AWD

Subaru is the safest car brand available, making the Forester a smart choice for your teen. However, its combined 25 mpg is 2 percent lower than industry averages, and its cost of $22,395 renders it the most expensive SUV on the list.

#13. 2016 Honda Accord

The 2016 Honda Accord achieved the highest safety ratings from the IIHS and the NHTSA, and boasts 28 combined mpg. Moreover, its price is 17 percent lower than other cars in its segment, making it an enticing choice to consider.

#12. 2016 Chrysler 200

Despite the 2016 Chrysler 200’s fuel efficiency, which falls slightly below par relative to its competitors, it boasts an affordable price when compared to the average cost of a 2016 midsize sedan.

#11. 2016 Hyundai Sonata

The 2016 Hyundai Sonata touts affordability and excellent efficiency: Its starting price of $21,750 is 19 percent less expensive than other midsize sedans, and its 31 combined mpg gives it an edge over competitors like the 2016 Chrysler 200.

#10. 2016 Subaru Legacy AWD

The 2016 Subaru Legacy earned top safety ratings, thanks in part to its all-wheel drive capabilities. Furthermore, its 30 combined mpg surpassed the averages set by midsize sedans in its segment.

#9. 2016 Subaru Crosstrek AWD

For a compact SUV, the 2016 Subaru Crosstrek is an excellent value, costing only $21,595, which makes it significantly less expensive than other models in its segment. Though its fuel efficiency falls below others listed, it easily beats its industry competitors, maximizing your savings.

#8. 2016 Mazda 6

This sedan not only boasts the IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award and 30 combined mpg, but its low price of $21,495 makes it less expensive than many of its midsize sedan counterparts.

#7. 2016 Volkswagen Golf

Similar to the 2016 Mazda 6, the Volkswagen Golf earned the highest safety ratings, and its 30 combined mpg places it in line with others in its segment. However, the Volkswagen Golf does it all at a lower cost.

#6. 2016 Mazda 3 4-Door Hatchback

This hatchback earned the best fuel efficiency among all models listed here, clocking in at 34 combined mpg. Additionally, its low price places it well below the average cost of a compact hatchback, providing you with excellent savings.

#5. 2016 Subaru Impreza AWD

The 2016 Subaru Impreza features excellent safety ratings and a great price, elevating it above the 2016 Volkswagen Golf. The only drawback is its fuel economy of 29 mpg, which puts it at a disadvantage when compared to more efficient sedans, like the Mazda 3.

#4. 2016 Mazda 3

Like its hatchback counterpart, the 2016 Mazda 3 sedan boasts 34 combined mpg. Additionally, its price of $17,845 also gives it a significant edge over its competitors.

#3. 2016 Volkswagen Jetta

The 2016 Volkswagen Jetta is among the most efficient models on the list, earning 33 combined mpg. In addition, it earned the IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award and is 16 percent less expensive than other models in its segment.

#2. 2016 Kia Soul Wagon

The only compact wagon to earn a spot on the list, the 2016 Kia Soul maximizes safety and affordability. However, it falls behind in fuel efficiency relative to other compact wagons.

#1. 2016 Chevrolet Sonic

The 2016 Chevrolet Sonic earned the best car for teens due to its outstanding affordability. With a starting price of $14,345, it is significantly less expensive than the average cost of subcompact sedans. Additionally, with great safety features and excellent fuel efficiency, the Sonic delivers incredible value.

Overview of the Best Cars for Teens

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Brand recognition and fuel efficiency are two major factors people consider when purchasing new vehicles. Regardless of short-term fluctuations in gas prices, a car's fuel economy impacts the day-to-day costs of going with a particular model.

The automakers are incentivized to build efficient cars too. President Barack Obama announced new fuel efficiency standards back in 2012, instating a brand minimum average of 54.5 combined miles per gallon by 2025.

With this in mind, which brands are well on their way toward achieving this goal? AxleGeeks ranked the biggest brands based on average fuel efficiency.

See the Most Efficient Brands

#15. Nissan

Nissan's cars get an average fuel economy of 24.5 mpg. When compared to Japanese non-luxury brands, this falls short of the average 27.5 mpg. If you're shopping for an efficient Nissan, your best bet is with a sedan or coupe, which offer better fuel economy relative to competitors.

