Elite Driving School

Fantastic experience: My son loved learning to drive with Elite Driving School! The flexibility for scheduling both the classroom portion and behind the wheel was great. The teachers were thorough and super helpful. We would recommend Elite to anyone!

Fantastic experience: Great experience for both my daughters. Instructors were very kind & helpful.

Fantastic experience: Elite Driving School is the best place to go for driver’s training in the south Minneapolis/Richfield area. The owners and instructors care about each student getting excellent classroom and behind the wheel instruction. Our student was able to easily get his classroom work and behind the wheel sessions scheduled and he was well prepared for both the written permit test and the driver’s license driving exam. We recommend Elite Driving School to get a driver’s license.

Fantastic experience: We were overjoyed with the services we received. Our son is now a great driver.

Fantastic experience: I'm very impressed with the driver education program at Elite Driving School. My 16-year-old just completed their course, and the transformation has been remarkable. The instructors took a patient, methodical approach that helped my teen develop into a confident and safety-conscious driver. The program excelled at teaching both technical skills and defensive driving habits. My daughter learned proper scanning techniques, speed management, and how to anticipate potential hazards. What really stood out was how the instructors emphasized good decision-making and responsibility behind the wheel, not just the basic mechanics of driving. The classroom portions were engaging and interactive, using real-world scenarios to drive home important lessons. During behind-the-wheel training, the instructor provided clear guidance while allowing my teen to gain hands-on experience in various driving conditions. Now when I ride with my daughter, I'm amazed at her situational awareness and mature driving habits. She consistently checks mirrors, maintains safe following distances, and makes smart choices in challenging situations. The school's emphasis on safety has clearly resonated with her. For parents looking to give their teens a solid foundation in driving, I highly recommend Elite Driving School. The investment in proper driver education is invaluable, and the peace of mind knowing your teen has been well-trained is worth every penny.

Fantastic experience: Easy scheduling, good classroom & behind the wheel instruction. Student was well prepared when it came to taking written & behind the wheel test.

Fantastic experience: Our son has had a great experience at Elite though online and in-person classroom and behind the wheel. He’s become a confident driver and we’ve been very happy with them. Highly recommend!

Fantastic experience: When you think of your child growing up and beginning the process of gaining independence you start to think of driving and then the next step is finding the right driving school to give them the required instruction. Look no further Elite Driving School will be there for the class instruction and then the behind the wheel driving. My son had a great experience with all of the instructors and knew that all that he learned would prepare him for the road test. He went in with confidence and was able to pass the test to get his license. I highly recommend Elite Driving School.

Negative experience: Impossible to schedule. I've been dealing with this company for 3 years trying to get my driver's education and behind the wheel done. I took the class during covid and it was a nightmare. Their teaching method is not memorable and they failed to give us specific instructions on what we were supposed to do after the class to get our permit. My cousin also used this company and paid for her BTW and James told her that the payment was never made. It was figured out eventually but he is unprofessional and rude. My first behind the Wheel with Mr.Setzler was actually scary. He berated me while I was trying to focus on safely merging onto the highway and holding the steering wheel so I couldn't merge into traffic and making me drive along side the road. It was scary. I have past trauma from driving and this made it so much worse. My second instructor was great, understanding, patient, and kind. I can't remember his name and I tried to log into my account to see if I could find a driving history somewhere and they archived my account. My last lesson was supposed to be today with Laura. It was supposed to be a little over a month ago and she was running way behind and asked me to either cancel or the class would be shorter/or later. I could not do that because I had a class after the lesson so I cancelled. Today was the day we rescheduled to, I texted her this morning letting her know the address I was at and she asked me if I could meet her somewhere else or meet her at the school. How am I supposed to get anywhere if I can't drive yet?? Part of BTW is the instructor is supposed to pick you up from your home or school. She finally agreed after I told her I couldn't get anywhere from where I am. The class was supposed to be at 7 and at 6:36 she called me wanting to cancel because of the flurries. Wouldn't it be better to learn how to drive in snow(let alone very light snow) with an instructor so new drivers know what to do in this kind of weather? I want to take my last class somewhere else for the sake of time but we've already paid the 500$ for the classes and I just want to get this over with. It shouldn't be this frustrating and take this long to get 3 classes done. Not to mention you can only schedule behind the wheel classes at 8AM sharp on Monday mornings, all the classes available for like the next 2-3weeks are released then and are filled within 10 minutes at the longest. It took me weeks to get one class scheduled. Do not go here.

Fantastic experience: Elite driving school did a great job! I would recommend them to anyone needing to get their driver’s education, behind the wheel done.

Fantastic experience: Elite was awesome! They picked my daughter up at home and were super friendly and helpful.

Positive experience: Had some troubles with scheduling and instructor no shows. Bob was professional and provided good insights in preparing for the exam.

Positive experience: Good at teaching.

