With car insurance prices on the rise, people are now looking at how they can dramatically cut back on household expenses. Downsizing your car or going for a less expensive model is one way to reduce the cost of your insurance, but you should also be aware of why some cars are cheap to insure and some are not.

Why are some cars cheaper to insure?

Without doubt the insurance group rating of the car has a major impact on your price. Underwriters allocate cars into one of fifty insurance groups. The lower the group, the cheaper your quote. Group 1 cars are considered low risk and the cheapest to insure. Group 50 cars are considered high risk and the most expensive insure.

Insurers also like to combine the group rating of a car with your age. So, if you’re a young driver and have a high group rated car, then you are going to get hammered on the price. In fact, many companies may not even offer a quote.

Factors that make cars cheaper to insure:

• Low insurance group rating
• Lower value replacement cost
• Smaller engine size
• Improved security features
• High level of safety features
• No modifications
• Easy to find replacement parts
• Cheap replacement parts
• Low repair costs

Factors that make cars more expensive to insure:

• High insurance group rating
• High value replacement cost
• Larger engine size
• Much older cars
• Lack of security features
• Modifications
• Scarcity in getting replacement parts
• Expensive replacement parts
• High repair costs

Cheapest cars to insure

With all that in mind, we’ve put together a list of cars we think are the cheapest to insure. Without exception, they are all group 1 rated in order to keep insurance costs as low as possible. However, be careful when choosing, as within each make and model can be specific trim variations that are of a higher specification and a different rating group.

10. Kia Rio

The Kio Rio 1 Air model is the one to look at. It was made between 2011 and 2017 and was originally price between £13k and £20k. Auto Express described it as a supermini with an efficient diesel engine.

9. Hyundai i10

The Hyundai i10 made between 2014 and 2020 has a number of trim levels that are all group 1 rated including:

• S Air
• S
• SE
• Premium

8. Seat Mii

The Mii made between 2012 and 2019 has four different group 1 rated trim levels and different styles within each trim level. The models are:

• S
• Ecomotive
• SE
• Toca

7. Citroen C1

Both the Vibe and Airplay trim levels of the 2005 to 2014 C1 include group 1 rated versions.

6. Ford Ka+

The Studio is the only group 1 Ka Plus model. It was made between 2016 and 2019 and comes with a 1.2L engine.

5. Volkswagen Polo

The Polo Hatchback from 2017 onwards has seven different trim levels that are group 1 rated and all have a 1.0L engine. They are:

• S
• SE
• Beats
• SE Tech Edition
• Match
• United
• Active

4. Skoda Fabia

The cheapest Fabia models to insure are the group 1 rated trim levels for the following 1.0L engine sizes:

• S
• SE
• SE Drive
• Colour Edition

3. Kia Picanto

The Picanto 2 trim model made from 2017 onwards has a 1.0L automatic group 1 rated version.

2. Skoda Citigo

The 2012 to 2019 Citigo has four different trim levels that are group 1 rated and all have a 1.0L engine:

• S
• SE
• Sport
• Elegance
  

1. Volkswagen up!

Finally, the VW up! made from 2012 onwards, has four different trims that all have insurance group 1 rated options. They are:

• Take up!
• Move up!
• High up!
• up! Beats