Honda Passport Joins Used Civic and Accord on 2026 IIHS Best Vehicles for Teen Drivers List

Three Honda models have made the 2026 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and Consumer Reports list of recommended vehicles for teen drivers. The all-new 2026 Passport joins the list as a recommended new vehicle, and used Honda Civic models from 2014 to 2025 and Accord sedans from 2013 to 2025 are recommended as used picks.

For families helping a teen choose a first car, the Honda recommendations stand out for a practical reason. Used Civics on the list start under $10,000 and Accords start under $20,000, putting both within reach of typical first-car budgets without sacrificing crash protection or driver assistance.

What the Passport Did to Earn the Recommendation

The 2026 Honda Passport is the third generation of the model and the first to be built on Honda’s Light Truck Platform shared with the Pilot. It earned the IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK+ designation, the institute’s top award, and Consumer Reports awarded it the Safety Verdict of Best. To clear both bars, a vehicle must do well on crash protection across all IIHS test modes, score average or better on CR’s braking, emergency handling, and routine handling tests, and avoid distracting or confusing controls.

Every 2026 Passport ships with Honda Sensing as standard, including the Collision Mitigation Braking System with Pedestrian Detection, Forward Collision Warning, Road Departure Mitigation with Lane Departure Warning, Lane Keeping Assist System, and Adaptive Cruise Control. The standard fitment is a deliberate choice by Honda, which committed years ago to making Honda Sensing standard across nearly all new vehicles by 2022. For a teen, that means the protective tech is always on without an upgrade trim required.

Why Used Civic and Accord Models Made the Cut

The used recommendation is the more interesting story for first-car shoppers. IIHS and Consumer Reports recommend Civic coupes and sedans from 2014 through 2025 and Accord sedans from 2013 through 2025, including Accord Hybrids from 2014 onward. That window covers a wide range of price points, with high-mileage 2014 Civics often available under $10,000 and recent 2024 Accord Hybrids holding values closer to $25,000.

The reason the range stretches that far back is Honda’s early rollout of safety technology. Honda Sensing was introduced in 2014, well ahead of the industry average, and by 2022 the company had made it standard on most of its lineup. That means a Certified Pre-Owned 2018 Civic from a Honda dealer can be equipped with adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist and automatic emergency braking, technology that was still optional on rivals at the same age.

The Civics and Accords on the list also benefit from Honda’s Advanced Compatibility Engineering body structure. That is a frontal crash design feature aimed at reducing damage to occupants by spreading impact energy across the front of the car. It was developed specifically to address mismatched crash partners, such as a small sedan being hit by a heavier SUV, which is a common collision pattern in the United States.

How the IIHS-CR List Works

The annual teen driver list is jointly produced by IIHS and Consumer Reports and is one of the few automotive safety lists that combines third-party crash testing with consumer-product usability scoring. To qualify, a new vehicle must earn the 2026 IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK+ designation, achieve a Consumer Reports Safety Verdict of Best, and have a starting price under $45,000. Used vehicles must clear similar crash protection bars and avoid the same control-and-display issues that drop new vehicles from the new list.

Both organizations specifically exclude models with confusing or distracting controls. That is a meaningful filter for teen drivers because distracted driving sits behind nearly half of fatal crashes involving young drivers in the United States. The Honda recommendations all use physical climate controls and conventional infotainment layouts, which is part of why they pass.

What Honda Is Doing Beyond the Hardware

Honda has also extended its safety effort to driver education through the Honda Safety Driven initiative, a partnership with Discovery Education aimed at students in grades 3 through 12. The program has reached over one million students since its launch in October 2023, and includes a virtual field trip through Honda’s Automotive Safety Research Facility in Raymond, Ohio and the Driving Simulation Laboratory at The Ohio State University.

For a Honda buying parent, the data point is significant because the brand’s longer-term safety stance has translated into measurable outcomes on the IIHS list. Honda has placed multiple models on the teen driver list for several years running, and the 2026 list is the first time three Honda models have appeared at the same time.

Where Honda Sits Against the Other 2026 Teen Driver Picks

The Honda recommendations land alongside the 2026 Nissan Pathfinder, which also made this year’s list, plus several SUVs from Hyundai, Toyota, and Subaru on the new-vehicle side. Earlier this year the Hyundai Palisade earned the same IIHS Top Safety Pick+ recognition under the toughened 2026 protocols, as covered in our Hyundai Palisade IIHS report.

The Passport in particular puts Honda directly into the family three-row SUV conversation alongside the Pilot, the Pathfinder, and the Hyundai Palisade. For parents considering an SUV that will eventually be handed to a teen, the standard Honda Sensing kit and TOP SAFETY PICK+ rating give the Passport a clear safety angle even in a competitive segment.

For shoppers considering a used Civic or Accord, the most reliable approach is to look for a Certified Pre-Owned car from a Honda dealer rather than a private sale, because the CPO inspection process verifies that the safety systems are functioning correctly. A teen driving a 2019 Civic CPO car with adaptive cruise and automatic emergency braking is meaningfully safer than the same teen in a 2010 Civic without those systems, and the prices are not far apart.