Born in 1999, my daughter is among the earliest Americans identified as Generation Z. Most demographers classify those born between 1997 and 2012 as “Z,” and list among their unique experiences having been born into the digital age.
Car Shopping With Gen Z
Generation Z and Driving
Based entirely on anecdotal evidence, I would like to add to Gen Z’s roster of noteworthy characteristics a general disdain for cars and driving. My daughter’s first car, a 2014 Nissan Juke, was foisted upon her by my wife and me because we didn’t want to drive the kid to 6:00 AM water-polo practice. She wanted nothing to do with it.
Unrelated: My kid also wants nothing to do with the music I listen to. Maybe that’s a Gen Z thing, too.
Replacing the Nissan Juke
The Juke has been a part of the family for about a decade now, and has served my daughter well. The little Nissan traveled with my kid to Monmouth College in western Illinois, and later to Colorado State for graduate school. The car never failed my daughter, and never even troubled her with a dead battery. Though a string of flat tires while at Monmouth proved frustrating.
The Juke is getting up in the years, however, and my daughter, now gainfully employed, felt the need for something a little quieter and more comfortable, and less tired looking.
New-Car Priorities List
We began the search for a new car about six weeks ago, and began test driving vehicles shortly after that. One thing we learned early on: It’s difficult to squeeze more than two test drives into an afternoon. More on that in a bit…
My daughter’s list of new-car demands was simple and solid. She had gotten used to the size of the Juke (tiny) and didn’t want to drive anything much larger. It’s worth pointing out that my kid is on the small side, standing around 5’ 2”. Her features/priorities list:
New Car Should be…
Small
- Easy to see out of
- East to get comfortable in
- Easy to park
Comfortable/Refined
- Quieter and more relaxed on the highway than the Juke (The Juke can be buzzy)
- Should have more compliant ride than Juke (The Juke can be bouncy)
Connectivity
- Completely wireless mobile device connectivity (The Juke was deficient in this regard)
Roomy (enough)
- Back-seat area needs to accommodate a largish dog crate
Fun
- Fast (Note that I said fast, just not quick)
- Handle well
- Needs to be interesting color
Upscale (at least reasonably)
- Be nice if the interior was kind of classy (Juke cabin mostly hard plastic)
- Audio system at least decent
AWD
- With more ground clearance than the Juke (Story below)
Shopping Begins
Though my daughter has shown little interest in cars over the years—shopping for the Juke was a nightmare of indifference—she was fully engaged in the Juke-replacement process. I don’t recall my child ever being more open to my advice.
Shopping began with me shooting her reviews and listings for vehicles I thought would meet her needs—and of which I approved. The test-drive candidates were all subcompact crossovers, this more-or-less dictated by the demand for AWD, and rear-seat dog-crate space.
The Candidates
Sight unseen, my kid dismissed the Buick Encore GX, firstly because it is a Buick, and secondly because it isn’t offered in any interesting colors. She also quickly dismissed a used Mini Countryman, this despite the promise of power and quick handling. She finds the Mini design esthetic a little forced, and wonders about what sort of strange community she’d be joining by driving one.
Also discussed, but quickly dismissed, was a used 2025 Alfa Romeo Tonale. The small crossover, though exotic by brand, is mechanically a near clone of the Dodge Hornet. The marketplace is littered with one-year-old Tonales with low odometer readings selling for comfortably under $30,000. Compelling as these little Alfas are, we feared expensive parts costs, including brakes (unique to the Tonale) wheels, and body panels. Would have been cool, though…
(Note: 2024 Tonales were powered by an excruciatingly crude plug-in-hybrid drivetrain. For 2025 Alfa switched to an entertainingly caffeinated 2.0-liter turbocharged setup that feels and sounds sporty, and is more in character with what an Alfa should be. As for all the 2025 examples already on used-car lots, I can only assume these cars were pressed into short-term rental-car duty to help relieve bloated inventories of the slow-selling vehicles.)
Doing Research
To her credit, the kid did a considerable amount of research on her own, asking good questions about reliability, and performance. All told, we test drove five small crossovers, each of which presented well, and would have made a fine daily driver for my first born. (She’s also my only born.)
