I have 16 year-old boy/girl twins, level headed with good grades. I need two new cars.
All else being equal a big low powered car will be the safest. But in real life the safest car is the one driven by the most mature safest driver.
Don’t worry about the car as much as you worry about the driver.
The last thing you want to do is give a 16-year-old a new car. Buy a nice used Corolla and let them share it. Let them pay for the car, too. They have to learn how much cars cost.
4 doors + 4 cylinders was my choice. Get the Consumer Reports buyers guide, and this site ranks all cars based on combining the various crash/safety tests:
How much are you willing to spend? I agree that one car should be fine for both of them, but it’s your money and their schedule tat really counts. A 5 to 10 year old car makes a lot of sense. As new drivers, they are much more likely to have a little accident that you are. Maybe a slight misjudgement in the school parking lot. You won’t feel quite so bad if an older car is damaged than a new one. Other kids might hit your car in that lot, too. I’d look at a domestic mid-size, like an Impala or Taurus. You could get two 2005 base Taurus cars for $13,000 from a Dealer. $15,000 is the cost for 2 2005 Impalas, and you’d be pushing $20,000 for a couple of Accord LXs. If the money doesn’t matter, I’d prefer the Accord EX, but I own one. 2 of those will set you back about $21,000 from a dealer.
At 16 years old I would not allow my child to drive because despite the maturity level of the driver its the experience level combined with the age plus decision making and reaction time that plays a role in accidents amongst teenage drivers and at 16 they are extremely high risk as your insurance company will tell you and as recorded accident numbers will also tell you.
My suggestion is purchase a midsize car(non European) built in the last 5-8years and they all are very safe. I would not get hung up on Toyota or Honda. Paying top dollar for a vehicle makes little sense when the chances of an accident are great.
"The last thing you want to do is give a 16-year-old a new car. Buy a
nice used Corolla and let them share it. Let them pay for the car, too.
They have to learn how much cars cost."
That’s exactly what we did with our kids.
Some years ago, my brother bought some junk from Chrysler, maybe a K-car. He drove it a while, I think they had over 100,000 miles on it, and it was even more so junk than when he bought it.
He was going to junk it out, but his son got an engineering contract which required him to drive every day… He discovered if he drove that old junker, he could manage to keep it running and actually make quite a bit of money in a months time.
When the contract ended, my brother sold it to a fellow technician in factory for his son. I think he got a couple hundred dollars out of it.
The first night, the kid wiped that car out.
It can happen fast. I agree. Don’t put a lot of money into a car at first. You do need something so your kid will survive, though. Not an old K-car. I do like the idea of the Taurus or Impala, even an older Crown Vic or something like that.
My kids had 1,000 miles before they took driver’s ed. On ice; snow; rain; Interstate; country; city; day; night. I realized that a wreck can demoralize a young person; been there; done that. So, I wanted them to have as much experience as I could possibly give them before they went solo. After that, it was up to them.
mcparadise, dagosa:
“The last thing you want to do is give a 16-year-old a new car. Buy a nice used Corolla and let them share it. Let them pay for the car, too. They have to learn how much cars cost.”
that’s exactly what MY parents did to all 5 of us kids.
We’re all doing OK now, I think 
Chase
You give them new cars now and you will be doing it the rest of your life…(and beyond)…