While there’s some dispute over whether Gen Z loves or hates cars, a recent study by Insurify found that the kids these days have favorite vehicles just like any other generation. The study ranked the 10 most popular models by generation. Younger people prioritize fuel economy, price, and maneuverability, with smaller sedans ranking highly in the age group.
The Honda Civic was the most popular car among Gen Z-ers.
The top 10 cars driven by Gen Z:
- Honda Civic
- Honda Accord
- Toyota Camry
- Nissan Altima
- Toyota Corolla
- Hyundai Elantra
- Hyundai Sonata
- Chevrolet Malibu
- Ford Fusion
- Nissan Sentra
Insurify cited a 2023 Pew Research poll, which found that 85 percent of Americans ages 18-29 believed that climate change would cause them to make significant future sacrifices. That compares with just 61 percent of people 65 and older who responded the same. That mentality is reflected in Gen X and Baby Boomers’ vehicle choices. The two older age groups ranked some pickup trucks and SUVs among their favorite vehicles, while Gen Z ranked none. The Ford F-Series pickup and Chevrolet Silverado landed at numbers six and 10, respectively, among Millennials.
Boomers might favor larger cars and SUVs, but all age groups expressed appreciation for foreign brands. Toyota ranked number two among Boomers, number three for Gen X and Millennials, and number four among Gen Z-ers. Honda, Hyundai, and Kia ranked highly across all age groups. Baby Boomers were the only group to rank Mercedes-Benz, which landed at number 10, while Gen Z was the lone holdout for VW, also at number 110.
Because Millennials and Gen Z-ers love to compete with each other, here are the vehicles most favored by the older generation:
The top 10 cars driven by Millenials:
- Honda Accord
- Nissan Altima
- Toyota Camry
- Honda Civic
- Toyota Corolla
- Ford F-Series
- Chevrolet Malibu
- Hyundai Elantra
- Hyundai Sonata
- Chevrolet Silverado
The company also looked at the cars with the highest popularity score for each age group, comparing it to the average popularity for those models across all ages. The Mercedes-Benz SL-Class was 298 percent more popular among Boomers than across all groups. The Hummer H2 was 94 percent more popular for Gen X, the Kia Carnival was 71 percent higher among Millennials, and the Toyota GR 86 was 239 percent more popular with Gen Z.