No Hyundai Kona
Interestingly, we were ready to test drive a sixth vehicle, but shockingly, they are out of stock. All of them. Per two Hyundai dealers, there are virtually no new Konas to be found in the Chicago area. Apparently 2025 examples of the popular small crossover are sold out, and 2026 editions are yet to begin arriving in the States. It’s hard not to assume that these relatively popular Korean-built, low-margin vehicles have become a back-burner priority for Hyundai, as the company grapples with the tariff situation. We’ll see how quickly 2026 Konas arrive in showrooms. (The Kona is imported from South Korea.)
Test-Drive Fatigue
As for test driving candidate vehicles, the process can be fatiguing. Though showing up unannounced for a test spin proved to be of little bother to dealership staff, the wait between the time we arrived at a store until we were ultimately seated in a vehicle was often considerable.
While our arrive-to-drive time at a suburban Chicago Nissan store was less than 15 minutes, our wait to drive a new Chevrolet Trailblazer tested our patience, and we left the dealership after 35 minutes–having not test driven the car.
Low Pressure
Interestingly, the car-shopping experience has grown less stressful over the past few years, at least in terms of salesperson pressure. Subsequent to our test drives, we received only a handful of follow-up contacts, none of which were anything but friendly and professional.
Test Drive Pro Tip
Here’s a tip: Don’t head out for a behind-the-wheel evaluation around rush hour. Our drives all took place in the Chicago suburbs, save for that of the Dodge Hornet, which was located at a store in the city. Our planning was poor, and in a couple of cases we spent considerable time in traffic attempting to reach some open pavement. Our ride-along sales representatives were all patient, but battling rush-hour congestion cut into the time we had allotted for test-driving—and diminished the quality of the test drive itself.
My Daughter’s Test-Drive Notes
Here I’ve collected my daughter’s thoughts on each of the vehicles we evaluated, including a few notes on why the kid ultimately passed on said ride. The vehicles are listed from least liked to most liked, though no car we drove was actually disappointing. I’ve also included a few of my daughter’s thoughts on her Nissan Juke.
Nissan Juke
Car: 2014 SL AWD
Click here for more about the Nissan Juke.
Daughter’s take:
Pros
- Tiny (easy to park and maneuver)
- Fast and fun to drive
- Handles well
- Easy to see out of
- Good in the snow (survived 10-hour blizzard drive en-route from Chicago, to Fort Collins, Colorado.)
Regarding snow: My daughter noted that though the Juke’s AWD system was up to the task of dealing with blizzard conditions, the car’s low ground clearance proved a hindrance as the white stuff piled up on the highway. She reports that if she stayed in the snow “groove” created by traffic things went well enough, but that attempting to change lanes—and cross deeply piled accumulation—proved difficult, even dangerous.
Cons
- Very loud, especially on highway
- Poor connectivity setup (phone hands-free link never worked well)
- Windshield wipers never covered much glass area (replacement blades failed to correct situation)
- Back doors “suck” (openings small, handle oddly located)
- Bass from standard Rockford Fosgate “ecoPunch” audio system “obnoxious”
Hyundai Kona: No Show
As note above, the regional supply of 2025 Konas has dried up, and 2026 examples have yet to arrive in local dealerships. While not a direct substitute, the mechanically similar Kia Seltos served well enough as a Kona Surrogate. Click here for more on the Kona.
Nissan Kick: Fifth Place
Test Car: 2025 SR AWD with Premium Package
As the Kicks is a 2025 Consumer Guide Best Buy, I had expected it to better impress my daughter. Its lack of power, and the limited-availability of heated seats, however, pushed the spunky Nissan to the bottom of my kid’s list. Click here for more about the Nissan Kicks.
Daughter’s take:
Pros
- Cute/best-looking vehicle in test-drive group
- Good color options
- Cool, upscale interior (young-person vibe)
- Good outward visibility
Cons
- Slow
- Audio system “sucked”
- Only top trim level with pricey package models available with heated front seats
Chevrolet Trailblazer: Fourth Place
Test Car: Used 2025 RS AWD (3000 miles)
The sporty RS looks great from the outside, though the interior comes off as a little plain when compared to the other vehicles we test drove. The little Chevy does serve up the best use of cabin space, however. Note that we would have looked at the similar-size Chevrolet Trax, which comes in less expensive than the Trailblazer, but it isn’t offered with AWD. Click here for more about the Trailblazer.
