With more than 40 million licensed drivers in the United States age 65 and older, many automakers today are designing certain vehicles that are friendlier for older drivers.

If you’re in the market for a new vehicle, Consumer Reports and the American Automobile Association (AAA) offer some great information and tools to assist you.

CR Best Cars
Consumer Reports recently put out a top 25 ranking of new cars for senior drivers. Each vehicle on their list offers excellent or very good ratings on reliability, safety, road-test performance and owner satisfaction. And, they offer a variety of senior-friendly features that are extremely important to older divers, like:

• Easy front-seat access: Vehicles with low door thresholds, wider door openings, and step-in heights that reduce the need for ducking or climbing, make getting into and out of a car easier for those with physical limitations.
• Good visibility: Being able to see well out of the front, sides, and back of a vehicle for tall, medium, and shorter drivers.
• Simplified controls: Easy-to-read gauges and simplified/intuitive controls for changing the radio, shifting gears, and adjusting the heating and cooling is a high priority among older drivers.
• Bright headlights: Powerful headlights can make driving at night easier for people with decreasing or compromised vision.

They also weighed in extra safety features (standard or optional) like a backup camera, automatic emergency braking, forward-collision warning and blind-spot warning.

Here’s their top 25 ranking, starting with one through 25: Subaru Forester; Subaru Outback; Kia Soul; Subaru Legacy; Kia Sportage; Toyota Highlander; Toyota Prius V; Toyota RAV4; Honda Odyssey; Nissan Rogue; Honda Accord; Ford C-Max Hybrid; Hyundai Sonata; Toyota Camry; Subaru Crosstrek; Toyota Sienna; Honda CR-V; Honda Pilot; Kia Forte; Ford Escape; Toyota Corolla; Kia Sorento; Ford Flex; Hyundai Santa Fe; Hyundai Tucson.

For more information on their top 25 list, see ConsumerReports.org/elderly-driving/top-25-new-cars-for-senior-drivers.

AAA Tool
Another great resource that can help you evaluate and chose a vehicle that meets your needs is the AAA online tool “Smart Features for Older Drivers.”

At SeniorDriving.AAA.com/SmartFeatures you can check the areas you have problems with – like diminished vision, cognitive decline, limited upper body range of motion, decreased leg strength, arthritic hands, short stature or overweight – and the tool will identify vehicles that have the features that will best accommodate your needs. Although this tool looks at model-year 2016 vehicles, in many cases the features shown are carried over for 2017 models.