What will your teen's first car be?

So your teen got their license. Now what? You've been waiting patiently for months, dropping them off at driver's education, letting them take the wheel on the way to school....now the pain is off you. You're free! And so are they. But now what car are they going to be driving?

You have options....if you already have an extra car maybe you'll allow them to drive that. But if you don't, it goes back to the old vs. new.

Here are some pros and cons:
With a new car, you've got reliability, looks, comfort. But you've also got large payments, higher taxes and registration fees, and insurance costs.

With an older vehicle, the reliability may not be there, it may not have looks, and it may not have those comfortable, heated leather seats...but you may save on insurance costs, registration fees and you'll surely save on car payments.

However, if you do decide to go with a new vehicle, MSN Money has compiled a list of safe and "less-than-safe" vehicles that I would suggest:

Upscale and large sedans

Safe: Lexus ES300, Audi A4, BMW 330i

Safe?: Buick LeSabre Limited, Chrysler 300M

Family sedans

Safe: Volkswagen Passat GLX (V6), Toyota Camry XLE, Pontiac Grand Prix GT, Oldsmobile Alero, and Pontiac Grand Am

Safe?: Volkswagen Passat 4 cylinder, Nissan Altima 3.5 SE, Subaru Legacy

Small cars

Safe: Volkswagen Golf TDI, Honda Civic EX, Volkswagen Jetta GLS TDI

Safe?: Hyundai Elantra GLS, Chevrolet Cavalier LS

Pickup Trucks

Safe: Toyota Tundra SR5 4.7, Dodge Ram SLT 4.7, Ford F.150 XLT 5.4, Toyota Tacoma TRD (V6), Nissan Frontier (V6)

Safe?: Dodge Dakota SLT, Chevrolet S-10 L5 (V6), GMC Sonoma 5LS (V6)

Extra note: Pickups usually don't do well in vehicle assessments usually due to poor brakes and sloppy handling

SUVs

Safe: Saturn VUE (V6), Honda CR-V EX, Hyundai Santa Fe GLS (V6), Lexus RX300, Acura MDX, Toyota Highlander

Safe?: Chevy Trail Blazer, GMC Envoy, Jeep Grand Cherokee)

Minivans

Safe: Honda Odyssey EX, Toyota Sienna LE, Mazda MPV LX

Safe?: Chevrolet Venture LS, Oldsmobile Silhouette GLS, Pontiac Montana

For more information, check out the full report at http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Insurance/P63955.asp