This Is 2025's Best Car For College Students, According To KBB

A recent online article from KBB.com attempted to answer the question of what might be 2025's best car for college students. It involved an explanation of the many variables involved, including whether the car should be new or used, the other costs of car ownership such as insurance and fuel, the importance of affordable monthly payments if a car loan is involved, safety and technology features that provide added protection, and whether the student really needs a car for their travel to and from college. Once that these issues were resolved, a price ceiling of $30,000 was instituted so that new cars could be included. 

KBB.com's best car for college students in 2025 is the 2025 Toyota Corolla. The Corolla was picked because of its excellent reliability ratings and its low cost of ownership. It also scored well in safety technology, being an IIHS Top Safety Pick. KBB.com selected the Toyota Corolla LE, the cheapest Toyota car you can buy in 2025, which is currently priced at a starting MSRP of $22,325 plus $1,195 delivery, processing and handling fee for a total of $23,520. Our review of the 2025 Corolla found that while it's nicer than it used to be, it is still an entry-level car.

What you get for that is a compact four-door sedan powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that produces 169 horsepower, mated to a CVT that channels its power to the front wheels. EPA-rated fuel economy is 32 MPG city and 41 MPG highway.

KBB.com's list of 2025's best cars for college students actually selected a total of 14 cars to include. The number two car is the 2025 Honda Civic sedan, followed by the 2025 Hyundai Elantra sedan in third place and the 2025 Honda HR-V SUV in fourth. Fifth place was taken by the Mazda3 hatchback, sixth place went to the Subaru Crosstrek hatch with all-wheel drive standard, and seventh place goes to the Kia Seltos SUV. The 2025 Hyundai Kona SUV landed in eighth, the 2025 Nissan Sentra sedan made ninth, and the 2025 Kia Soul hit the tenth spot in its final year on the market. 

The Toyota Prius hatchback arrived in eleventh place and has the distinction of being the most expensive car on the list, while the Subaru Legacy mid-size sedan, also in its final year of production, takes twelfth. Thirteenth goes to the 2025 Chevrolet Trailblazer SUV, with the fourteenth and final spot reserved for the 2025 Mazda CX-30 SUV, which our review discovered was lots of fun with the Turbo engine.

What the KBB.com list of the best 2025 cars for college students reveals is that the things to look for in a car are much the same, no matter who uses them or where they will be driven. Vehicles that are inexpensive to purchase, don't require many repairs, cost less to insure, and use as little fuel as possible are the best ones to buy if you're paying the bills.