Whether marking the passage from high school to college or starting out in life with student loans, the last thing recent graduates need is to become saddled with a big automotive expenditure. So for the sake of teen drivers and their parents – along with virtually anyone on a tight budget who’s looking for a decent and inexpensive used car or truck – we combed through crash test and owner-reported performance data for vehicles from the 2012 model year to come up with a list of a dozen affordable five-year-old vehicles that come highly recommended in terms of both safety and reliability. 
Each of the five-year-old models on our list are solid choices for novice and under-funded young drivers with great levels of performance and utility. Here they are in no particular order:
Volkswagon Jetta
Volkswagon Golf
Chrysler 200
Chevrolet Malibu
Ford Fusion
Hyundai Sonata
Subaru Legacy
Buick LaCrosse
Subaru Outback
Honda Element 
Volvo S80
Subaru Forester