Top 25 New Cars for Senior Drivers
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Senior drivers and others with limited mobility need a car that’s easy to get into and out of, with controls that are easy to reach and intuitive to use. We’ve combed through our ratings to find the 25 new models that we think best fit the bill. All are recommended by Consumer Reports and earned an Overall Score of Excellent or Very Good in their respective categories (representing road-test performance, predicted reliability, owner satisfaction,
and safety).
We determined the rankings in this chart by giving special consideration and extra weighting to specific features we think are essential for senior drivers:
More on Senior Driving
Seniors Are Driving Safer, Driving Longer
Keep Driving Skills Sharp
Better by Design: Making Cars That Meet the Needs of Older Drivers
Not Taken for a Ride
Front-Seat Access
Low door sills, wider openings, and step-in heights that reduce the need for ducking or climbing make entry easier for those with physical limitations.
Visibility
We chose cars that enable tall, medium, and shorter drivers to see out of the front, sides, and back.
Controls
These cars have easy-to-read gauges and intuitive controls for changing the radio, shifting gears, and adjusting the heating and cooling.
Headlights
Powerful headlights can make driving at night easier for people with decreasing or compromised vision.
Top Picks: Senior Features and Advanced Safety Features
In the table below, the bullet points in the columns for front-seat access, visibility, control, and headlights show where vehicles excel for those attributes when compared with the other recommended vehicles on the list.
We determined the rankings in the chart below by giving special consideration and extra weighting to specific features we think are essential for senior drivers.
(If you're reading this article on your smartphone, we recommend you rotate your phone to landscape mode to better view the tables below. On desktop or mobile, you might need to scroll to see the entire table.)
Make & Model | Front-Seat Access | Visibility | Control | Headlights | Backup Camera | Auto. Emer. Braking/Fwd. Collision Warning | Blind-Spot Warning |
Subaru Forester | • | • | • | Std. | Opt./Opt. | Opt. | |
Subaru Outback | • | • | • | Std. | Opt./Opt. | Opt. | |
Kia Soul | • | • | Opt. | N/A/Opt. | Opt. | ||
Subaru Legacy | • | • | Std. | Opt./Opt. | Opt. | ||
Kia Sportage | • | • | • | Std. | Opt./Opt. | Opt. | |
Toyota Highlander | • | Std. | Std./Std. | Opt. | |||
Toyota Prius V | • | • | Std. | Opt./Opt. | N/A | ||
Toyota RAV4 | • | • | Std. | Std./Std. | Opt. | ||
Honda Odyssey (2017) | • | Std. | N/A/Opt. | Opt. | |||
Nissan Rogue | • | • | Std. | Opt./Opt. | Opt. | ||
Honda Accord | • | • | Std. | Opt./Opt. | N/A | ||
Ford C-Max Hybrid | • | • | Std. | N/A/N/A | Opt. | ||
Hyundai Sonata | • | • | • | Std. | Opt./Opt. | Opt. | |
Toyota Camry (2017) | • | • | Std. | Opt./Opt. | Opt. | ||
Subaru Crosstrek | • | • | Std. | Opt./Opt. | Opt. | ||
Toyota Sienna | • | Std. | Opt./Opt. | Opt. | |||
Honda CR-V | • | Std. | Opt./Opt. | Opt. | |||
Honda Pilot | • | • | Std. | Opt./Opt. | Opt. | ||
Kia Forte | • | • | • | Opt. | Opt./Opt. | Opt. | |
Ford Escape | • | • | Std. | N/A/Opt. | Opt. | ||
Toyota Corolla | • | • | Std. | Std./Std. | N/A | ||
Kia Sorento | • | • | Opt. | Opt./Opt. | Opt. | ||
Ford Flex | • | • | Std. | N/A/Opt. | Opt. | ||
Hyundai Santa Fe | • | • | Std. | Opt./Opt. | Opt. | ||
Hyundai Tucson | • | • | Std. | Opt./Opt. | Opt. |
Editor's Note: This article also appeared in the July 2017 issue of Consumer Reports magazine.
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