Negative experience: I would not recommend this school for anyone who is looking to get their license in a timely manner. Scheduling my daughter's behind the wheel has been terrible and nearly impossible. She could have taken her driving test multiple times by now, but can't finish her behind the wheel. It's been 3 months of constantly trying to get a lesson . We check the schedule multiple times daily and email. She easily has over 100 hours of drive time and I would absolutely feel confident with her taking my car anywhere. It's been so bad I signed my other child up at a different driving school. I guess Elite doesn't need my business or money.

Negative experience: Very bad at answering calls and emails and not helpful at all

Fantastic experience: Class time and instructors were good and thorough. They were very good at getting us Behind the Wheel hours once we scheduled but before we took the driving test so we could fit everything in.

Negative experience: This place is incompetent, the owner James has absolutely no work ethic and when he picked up my call he was extremely rude and made up terrible excuses.

Negative experience: This place is so unprofessional. My son had a behind the wheel with the owner James and told me all of the awful and unprofessional things James said and did while in the car. James was on his phone for almost the entire session and failed to provide proper instructions. To top it all off he came up to me and tried to tell me that my son was going to fail his test and made rude and insensitive comments about him to my face. I do NOT reccomend for anyone who actually wants to learn how to drive. This place is a joke.

Fantastic experience: Besides very challenging scheduling right now because of covid, I had a Great time with my driver Ruth Ann. She was very polite and offered me a very good learning environment and experience.

Fantastic experience: Elite Driving School was exceptional!! Even with the pandemic and it being online everything went smoothly. When we did have a question or concern James was right on it and got the situation figured out:) i want to thank James and Michelle for the amazing job you do and for having a great business.

Negative experience: The instructors try to coerce their students into taking the vaccine. This is WHOLEY INAPPROPRIATE!

Negative experience: Distance learning system failed my daughter, who had been signed up for a single class for well over 6 weeks. Link to join class was not sent to her before class began; she called the school and a gentleman arranged to send a new link — 15 minutes after class began. She joined the google meet and didn’t see a teacher and no one was talking, was removed from the meeting. Tried joining again, was not accepted in. Finally was allowed into the google meet and Michelle Wood was short and rude, making my daughter feel she was to blame, even though error was the school’s. After my daughter was explaining herself, Michelle said she didn’t want to argue and that the students were trying to read and learn and told her she could reschedule her class for the 25th.

Negative experience: So you are telling me that I paid almost $400, reserved a class for September 25 and they still haven't sent a link for the digital call. The class started at 6 and it is 6:22 and I am still waiting for the link

Positive experience: We are 2/2 with our children taking the instructional, BTW and passing their DL tests. Txt alerts and online portals are essential in looking for availability. BTW books up 3-4 weeks in advance so don't procrastinate. Drivers have been helpful and professional!

Fantastic experience: Elite Driving School was exceptional. The staff were thoughtful, gave good feedback, and were great instructors. James went above and beyond to help us get our paperwork in order for my son’s driving exam. With 3 kids and 3 different driving schools, Elite Driving School was our best experience.

Negative experience: I called slightly after midday and James sounded like he was sleeping. I left my information, the services I needed and was promised a call back that same day with a schedule. It's been 8 weeks. Absolutely terrible establishment . Thankfully, Minneapolis has multiple driving schools. Save your time and take your business elsewhere.

Fantastic experience: Elite was great. They accommodated our crazy schedule. We got the classes done over the summer and did behind the wheel over the rest of the year. Super easy and the kids had fun in class. Both are driving on their own. Yay!!

Negative experience: Terrible at responding to emails terrible for scheduling people for behind the wheel on days they are busy so don't waste your time

Positive experience: My daughter and I liked how she could go at her own pace and take the classes in any order. The owner let her retake the final review class more than once. That was great for this kid! Communication wasn't always easy, but I did get replies after an email and a phone call. She liked the teachers and the BTW instructors, so I guess that's what matters most.

Fantastic experience: Awesome, They helped my daughter 100% worth a 6 star review. My Daughter Started out at a different driving school, with Only 2 behind the wheel session left, the behind the wheel driver for that school got hurt and could not finish my daughters Behind the wheel. We already ready had her Drivers test for licensee set up. I called this school explaining our situation, with out hesitation they asked for paperwork of previous work done at other school and let her in.. *** NOTE*** This issue was Time Sensitive, They worked it out that my daughter knew everything and the turn around time is mind blowing. my Daughter passed and now Driving.. I do, I will and already have recommended this school.

Negative experience: Dealing with this company has been a nightmare. I have called several times to try to get a behind the wheel scheduled and am still waiting for a return call. The last time I called the voice messaging system was full. This has been one of the worst experiences and I have had three other kids go through drivers ed. I would not recommend this company to anyone. They have no follow through with their customers. I need to get 2 more behind the wheels scheduled so my son can take his test - So far I have not gotten any calls returned.

Fantastic experience: I liked the flexible class times! it was really helpful when i had conflicts i couldn't reschedule!

Fantastic experience: I liked the flexible times in classes and behind the wheel lessons.