Top five cheapest new cars to insure

Friday August 18

There are a huge number of factors each insurer takes into consideration before assigning a risk to a particular car. Historical data plays a large part, but possibly the most influential factor is the ABI (Association of British Insurers) rating, given to each and every car sold in the UK.

The ABI does much of the hard work for the insurers, including looking at the cost of parts and repair times, the actual purchase price, the car's performance and its security level. In summary, each car is rated from 1 to 20, where 1 is the lowest risk group and 20 is the highest. Additionally, the level of security is denoted by a suffix letter, with the majority being either A (meets all security requirements for this group), D (does not meet the security requirement for a car of this type and the group rating has therefore been increased), E (exceeds security requirement for a car of this type and the group rating has therefore been reduced) or U where the level of security for the model concerned is regarded as unacceptable. It should be noted that, though insurers will refer to the ABI ratings, they are not obliged to price insurance for a car based on the rating alone; they are guidelines only.

With that in mind we took a good look at the newest models with the lowest ratings and came up with a list of five cars we believe to be the cheapest to insure new cars on the market today. Unsurprisingly, they are all cheap super-minis or city cars, but don't despair, there is some fun to be had.

It's no shame to be in fifth place in this company and that honour goes to the relatively new Fiat Grande Punto. In Italy, you may see this feisty hatch being driven with aplomb and complete disregard for the passengers' or onlookers' safety, but at home it has earned itself a decent 2E insurance rating and its Thatcham-approved engine immobiliser should help the insurer look favourably on its drivers when it comes to policy renewal time. The rating only applies to the 1.2-litre petrol models, but don't let that put you off; the Grande Punto is one of the best cars in its class right now.

In fourth place is the VW Fox, another new car. It should be no surprise that the top performing cars so far as insurance group ratings go are mostly new cars; the car makers are purposely engineering their new cars to be cheap to repair at the same time as more secure against theft. Anyone familiar with the old VW Lupo may not quite believe that the Fox is a direct replacement for that car. Not only is it cheaper to buy, but it is much bigger, and feels massive inside in comparison. To really keep your insurance costs down you should go for the 1.2-litre version, which has an unbeatable 1E rating along with an alarm and immobiliser that are Thatcham approved. If you really need more power, the 1.4-litre version is only a group higher.

The bronze medal goes to the diminutive Chevrolet Matiz, formerly known as the Daewoo Matiz, though this car was given a major revamp last year and is one of the best value-for-money cars on the road. Although its ABI rating is 1A and it has got a Thatcham approved immobiliser (but no alarm) it is still likely to be one of the cheapest cars to insure thanks to its tiny 796cc engine and resulting performance credentials. It's not as if many joy riders will go to the bother of nicking it either, is it?

Second place goes to the venerable Vauxhall Corsa. This is the outgoing model, not the all-new model due in the dealers later this year for which insurance group ratings have not yet been released. A three-cylinder 1-litre Corsa is available in several different trim levels and despite low running costs, this is one of the most spacious cars in this group. Some models have a superb 1E group rating along with the coveted Thatcham-approved alarm and engine immobiliser.

The winning car is actually three cars in one; the Toyota Aygo, Citroen C1 and Peugeot 107 are the result of a tie-up between the manufacturers to produce an efficient, but funky new small super-mini. Much is shared between the three cars, including a fresh interior design and decent driving dynamics, along with a range of new petrol and diesel engines. If you go by the ABI ratings alone, there are versions of all three variants that can proudly boast membership to the lowest 1E group, but only the Citroen appears to be fitted with both immobiliser and alarm that are Thatcham approved, where as the others make do with the immobiliser. It could make the difference.

Considering the on-paper similarities between the cars featured here, it really is worth getting insurance quotes for each car you are considering buying. Don't forget to shop around as well.