#14. Acura

Acura is the only luxury brand to make the list, as its vehicle lineup earns on average 25 combined miles per gallon. A big reason for this is the advancements Acura has made, including its intelligent valve control system, which helps its engines operate at high performance standards while keeping efficiency high, as well.

#13. Toyota

Toyota, as a brand, is known for its fuel-efficient vehicles and good reliability. With its lineup averaging 26.5 miles per gallon, it falls low on the list compared to competitors like Honda. However, Toyota does have pick-ups in its lineup, and they've improved their full efficiency to a degree recently.

A good illustration is the Toyota Camry, which went from 22 city miles per gallon with its 2010 model to 25 city mpg in 2016.

#12. Hyundai

Hyundai vehicles average 27 combined miles per gallon, giving the manufacturer an advantage over other brands like Toyota. Hyundai strives to make some of its vehicles more efficient by equipping them with four-cylinder engines and responsive six-speed automatic transmissions.

#11. Mitsubishi

What makes Mitsubishi distinctive is that, though its vehicle lineup is small, all vehicles but its Lancer Evolution model earn at least 30 mpg or more on the highway. With that said, its vehicles haven’t seen a substantial increase in efficiency as of late.

For example, its 2005 Lancer Model earned 34 highway mpg; its 2016 model delivers 35 highway mpg. While both outputs are impressive, it illustrates Mitsubishi has a ways to go to meet coming efficiency mandates.

#10. Kia

Kia’s lineup also earns a combined 27 miles per gallon. What aids Kia’s vehicles in delivering efficiency is its Gasoline Direct Injection engine. This engine works by injecting pressurized fuel into cylinders as the engine goes through its combustion cycle, resulting in increased efficiency and lower emissions.

#9. Scion

Scion embraces efficiency through the design of its vehicles. Its 2016 iA model features an aerodynamic body to reduce wind resistance, resulting in a sedan that averages 37 combined mpg.

#8. Volkswagen

The German manufacturer’s lineup earns a combined 28 miles per gallon, making its offerings more efficient than BMW's.

Helping its average are multiple hybrid models and the e-Golf, an affordable electric car starting under $30,000.

#7. MINI

Its combined fuel efficiency of 28 mpg for its lineup is impressive, considering it makes MINI’s automobiles more efficient than Hyundai and Toyota. MINI continues to tinker with improvements, but hasn't changed much when it comes to its most popular model, the MINI Cooper. The 2005 MINI Cooper earned 36 highway mpg, while its 2016 counterpart earns 39 highway mpg.

#6. Subaru

Subaru continues to be a good brand due to its vehicle reliability. Subaru’s Boxer Engine is a big reason for its improved efficiency, offering a horizontal design. This positioning allows the engine to easily transfer power to the drivetrain, resulting in increased efficiency.

#5. Honda

Honda is a brand that's well-known for its dependability, and its efficiency isn’t too shabby either. With its vehicle lineup earning 29.25 miles per gallon, it makes Honda more efficient than many of its competitors. Moreover, Honda has made rapid gains in improving its models’ efficiency, as the 2008 Honda Civic earned 34 highway miles per gallon and the 2016 Civic delivers 42 highway mpg.

#4. Mazda

Mazda continues to be one of the best car brands due to its exceptional fuel efficiency. As an illustration, it has three models that earn an EPA-estimated 40 mpg or more on the highway, which is remarkable and more in line with the coming mandate standards. It also makes its lineup more efficient than both Toyota and Honda.

#3. FIAT

Known for its distinctive Italian styling, Fiat also delivers efficient vehicles. Its lineup, though small, earns on average 31 combined mpg. Each of its gasoline engine vehicles deliver at least 33 highway mpg or more while its electric offering — the 2015 Fiat 500e — has an exceptional equivalent efficiency of 122 city mpg.

#2. Smart

Don’t let the size of its vehicles fool you, Smart engineered these impressive models with Mercedes Benz. Smart’s models excel in performance and efficiency, delivering a combined 35.5 mpg on average, making them excellent commuter cars.

#1. Tesla

Tesla embodies the future of automobile engineering. While certainly on the more expensive end of the spectrum — its Model S begins at $59,500 after tax savings — Tesla vehicles deliver great performance with their electric motors. This also represents significant fuel savings for you, as according to Tesla, you could save an estimated $8,000 in fuel charges over five years of use. Tesla cars get the equivalent of 94 mpg.

