(FORTUNE Small Business) – Beaters. That's what my brother and I called the cars my father bought us when we were teenagers. They were older cars that would stand up to the scrapes we'd inflict before we learned to judge where the back fender stopped and nearby obstacles began. A couple of British-made Vauxhalls took a particular pounding.

These days parents think more about the dents in their children than the dents in their cars. Safety has become paramount in choosing which first car to buy. A larger vehicle is more likely to protect its occupants in a collision (although it will inflict more damage on anything it hits). Yet big vehicles mean more horsepower--always subject to abuse--and in the case of an SUV, have a greater tendency to roll over. Small cars provide a tiny protective cocoon but greater agility swerving around trouble and less chance of getting into it.

A good compromise between the two sizes are crossovers, which combine the carrying capacity of a wagon with the ride and handling of a passenger car. Several have been introduced in the past couple of months that are explicitly marketed to younger drivers. (How much they appeal to the older person actually writing the check is another matter.) Toyota created the Scion brand for Gen Y, launching it on the West Coast and slowly rolling it toward the East. The tiny box-on-wheels 2004 Scion xB (almost nine inches shorter than a Toyota Echo) has a hip, antistyle look that appeals to kids, who are then expected to dress it up with custom wheels and elaborate sound systems. For about $15,000, they get a pokey four-cylinder engine but antilock brakes and stability control, which detects when the car is headed into a skid and applies the brakes on specific wheels to get it out. It's a high-value package from Toyota. One drawback: no side airbags.

Already available nationwide--a solid 50,000 have been sold so far this year--is the 2003 Honda Element. Designers spent months hanging around surf beaches and college campuses to create the Element, which is kind of a dorm room on wheels. It has a tall roof and a cavernous interior, removable rear seats, and hose-it-out floor coverings. The Element represents solid engineering with a Honda flair. Selling for less than $20,000, it comes with a healthy four-cylinder engine, seating for four, and lots of room for a mountain bike--but no antilock brakes or stability control. Side airbags are optional.

My biggest complaint with both cars is that they make driving almost too much fun. As it is, your teenagers will be spending more time in the driver's seat than you'd like; you don't have to make it more enticing by outfitting them with cool wheels. As for my own kids, I plan to put them into functional used cars like a moderately used Camry or a Taurus that will provide basic transportation without giving them any incentive to drive faster or crazier than they should. I'll just make sure not to call them beaters.