10 Best Cars for Recent College Graduates

According to the National Student Record Clearinghouse Research Center, U.S. colleges and universities hosted over 19 million undergraduate and graduate students during the 2024-2025 school year, one of the largest enrollments ever. Many of you will escape — I mean, graduate — this year, and you’ll need a set of wheels to make your getaway to a new career.

While you studied for your finals, we studied the automotive landscape, thinking about what makes the best car for a recent college graduate. We settled on three criteria for our list.

1. Candidates must have a starting price under $30,000 (at the time of publication), including a destination charge
2. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) 5-Star Overall Safety Rating
3. At least one cool feature

According to the analysts at Cox Automotive (Autotrader’s parent company), the average price of a new car in the United States was $47,462 in March 2025. As a recent college graduate, spending that much to get a good car, maybe your first new one, wouldn’t be wise. We’ll show you some superb choices that start under $30,000. If you’re savvy, you might study this list and seek a used car instead of a new one. We applaud your decision and suggest you consider a certified pre-owned (CPO) vehicle if you go in that direction.

New vehicle pricing promises to be volatile this year, so we can’t guarantee that the sub-$30,000 cars on this list will stay that way all year with looming tariffs and expected price increases. You’re graduating into an uncertain economic climate.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) collects crash-test data for new cars and publishes its rankings for public consumption. Its top safety rating is “5-Star,” and as a recent college graduate, you deserve the best.

Not only do you deserve safety, but you have also earned a reward by making it all the way through college and earning a spot at graduation. In the automotive world, that reward is a cool feature of your car. This cool thing might be functional; it might be part of the design; it might be something unexpected. But it’ll be a feature you’ll appreciate and remind you how cool you are about completing this stage of your education.

Without further preamble, here are the 10 Best Cars for Recent College Graduates, presented alphabetically by brand.

1. 2025 Chevrolet Equinox

• NHTSA Overall Safety Rating: 5-Star
• Cool feature: A cavernous interior

OK, maybe your parents drive a Chevrolet Equinox, or at least their friends. But don’t discount the coolness of having 63.5 cubic feet of cargo space behind your front row of seating. You can now load up that free armchair at the curb or transport all your worldly belongings to your new fifth-floor walkup apartment. That’s cool. If you can stretch your budget to add the Convenience Package II, you’ll get a power liftgate you can open by waving your foot under the rear bumper — power move.

See 2025 Chevrolet Equinox models for sale near you

2. 2025 Honda Civic

• NHTSA Overall Safety Rating: 5-Star
• Cool feature: Honda reliability

You’ll probably be driving your first post-graduation car for quite a few years. The Honda Civic Sedan has a well-earned reputation for reliability and durability. Choose the Civic Hatchback for an extra $3,200 and add some utility to your toolbox. If you can stretch beyond the $30,000 limit, the Civic Hybrid versions start at just over $30-grand. Take care of this car, and it will take care of you. You’ve had enough uncertainty getting through college in these trying times.

See 2025 Honda Civic models for sale near you

3. 2025 Hyundai Elantra and Elantra Hybrid

• NHTSA Overall Safety Rating: 5-Star
• Cool feature: Even the base models have wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto

The Hyundai Elantra has consistently delivered excellent value. The 2025 model also offers advanced technology, sleek design, and satisfying performance. Choose between the low-priced gasoline-only version or the efficient hybrid gasoline-electric Elantra; both start comfortably below our budget ceiling. Hyundai’s 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty sweetens the deal.

See 2025 Hyundai Elantra models for sale near you

4. 2025 Kia K4

• NHTSA Overall Safety Rating: 5-Star
• Cool feature: Top-of-the-line 190-hp GT-Line Turbo model starts below $30,000

The K4 is new for 2025, replacing the Forte in Kia’s lineup. With a short name and big shoes to fill, the K4 is a lot of car in a small package. It is loaded with technology and remains below $30,000 even in its top trim levels. You can find a sporty GT-Line Turbo model within our restricted budget, but even the base model is well-equipped and pleasant to drive. Kia’s 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty makes the K4 even more attractive.

