My son is also 18 and at university.
I have gad to finance his car, a 14 plate 98bhp fiesta and the insurance as well as subsidising his university accommodation and living expenses as under means test he only gets the minimum grant.
yiu son should be very great full to get a new car fully insured abd serviced.
yes it may not be the flashiest at 0AP, but it’s better than many.
do a search of cars under 25 and 0AP, there are 186 to choose from, shurly he can find one out of those?