Top 10 Models for Young Drivers

Truecar.com

Wednesday, May 12, 2010 8:39 am

We've all heard the comments: I don't want to get a Cadillac, that's my grandfather's car!

Well, now TrueCar can tell you what the grandkids are driving.

A new study recently completed by TrueCar.com, showed that Mitsubishi,Mazda and Volkswagen have the highest concentration of younger buyers. The study was completed in May 2010 and looked at the last full year of available data. TrueCar also identified the best deals* on models for this demographic based on current actual transactions.

The list, which shows the brands with the highest percentage of buyers that are 18 to 34, is topped by Mitsubishi (18.3%), with its young skewing list of models that includes the Lancer and the Eclipse. Mazda (18%), with the popular Mazda3 and Mazda6, and Volkswagen (17.6%), which features the list topping GTI and Jetta, were next with Nissan (15.6%) and Mini (15%) rounding out the top 5. The industry average was 10.8%.

On the flipside, the brands that have the lowest percentage of buyers in that age range are Detroit mainstays Buick (3.6%), Lincoln(4%) and Cadillac(5.1%). Those three makes manufacture eight of the 10 vehicles with the lowest percentage of buyers under 34 in the study, with the Cadillac DTS(1.1%) at the very bottom of a list that includes two Cadillacs, two Buicks and four Lincolns.

Making this information more valuable for consumers is TrueCar.com's list of the Top 10 Models for Young Drivers that includes the potential discount from MSRP. Topping the list – which is made up of models with the highest percentage of 18-34 year olds within the make – is the Mitsubishi Lancer which shows a possible discount of 25%†. Both the Nissan Titan and the Jeep Commander are showing potential discounts over 30%.

Make	Model	Trim	% of 18-34 Year Olds	Discount off MSRP
Mitsubishi	Lancer	Sedan Manual	18.3%	-25%
Mazda	3	4dr Sedan Man	18.0%	-5%
Volkswagen	GTI	2dr HB Man	17.6%	-3%
Nissan	Titan	2WD King Cab	15.6%	-37%
Mini	Cooper	2dr Coupe	15.0%	-3%
Audi	A3	4dr HB MT	14.9%	-3%
Jeep	Commander	RWD 4dr Sport	14.0%	-30%
Honda	Fit	5dr HB Man	13.9%	-1%
Subaru	Impreza	Sedan 4dr Man	13.5%	-5%
Acura	TSX	4dr Sedan I4Auto	13.4%	-6%

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Just as interesting as these great deals is what TrueCar discovered about actual average age of ownership. While it is fairly well known that Buick, Cadillac and Lincoln are mainstays at the bottom of the list, who would have thought that smart and Hyundai would be over 50 and BMW and Audi – traditionally older, more expensive brands – would be under 50. The whole list:

MAKE	AVERAGE AGE
MAZDA	47.0
MITSUBISHI	47.2
VOLKSWAGEN	47.5
HUMMER	47.5
AUDI	47.5
MINI	48.0
BMW	48.5
JEEP	48.6
ACURA	48.7
NISSAN	48.7
INFINITI	48.9
PORSCHE	49.1
DODGE	49.6
SAAB	49.7
HONDA	49.7
SUZUKI	49.9
VOLVO	50.0
GMC	50.1
KIA	50.2
TOYOTA	51.0
SUBARU	51.0
MERCEDES-BENZ	51.1
FORD	51.9
CHEVROLET	51.9
SMARTCAR	52.3
HYUNDAI	52.3
JAGUAR	53.2
LEXUS	53.6
CHRYSLER	54.6
CADILLAC	57.1
MERCURY	57.3
LINCOLN	58.7
BUICK	61.0

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And, in case you were curious, here are the top 30 youngest and oldest make/models. There may be some surprises on both lists, so enjoy the read, check your age and hit up TrueCar for a pricing report on a Volkswagen GTI, immediately.

TOP 30 YOUNGEST

Make	Model	Percent
VOLKSWAGEN	GTI	23.4%
VOLKSWAGEN	ROUTAN	23.3%
MITSUBISHI	LANCER	22.4%
NISSAN	TITAN	20.9%
SUBARU	IMPREZA	20.6%
NISSAN	ARMADA	20.5%
AUDI	A3	20.2%
MAZDA	3	20.2%
NISSAN	XTERRA	19.9%
VOLKSWAGEN	TIGUAN	18.8%
NISSAN	PATHFINDER	18.7%
MAZDA	CX-7	18.5%
TOYOTA	YARIS	18.5%
MAZDA	6	18.2%
TOYOTA	SCION	17.9%
VOLKSWAGEN	JETTA	17.9%
MAZDA	RX8	17.9%
MAZDA	5	17.7%
CHEVROLET	TAHOE	17.7%
ACURA	TSX	17.5%
AUDI	A5	17.2%
BMW	M3	17.1%
VOLKSWAGEN	CC	16.8%
DODGE	CHARGER	16.7%
NISSAN	CUBE	16.6%
NISSAN	ROGUE	16.3%
AUDI	S4	16.3%
VOLVO	C30	16.2%
GMC	YUKON	16.2%

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TOP 30 OLDEST

Make	Model	Percent
JAGUAR	XK	6.0%
MERCURY	MILAN	5.9%
INFINITI	M35	5.8%
MERCEDES-BENZ	E-CLASS	5.7%
VOLVO	XC70	5.5%
MAZDA	MX5	5.3%
LINCOLN	MKX	5.1%
MERCEDES-BENZ	S-CLASS	4.9%
VOLVO	C70	4.9%
VOLVO	S80	4.9%
CADILLAC	SRX	4.8%
CADILLAC	CTS	4.6%
LEXUS	ES	4.6%
AUDI	A8	4.4%
FORD	TAURUS	4.2%
PORSCHE	PANAMERA	4.1%
CHEVROLET	IMPALA	4.1%
HYUNDAI	AZERA	3.7%
ACURA	RL	3.6%
LEXUS	LS	3.2%
LINCOLN	MKZ	3.2%
LINCOLN	MKT	3.1%
LINCOLN	MKS	2.9%
BUICK	LACROSSE	2.2%
LINCOLN	TOWN CAR	2.1%
CADILLAC	STS	2.0%
TOYOTA	AVALON	1.9%
MERCURY	GRAND MARQUIS	1.4%
BUICK	LUCERNE	1.2%
CADILLAC	DTS	1.1%