1. 2006 Acura TSX

Buyers age 23 and younger: 8.9 percent
Base price: $27,890

Why young drivers like it: Luxe looks and techy features sell kids on this sporty sedan, an attractive choice for the gadget-savvy. Standard features include a hands-free link for wirelessly hooking up a Bluetooth-enabled cell phone as well as an iPod-ready digital-media auxiliary jack. Acura’s signature slick handling and sweet-shifting manual transmission boost driving enjoyment. Those features may be enough to distract drivers from the car’s peppy but far-from-gutsy road performance, courtesy of its 205-hp 2.4-liter inline four-cylinder engine.

What mom and dad think: Compared to the European sport sedans it competes against, the TSX’s $28,000 base price is reasonable. And the car is a relatively safe choice — on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety frontal offset crash test, the TSX rated “good,” and on the side-impact test, the car scored an “acceptable.” The efficient but slightly underpowered engines could also curtail the worst speeders — but don’t be mistaken, this car can haul.

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