Daughter’s take:
Pros
- Cute colors, liked available two-tone paint schemes
- Acceptable power
Cons
- Built for a taller driver (couldn’t get comfortable behind the wheel)
- Poor rearward visibility
Dodge Hornet: Third Place
Test Car: Used 2025 GT Plus (6000 miles) (Certified Pre-Owned)
This particular car had been sitting on the dealer lot for weeks, and was priced very attractively. One issue might have been the car’s Acapulco Gold paint, which is something of a love-it or hate-it affair. Though my daughter did not love the color, she appreciated that it was both unconventional, and uncommon. Click here for more on the Hornet.
Daughter’s take:
Pros
Cons
- Didn’t well accommodate short driver (felt as if in a tub)
- Poor outward visibility (fore and aft)
- Rear seat backs don’t fold level with load floor
- Some strange controls (turn-signal especially)
Kia Seltos: Second Place
Test Car: 2025 SX AWD
Though not quite as extinct as the Hyundai Kona, the on-lot supply of 2025 examples of the Kia Seltos appeared to be thin–at least in the Chicago area. That said, we did spend time with a loaded SX, which comes standard with the higher-power engine option (a 195-horsepower turbocharged four, versus a 146-horse non-turbocharged four).
Daughter’s take:
Pros
- Good color selection
- Decent power
- Relatively fun to drive
- Nice interior
- Decent sound system
- Would choose if more passenger space was needed
Cons
- Odd driving position—seems designed for someone with longer legs
Mazda CX-30: First Place
Test Car: 2024 2.5 Carbon Turbo (8000 miles) (Certified Pre-Owned)
The advertised price on this lightly used 2024 was too good to ignore. Again, we wonder if the color, Zircon Sand Metallic, might have been a barrier to resale. My kid doesn’t love the color, but is happy that it is something out of the ordinary. I happen to think it looks classy. Also, with 250 horsepower on tap, the CX-30 is, by far, the quickest of the vehicles my daughter considered. Click here for more on the CX-30.
Daughter’s take:
Pros
- Fun to drive
- Great handling
- Feels small (in a good way)
- Nice interior
- Better sound system than other cars tested
- Amused by the color
Cons
- Doesn’t actually like the color
Shopping Process
Regarding the process, my kid found interaction with salespeople tedious. There were too many questions to answer, and the wait to actually test drive cars was, in most cases, too long. She was disappointed that we could not drive a Kona, a vehicle about which she had heard good things.
Also, my daughter was disappointed by the lack of color and trim level options available during our search. Indeed, new CX-30 inventory seemed to be limited mostly to less-expensive non-turbocharged trim levels, while the inventory of Trailblazers on dealer lots was nearly as light.
Big thanks to Rene Quinones of Schaumburg Mazda in Schaumburg, Illinois for assisting us. Rene was patient as we test drove two vehicles for extended evaluations (the CX-30 and the Trailblazer), returned my calls after hours, and brought the car around to the showroom a second time so I could take a tape-measure to it and make sure my kid’s dog crate was going to fit.
The price quoted was the price we paid, and we did not endure hard-sell pressure to consider an extended warranty or service contract, though the products were presented to us.
Carfax
A shout out to Carfax for its Carfax Value guide. The car my daughter purchased was listed as a “Great Value” by Carfax, at about $1200 under average retail for a like-equipped CX-30 with similar odometer mileage. While I probably could have haggled off another $100-$200, I really didn’t see the point. We received great service, a solid deal, and, most importantly, a great car that my kid was happy with. I am a little bummed, though. I was sort of hoping to do at least a little haggling. You know, old school.
Final thoughts
As my daughter hasn’t openly expressed excitement about anything since the new season of Bob’s Burger’s, her lack of open delight with the new car isn’t too surprising. Still, she seems happy with her the ride, and was openly thrilled with the little Mazda’s acceleration.
And while she doesn’t really care about cars, and wouldn’t own one if she didn’t need to, when it came time to research and prepare for a major purchase, she rose to the occasion and shopped patiently and critically. So much so, in fact, that she was open to taking advice from her father. Here’s to you, Generation Z. Now if I could just get her to listen to a little Ray Bryant or Kenny Burrell…
Note: I made a point of not sharing with any of the sales folks we worked with what it is I do for a living. It was fun to just be a customer for a change.
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