Safety: The IIHS rates the Elantra a Top Safety Pick. Standard are air bags all around, including a knee bag for the driver, along with anti-lock braking.

Reliability: The Elantra won its class in the latest J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Study, besting the Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic. Consumer Reports say reliability is fine, though not quite a match for the Corolla and Civic.

Price/deal: A terrific bargain! You should be able to get the most basic Elantra GT for well under $15,000 before fees and taxes – $18,499 minus $5,185 in stackable factory discounts.

Test score: This four-door hatchback looks good, handles with the better cars in the segment, has surprising back-seat room and the modern, 173-horsepower four-cylinder engine gets good fuel economy. A student car to take the kid through graduate school and beyond.

Safety: The Civic is an IIHS Top Safety Pick +. Small cars don’t get safer than this.

Reliability: Pick a research study, and the Civic is a stand-out. J.D. Power and Associates’ long-term Vehicle Dependability Study has the Civic in the top three in its class (tied with the Corolla and just behind Chevrolet’s Volt).

Price/deal: The least expensive Civic sedan starts at $15,690, but if you choose to lease – not necessarily a bad idea with students on a tight budget who want a lower monthly payment – then Honda will throw you $1,075 in a factory-to-consumer rebate and at 0.99 per cent for 24-54 months.

Test score: The Civic is a superb all-around small car and at this lease rate, it’s a deal, too. It’s reliable, thrifty, roomy and comfortable. The two-level instrument readouts are a love-it-or-hate-it feature, but there is lots here for everyone to love, period.

Safety: The Rio is not an IIHS Top Safety Pick but it had good rating for head restraints, seats, roof strength and the moderate front overlap crash test. Lots of air bags, anti-lock braking and even a standard immobilizer.

Reliability: The Rio ranked just below the Honda Fit among subcompact cars in J.D. Power and Associates Vehicle Dependability Study.

Price/deal: You will love the deal. The base car starts at $14,295, but Kia Canada has a $2,750 factory incentive in the table. So, a very good, proven subcompact for less than $12,000. As they say in Italy, fantastico.

Test score: Kia offers both a sedan and four-door hatchback version of the Rio, and you want the hatch. Totally functional and quite a handsome design for a subcompact, too. The Rio may be a little noisy at highway speeds, but you’ll overlook that thanks to a powerful and modern, 138-horsepower four-cylinder engine that gets very good fuel economy.

Safety: The IIHS rates the Impreza a Top Safety Pick, as has been the case for all Subaru vehicles for years and years.

Reliability: Bullet-proof. You will grow sick of this car before it breaks down and fails you.

Price/deal: The least expensive four-door hatchback model starts at $20,895 – minus the $1,500 factory discount on the table, however.

Test score: The Impreza is not the prettiest of cars and the cabin is not the most stylish among compact cars, but the mechanical bits and pieces are outstanding. All-wheel drive is standard and the low-sitting boxer engine is positioned just right for excellent handling. The ride is comfy, though noisy and given it’s AWD, the fuel economy is quite impressive.