See 2025 Kia K4 models for sale near you

5. 2025 Mazda3

• NHTSA Overall Safety Rating: 5-Star
• Cool feature: Zoom-zoom

You deserve some fun, and the Mazda3 can give it to you. Engineered by the same geniuses who tune the MX-5 Miata, the Mazda3 is the best handling-and-driving car you can buy for under $30,000. It’s also sophisticated, reliable, and beautifully put together. The sedan and hatchback versions fit under our cap, so you can pick the one that suits you best. While most competitors rely on a touchscreen interface for infotainment, Mazda wants you to keep your hands on the wheel and drive better, so the infotainment screen’s touch function doesn’t work when the car is in motion and instead uses steering wheel-mounted controls or a big multifunction control knob in the center console.

See 2025 Mazda3 models for sale near you

6. 2025 Mazda CX-30

• NHTSA Overall Safety Rating: 5-Star
• Cool feature: Subcompact utility with Mazda performance

We include the Mazda3 Sedan and Hatchback on this list, but as a recent college graduate, you may need a skosh more room. Does that mean you must join the giant herd of full-size SUVs and sacrifice driving satisfaction? Not if you choose the Mazda CX-30, it doesn’t. This stylish, sporty subcompact SUV has the just-right proportions for city driving and parking and the coltish legs for countryside romping. Big enough to swallow a Costco run, yet small enough to park in the tightest spaces.

See 2025 Mazda CX-30 models for sale near you

7. 2025 Nissan Rogue

• NHTSA Overall Safety Rating: 5-Star
• Cool feature: Available Dual-Camera Drive Recorder

Nissan’s business has been in turmoil over the past few years, but the excellent Nissan Rogue soldiers on as the company’s bestseller thanks to affordable pricing, good utility, sporty ride quality, and competitive technology. A dealer-installed accessory, the $376 Dual-Camera Drive Recorder, is one of our favorite surprising features. A forward-facing camera records the road ahead, and an interior-facing camera captures activity within the vehicle. This accessory can help a young driver support a claim with your insurance company after an accident, showing the actual event and proving you weren’t on your cellphone while driving.

See 2025 Nissan Rogue models for sale near you

8. 2025 Subaru Crosstrek

• NHTSA Overall Safety Rating: 5-Star
• Cool feature: Go-anywhere character

College can be a grind. Now that you’ve graduated, you’ve earned the right to escape it all. The Subaru Crosstrek is ready to take you anywhere, even to places beyond the pavement. With standard all-wheel drive (AWD), 8.7 inches of ground clearance in the base model, and genuine chops, the Crosstrek will be your willing companion for epic road (and off-road) adventures.

See 2025 Subaru Crosstrek models for sale near you

9. 2025 Toyota Corolla

• NHTSA Overall Safety Rating: 5-Star
• Cool feature: Stealth

Some recent graduates don’t want attention — they just want to get out into the real world and blend in with the crowd. Choose a 2025 Toyota Corolla family member as your trusty steed, and you’ll own an example of the best-selling car of all time. While you operate your stealthy conquest of the business, art, or services world, you’ll have a reliable, comfortable, efficient, and affordable transportation haven to whisk you from home to work and back in style. Choose the sedan for maximum stealth, the hatchback for a touch of flair, or the hybrid for improved efficiency. Unfortunately, the high-performance GR Corolla does not fit our self-imposed budget, as it starts at over $38,000.

See 2025 Toyota Corolla models for sale near you

10. 2025 Toyota Prius

• NHTSA Overall Safety Rating: 5-Star
• Cool feature: The sexiest hybrid

The Toyota Prius used to be the butt of automotive snobs’ jokes. It was slow. It looked like a vacuum cleaner. It was an appliance. Those complaints have disappeared since the Prius got a total makeover in 2023. The fifth-generation Prius is now sexy, fun to drive, and remarkable. The Prius leads our collection of grad-friendly vehicles in fuel economy with 57 mpg city/56 mpg highway/57 mpg combined, and it might be the best-looking of any car we’ve recommended here.

See 2025 Toyota Prius models for sale near you

10 Best Cars for Recent College Graduates

1. 2025 Chevrolet Equinox
2. 2025 Honda Civic
3. 2025 Hyundai Elantra
4. 2025 Kia K4
5. 2025 Mazda3
6. 2025 Mazda CX-30
7. 2025 Nissan Rogue
8. 2025 Subaru Crosstrek
9. 2025 Toyota Corolla
10. 2025 Toyota Prius