<p>We never bought our kids cars as gifts- although there was a time when we had one car per family member, all cars were and are still, family cars. I thought the distinction was one worth making, even though as I’ve mentioned, for all practical purposes the kids had cars in HS. But each family has their own unique situations and many kids really do need access to a car (whatever the model) on a regular basis. </p>
<p>Although I personally would not choose a luxury car for a teenager (for many reasons including cost! ), I don’t necessarily agree that luxury or entry level luxury cars are always, or even usually purchased for attention. For one thing, there are differences in terms of handling, braking, ride, features - or people would not be willing to pay the price in the first place. Also - if your top criteria is safety, and money is no object, some of the cars that score at or near the top of that range (crash plus real world injury and fatality index) happen to be in the luxury or entry luxury category. While the IS250 is in all likelihood based on the insurance stats a safer car than the Corolla, there are some well priced cars that are safer, especially for a young driver IMO, than the IS250. Also - certain cars can draw the wrong kind of attention in terms of theft or carjacking - a safety issue in and of itself.</p>
<p>PS I had no car in HS and really did walk long distances in the snow and ice (when the city buses didn’t show up on time, which was frequent)!</p>