In November the coast is not at all interesting. You need to count nights in Spain. Day 1 is your arrival day, jetlagged, sleep-deprived, with at least a couple hours to get through the airport and to your hotel for the first night. Your last day, you probably have a morning flight, so you should not count that as a day, since all you'll do is pack, breakfast and go to the airport. Even if the flight is early afternoon, you won't have time to do anything - you have to be at the airport at least 2 hours ahead, more if you're checking luggage.
A car will not be faster than the train. Trains travel at speeds often over 100 mph and don't stop for traffic. Take taxis to/from train stations. And you don't lose time looking for parking or trying to navigate narrow streets in a big city. On a train everyone can stretch out, even walk around, eat, drink, use the toilet, use electronics and you never get lost or make a wrong turn. Two teenagers cramped in the back seat of a car for hours on end is not a recipe for happy campers. Even if you have 8 full days in Spain (9 nights on the ground), you only have time to briefly see Sevilla, Granada, Madrid, and (hopefully) Cordoba (the Mezquita is second only to the Alhambra as a wow sight). So forget about tootling around in a car or wasting 2 days going to Tangiers.
Take into account that you lose about 1/2 day every time you change locations. Even if everybody is efficient in their packing and move quickly together without any lingering, you need time to get to the train station and find your train, then get to your next hotel to drop your luggage before you can do any sightseeing.
You will want to spend your last night in Madrid so you don't risk problems getting to the airport in time for your flight home. So it's best to take the train from the airport (transferring in Madrid) to either Cordoba or Sevilla. If you don't spend the first night in Cordoba, then allow enough days in Sevilla (at least 3 nights) for a day trip there by train. Then train to Granada for at least 2 nights - you need a full day to see the Alhambra and one or two other top sights - usually the cathedral and wandering in the Albaicin. That's 5 nights, with only 3 days of sightseeing. So try to add time to either (Sevilla would be my recommendation), and your last nights in Madrid. Since it takes more time to get from Granada to Madrid, 3nights in Madrid gives you 2 full days and maybe one afternoon there.