I’d prefer something small, light and slow. The “big and heavy” philosophy always seems to me to be saying, “as long as my kid is OK I don’t care how much damage and injury he does to others.” Now, maybe that’s not what you are thinking, but that’s the impression I get.
To me it’s better to teach a kid to drive well and not get into accidents. That’s easier in a smaller and lighter car that handles well. Yes, I have kids, and yes they learned to drive in and had as their daily driver a mid-80s Nissan Sentra. Small, light, slow.