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As the access for mobile technology continues to rise in demand, car manufacturers are eager to meet this need. Now, it's common to see even the basic models come with an array of tech offerings, like Bluetooth capability. All told, many companies have gone even further to provide vehicles with mobile command centers where you can do everything from answering calls to accessing traffic and navigation information through voice command or by the push of a button.

One of the best ways to view the tech feature landscape is to examine it at the brand-level, where you can compare how a manufacturer’s offerings relate to others in its class. To assist you in this regard, AxleGeeks examined the tech offerings of each brand to identity the ones that offer more tech features across the board.

Furthermore, AxleGeeks developed a Smart Rating for each brand based on data compiled from many sources including the American Customer Satisfaction Index Score, the JD Power APEAL Study, the KBB Resale Value Award and the JD Power Initial Quality Study.

From these results, here’s a look at the car brands with the best tech offerings.

#15. Volkswagen

Volkswagen is a brand known for its quality in safety performance and fuel efficiency, but it offers a fair number of tech offerings as well. It equips 19.2 percent of its models with blind-spot monitoring whereas the average German brand offers this feature in 13.3 percent of its lineup.

#14. Lexus

This luxury Japanese brand offers a wealth of impressive tech offerings that work to make your drives safer. It equips more of its vehicles with a heads-up display (7.5 percent) than other Japanese luxury brands average (4.7 percent).

#13. Chevrolet

Chevy received a better Smart Rating — at 87 — than some of its American competitors, like Ford, which earned an 82 rating. Part of the reason for this is Chevy's abundance of features.

As an illustration, 27.5 percent of its models come equipped with the lane-departure warning feature, topping the average of 24.5 percent per lineup for non-luxury American brands.

#12. Cadillac

The American luxury manufacturer scores well in quality across the board by housing more tech equipment in its vehicles. One feature where it has a sizable advantage on its competition is in heads-up display capability, where it equips 10.5 percent of its models with this feature. In comparison, the average percentage per lineup for all American luxury brands is 6.1 percent.

#11. Audi

Audi is a brand known for its quality design and excellent safety offerings. At the same time, this luxury manufacturer doesn’t disappoint in its tech offerings either, as 40.4 percent of its vehicles come with a navigation system. Meanwhile, the average per lineup for all German luxury brands that is 33.6 percent for navigation.

#10. Toyota

A bit of a mixed bag, 30 percent of Toyota's vehicles come with Bluetooth capability, which is significantly less than the average for non-luxury Japanese brands, who equip 56 percent of their models with this feature.

At the same time, Toyota equips more of its vehicles with heads-up display (2.5 percent) than its non-luxury Japanese counterparts average (0.7 percent).

#9. Kia

This Korean manufacturer is generous with the amount of tech equipment it offers across its lineup. Kia equips 61.9 percent of its models with a navigation system, while its non-luxury competitors average 52.9 percent per lineup, allowing Kia to hold a slight edge in this regard.

#8. Scion

Part of Scion’s allure are its contemporary designs and ample tech offerings. As an example, 87.5 percent of Scion’s vehicles come with Bluetooth capability. Meanwhile, the average for all Japanese non-luxury brand lineups is 56 percent.

#7. Lincoln

Lincoln does a good job topping its American luxury brand counterparts in basic tech offerings like navigation systems offered per model. It equips 33.3 percent of its models with this feature, earning it an advantage over its competitors of 6 percent.

#6. Volvo

Volvo is an outstanding brand across the board; it’s no wonder why it earned a Smart Rating of 94. Aiding it are outstanding tech features offered throughout its lineup. It equips 50 percent of its models with blind-spot monitoring, whereas the average for all luxury brands is merely 16.9 percent.

#5. Hyundai

This Korean manufacturer scores well because of the wealth of tech offerings it has across its vehicle lineup. It equips 46.4 percent of its vehicles with Bluetooth capability, giving it a slight edge over other Korean non-luxury brands, where the average per lineup is 44.9 percent.

#4. Infiniti

Infiniti is an established brand known for its luxurious styling and exceptional tech features. As part of this, 61.5 percent of its models come equipped with a navigation system, earning it a huge advantage over its Japanese luxury brand counterparts, who average 32.8 percent for this feature.

#3. Mazda

Mazda continues to be a higher quality non-luxury brand because it offers exceptional performance, safety and tech features. For example, 50 percent of its models come with lane-departure warning whereas 20.1 percent do among Japanese non-luxury brands.

