Kid car: 2016 LC125k mi vs newer 4Runner

[hoch]

Those kids are carrying around 100 sensors, generating terabytes of data about their behaviors, thoughts, feelings, likes and fears which they do not hesitate to give to unregulated companies in exchange for entertainment. Additionally they live in homes with alarm codes, smart locks, doorbell cameras, they go to schools with metal detectors and cameras covering every inch of the building. There are very few moments in the average teenagers day to day life where a camera, sensor or app isn't tracking them. This generation has never known privacy of any kind, but even the illusion of privacy is routinely traded away for clicks, share and likes.

Trust never had a chance to enter the equation.

Sorry your kids have to live under such conditions.

 

[coleAK]

Also I have a second thought on this. My first car was a full-size jeep grand Wagoneer.

V8 power, seats for plenty (5 legally) but… Got about 9 miles per gallon and it took every penny I had to put gas in it. So big four-wheel-drive and big power doesn’t necessarily mean opportunity for big trouble. I could barely afford to take that thing to school and back.

My first car was a 79 grand wagoneer. Levi’s edition, it got 6-8 mpg.

No way I'm giving my child the 200-series, or even a 4Runner to start. Multiple reasons including too much mass, power, seats for friends, lumbering taller profile including increased likelihood of rollover.

The way I look at it is that a modern day camry/accord is what I would start them on. Except modern day of those would be the Tesla Model 3. More structural safety. Lots more built in safety tech. Less mental distractions in the act of "driving" a car so they can focus on the road. More cameras and nannies to spy on them. Sure, they wouldn't have the appreciation of learning on a legacy car, but the future will continue to evolve.

They're definitely not touching my analogue manual Porsche (I better hide the keys).

I’m also considering this now that the new model 3 specs are released: longer range, plaid version.

Give my daughter the 2004 MB and mode the Tesla to our 18 YO and get my wife a new 3.

 

[jeguth1s]

This is one lucky kid! I'd go with whichever she is comfortable with driving. My wife prefers to drive the smaller 4runner around our tight streets.

 

[Heckraiser]

Very true and I would be concerned.

Fortunately there's built in driver profiles, valet and chill mode, to limit top speed and acceleration.

Range anxiety is not really a thing on modern EVs, especially in a Tesla. 300 mile range with explicit and dynamic feedback that accounts for weather, grades, speed...works like their cell phone. It is gas cars that has a guess-o-meter that us old folk are calibrated to understand say what quarter tank equals to.

HA! I've been driving a model 3 for 4.5 years and although I've seen chill/valet mode on the menu, I pretty much forgot they existed. While I still think teens should drive cheap cars they bought (mostly) themselves, it's hard to argue with Tesla's safety ratings if you're going to get them something a little newer and more pricey. Plenty of used ones in the mid-$20k range now.