Which Cars Have The Cheapest Insurance?
With 17-19 year olds paying an average of £1,261 per year, young and new drivers face some of the highest car insurance rates due to their lack of experience behind the wheel.
The way insurance groups are calculated means that the type of car being insured makes a big difference in determining how much you’ll pay for cover. So, we’ve put together a list of cars with the cheapest insurance* to help you save money.
*Average premiums for full UK licence holders aged 17 to 19 with no additional drivers on their policy. Data from MoneySuperMarket collected between January 2019 and January 2020, correct as of March 2020.
If you need a new car, why not consider leasing one? Car leasing has plenty of benefits that make it a great option for first-time drivers.
1. Toyota Aygo
Avg. insurance cost: £1,182
Power: 72bhp
Top speed: 99mph
Safety features: Reversing camera, adjustable speed limiter
Boot size: 168 litres
Moneyshake’s expert opinion: The Toyota Aygo is a great run around that’s well suited to urban environments. The unique x design is sure to turn heads and its leading fuel economy (69mpg) will raise eyebrows. However, it’s charming size does impact its practicality. While this is great for parking, its pettiness leads to a lack in boot space compared to other city cars.
2. VW Up!
Avg. insurance cost: £1,215
Power: 59bhp
Top speed: 81mph
Safety features: Electronic stability control (ESC) with hill hold, lane assist
Boot size: 251 litres
Moneyshake’s expert opinion: As a previous What Car? Car of the Year winner, Volkswagen’s popular Up! has always been recognised as a class leader and a great choice for first-time drivers. Its adequate performance and decent boot space is nothing to be sniffed at when you take into account it’s affordable cost.
3. Citroen C1
Avg. insurance cost: £1,235
Power: 67bhp
Top speed: 99mph
Safety features: Hill hold assist, electronic stability programme (ESP)
Boot size: 196 litres
Moneyshake’s expert opinion: If you’re looking for a bit more oomph and don’t mind paying a bit extra, then the Citroen C1 is a good option. As well as better performance, the C1 also boasts great efficiency and short turning circle making it great for manoeuvring in urban areas. However, it does lack the same practicality offered by both the Up! and the Ka+.
4. Fiat 500
Avg. insurance cost: £1,270
Power: 69bhp
Top speed: 99mph
Safety features: Seven airbags, hydraulic brake assistance
Boot size: 185 litres
Moneyshake’s expert opinion: Fiat’s quirky 500 is decent across the board, which makes it a great first car for new drivers. As well as having a stylish exterior, it also matches the likes of the C1 and Ka+ in performance and all for a lower price.
5. Ford Ka+
Avg. insurance cost: £1,286
Power: 69bhp
Top speed: 99mph
Safety features: Tyre-pressure monitoring system, hill-start assistance system
Boot size: 270 litres
Moneyshake’s expert opinion: If you’re looking for more features and have a larger budget, then Ford’s compact Ka+ could be right up your street. As well as competitive performance and impressive boot space, standard features include: digital radio, bluetooth, parking sensors, hill start assist and a speed limiter. All of which makes the Ka+ a great first car.
6. Vauxhall Adam
Avg. insurance cost: £1,304
Power: 69bhp
Top speed: 103mph
Safety features: Hill-hold assistance, skid prevention
Boot size:170 litres
Moneyshake’s expert opinion: Named after the founder of Vauxhall’s parent company Opel, the Adam is an uptown city car that brags looks as well as charm. Based on the old Corsa, it offers neat handling and favourable interior comfort but it’s the endless list of customisations that brings it into its own. With Vauxhall estimating around a million potential combinations, there really is an Adam for everyone.
7. Vauxhall Corsa
Avg. insurance cost: £1,342
Power: 73bhp
Top speed: 108mph
Safety features: Lane departure warning with lane assist, forward collision alert
Boot size: 309 litres
Moneyshake’s expert opinion: While the Corsa may be the most expensive option on offer in our list of cars, it blows away the competition in regards to its offerings. With a wealth of advanced features as standard including adaptive headlights, speed sign recognition and 7” touchscreen infotainment system, the Corsa offers everything a new driver needs. To top it off, it’s bold redesign is eye-catching to say the least.
6 reasons why cars have cheaper insurance
Car insurance prices in the UK are derived from the Thatcham Research Group Rating System, which uses a variety of information about each vehicle in order to appropriately rate it. Vehicles are placed in groups between one (being the cheapest) and 50 (the most expensive) depending on these six key factors:
- Cost of the car
- Repair costs
- Common replacement parts cost
- Repair time
- Vehicle performance
- Level of safety and security
1. Cost of the car
As you would expect, the cost of a car has a big impact on the cost of insurance. This is because they are a good indicator of the cost of vehicle replacement or repair, with more expensive cars costing more to replace and therefore insure.
This can be seen in our example above between the Citroen C1 and Ford KA+. Although these two vehicles are pretty similar on paper (similar horsepower, same top speed), the KA+ is the more expensive vehicle and costs more to insure.
2. Repair costs
Vehicle repairs amount to over half of all car insurance payouts and is a key contributor to a vehicle’s expected group rating. If your vehicle is expensive to repair, you’re going to be hit by a larger insurance premium to offset the risk of an insurer having to pay for these repairs.
Equally however, if your vehicle is affordable to repair then you’re going to reap the rewards of cheaper premiums from being in a lower group rating.
3. Common replacement parts cost
The Group Rating System takes into account the cost of common replacement parts from each manufacturer in order to help evaluate a vehicle’s group rating. A list of 23 parts is currently used to compare manufacturers and cheaper parts usually means a lower group rating.
4. Repair time
Similar to outright repair costs, if your vehicle’s make and model takes a long time to repair, it’s going to cost more to insure. This is because additional manpower or labour time is going to impact overall repair costs which will likely increase your vehicle’s group rating as a result.
5. Performance
A vehicle’s performance, i.e. acceleration and top speed, are also significant factors when it comes to calculating insurance groups, because statistically cars with higher performance are usually involved in more accidents.
While this is not always the case, a vehicle’s performance can give an insurer a good picture of how the vehicle is going to be driven. For example, low performance city cars are likely to be driven more conservatively compared to better performing sports cars.
6. Level of safety and security
Safety and security also play a major part in determining vehicle group rating. Safety systems like Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), help reduce the likelihood of accidents and are taken into account when determining a vehicle’s insurance rating.
Equally, manufacturers that go out of their way to reduce the likelihood of car theft can be rewarded with lower group ratings as it helps reduce claim costs. Vehicles with features such as visible VIN numbers, immobilisation, alarms and security locks for example, are likely to be favoured over those that don’t.
For more information on car insurance for new drivers, check out our guide on car insurance costs for new drivers. Or, for more in depth look at car insurance groups, check out our post explaining car insurance groups.
Like any of the cars on this list, or want to find offers on similar models that are cheap to insure? Then why not compare prices now on our latest lease deals for great offers?
Looking for more tips for new drivers before heading out on the road? You can find out more by heading over to our guides page.