Subaru placed nine models on the 2026 IIHS and Consumer Reports joint recommendation list for teen drivers, with five earning the organizations’ top ‘Best Choice’ designation. The slate represents a contraction from last year’s 14-model showing, a tighter curation that reflects the list’s evolving criteria rather than a step backward in Subaru’s safety record.
The ‘Best Choice’ used vehicles are the 2019–2023 Crosstrek Plug-In Hybrid, 2020–2025 Legacy, 2020–2025 Outback (models built after October 2019), 2019–2025 Forester, and 2023–2025 Solterra. Four additional Subaru models earn ‘Good Choice’ status: the 2014–2025 Impreza sedan or wagon, 2016–2025 Crosstrek, and 2015–2019 Legacy. The 2026 Ascent rounds out the list as Subaru’s sole new-vehicle recommendation.
The ‘Best Choice’ designation requires headlights rated ‘Good’ or ‘Acceptable’ by IIHS across all trim levels and automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection that performs well in daytime track tests. New vehicles on the list must carry 2026 IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK or TOP SAFETY PICK+ awards. Used and new entries alike must score average or better in Consumer Reports’ braking and emergency-handling evaluations, earn a ‘Good’ rating in IIHS driver’s-side small-overlap front crash testing, and feature control interfaces judged by Consumer Reports engineers to be neither distracting nor overly complicated.
The broader 2026 list offers families 45 used vehicles starting under $10,000 and 29 starting under $20,000, establishing affordability benchmarks for parents shopping the segment. Hyundai and Mazda lead the recommended new-vehicle field across all manufacturers, placing Subaru’s nine spots within a competitive landscape where multiple brands share the teen-driver focus.
Subaru has accumulated 78 IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK+ awards since 2013, a sustained run that predates the current generation of most models on the teen-driver list. The brand holds Consumer Reports’ Best Overall Automotive Brand designation for two consecutive years, a recognition that extends beyond the teen-focused rankings to the full product line. Consumer Reports names eight Subaru models as recommended for 2026, with the Crosstrek taking Top Subcompact SUV and the Forester earning Top Compact SUV for the 13th straight year.
What the year-over-year contraction from 14 to nine models signals is unclear from the announcement itself. The 2026 list’s tighter curation could reflect stricter headlight or pedestrian-detection thresholds, aged-out model years falling below reliability averages, or simply fewer Subaru trim levels meeting the new-vehicle TOP SAFETY PICK requirement. The drop does not align with a retreat in safety hardware; Subaru’s EyeSight suite and structural crashworthiness have been consistent across the lineup. The more likely explanation is methodological drift in what IIHS and Consumer Reports consider recommendation-grade for the teen segment.
For families shopping used, the 2019–2025 Forester remains the broadest recommendation window among Subaru’s ‘Best Choice’ entries, covering seven model years and offering the widest availability in the used market. The Solterra, Subaru’s battery-electric SUV, earns ‘Best Choice’ status for its full 2023–2025 production run, an endorsement that carries weight given the report’s emphasis on control simplicity and emergency handling.
The teen-driver list is a parent-shopping tool, not an enthusiast benchmark, and its value lies in the joint credibility of IIHS crash testing and Consumer Reports’ long-term reliability data. Subaru’s nine-model presence keeps the brand visible in that conversation even as the total count falls. Whether the 14-to-nine contraction is a one-year anomaly or the start of a trend will be clearer when the 2027 list arrives.
Source: Subaru. Images courtesy of Subaru.