#2. Acura

Acura is among the highest rated luxury brands available due to its unrivaled safety performance and tech features. As an illustration of its quality offerings, every model in its lineup earned awards from Motor Trend Magazine in 2015.

#1. Buick

This American non-luxury brand has upped its game big time. Along with a fresh look across its vehicle lineup, it also houses some great tech features to appeal to the younger buyer. It equips 8.3 percent of its models with a heads-up display. In comparison, other American non-luxury brands equip only 2.5 percent of their models with this feature.

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A subcompact crossover might seem like something of an automotive oxymoron. How does a crossover more akin to the Civics and Corollas of the world find a place in the typically rugged, aggressive majority of its segment?

The Mazda CX-3 is one of those curious entries from the innovative Japanese marque that breaks down this paradox. Essentially a bulked up version of the supermini Mazda2 hatch, the CX-3 was born into production this year as a small, yet impressively capable, sibling to the CX-5 and CX-9.

It's affordable, sporty, and great in the fuel economy stakes, but can the CX-3 do more, especially compared to competitors like the Fiat 500X Pop, Jeep Renegade Sport or Honda HR-V? We gave it the AxleGeeks treatment and dove deep into the CX-3’s performance data, safety stats, cargo space and other features to find out.

Price and Cost of Ownership

With a $19,960 MSRP the Mazda CX-3 costs about 14 percent less than its competitors. If you want a crossover but are worried about your budget, as its 47 percent cheaper than all 2016 SUVs and crossovers combined.

Gas Mileage

At 29 mpg city and 35 mpg highway, this subcompact crossover averages an economical 32 mpg combined, thanks in no small part to its efficient engine and low curb weight.

The CX-3 boasts up to 5 mpg more fuel economy on city streets than other compact crossovers. Full to empty, it’ll travel 368 miles per tank in the city and 445 miles on highway trips. Respectively, that’s a 57- and 51-mile advantage over its peers.

Engine Performance

Equipped with a naturally aspirated, 2.0-liter inline 4 cylinder engine, the Mazda CX-3 sends power to the front wheels through a 6-speed automatic gearbox. This produces a perfectly even 146 horsepower and 146 ft. lb. of torque in the low end. All-wheel drive suits a number of weather conditions without sacrificing performance.

Curb Weight

The CX-3’s sprightly presence on the road compensates for its lesser engine output; at 2,809 pounds, we calculated it at 158 pounds lighter than other compact SUV crossovers. Compared to its bulkier brethren, the Mazda weighs 1,270 pounds less.

Weight-to-Power Ratio

The CX-3 offers a 19.2 lbs. per HP weight-to-power ratio, which is average for its class. In comparison to all 2016 SUVs and crossovers, its weight-to-power ratio is nearly three pounds per horsepower more.

Front-Row Seat Space

Like many subcompact coupes, sedans, SUVs and the like, interior space can be lacking, specifically for long-legged passengers in the back seat. The CX-3 manages to impress with its interior headroom and legroom

In the front row, drivers and passengers will find up to 38.4 inches of headspace and 41.7 for their legs — the latter measuring in at a quarter inch more than small SUVs of similar scale and size and a third of an inch more compared to larger crossovers.

Back-Row Seat Space

Passengers of a taller persuasion might find the backseat a bit cramped for extended periods of time. Back-row passengers have only 37.2 inches of headroom and 35 inches of legroom to work with.

With those numbers, this crossover offers 0.8 of an inch less headroom than its competitors and 3.3 inches less legroom than all crossovers on the whole.

Cargo Space

Storage space isn’t the forte of any subcompact, so keep in mind that the CX-3’s 12.4 cubic feet of rear cargo space will fit minimal cargo, bags or other items. Fold down the rear seats and that space expands nearly four times to a total of 44.5 cubic feet. At its best, the CX-3’s cargo space is only 6.1 cubic feet less than its small SUV and crossover rivals.

2016 Mazda CX-3 Overview

Below is a side-by-side comparison of the 2016 Mazda CX-3 Sport's price, power, efficiency and cargo space to help interested buyers determine how this car truly stacks up in each category.

Will the Mazda CX-3 become one of the more popular subcompact SUV leaders in the evolving trend of sporty crossovers? As far as accolades go it was a contender for the Motor Trend SUV of the Year, as well as a North American Car of the Year nominee in 2016.

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