Best Cars for College Students Under $30K: KBB Ranks the Top 14

KBB just put out their list of best cars for college students. They looked at the obvious stuff—new versus used, insurance, gas, monthly payments, safety features, whether you even need a car. Kept everything under $30,000 so new ones could make it.

Their pick? Toyota Corolla. Won because it's bulletproof and stupid cheap to maintain. Safety's good too. They went with the base LE model. Sticker says $22,325 but with all the fees it's $23,520.

You get a compact four-door, 2.0-liter engine, 169 hp. CVT, front-wheel drive. 32 city, 41 highway. Nothing fancy but it does the job.

What Else Made It

They picked 14 total. Honda Civic second. Hyundai Elantra third. Honda HR-V fourth. Mazda3 hatchback fifth. Subaru Crosstrek sixth—has all-wheel drive. Kia Seltos seventh.

Hyundai Kona eighth. Nissan Sentra ninth. Kia Soul tenth, last year for it. Prius eleventh, most expensive on the list. Subaru Legacy twelfth, also getting axed. Chevy Trailblazer thirteenth. Mazda CX-30 fourteenth—turbo's supposed to be fun.

Whole thing basically boils down to what everyone already knows. Good car equals cheap to buy, doesn't break, insurance won't wreck you, easy on gas. College student or not, that's just what works when it's your money.