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10 cheapest cars to insure for first time drivers

Patrick Christys
Nov 13, 2019

Some lucky people will be getting a car this Christmas - but the buyer should read this before signing on the dotted line.

Car insurance costs are always hard to swallow, but the 10 cars that will get the cheapest deals have been revealed.

It's estimated that a new driver forks out an average of £7,000 in their first year alone, according to Money Mail.

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Comprehensive insurance cover makes up a big chunk of this, with average premiums for 17 to 24-year-olds costing around £1,500, according to recent reports.

That means choosing a vehicle that's affordable to insure is more important than ever. And these 10 top new models, on average, are less than £1,000.

In the first eight months of 2019, the average comprehensive car insurance premium for a 17 to 24-year-old driver was £1,453.31 - down by 6 per cent compared to the same period of 2018 when the figure was £1,519.03.

But if younger drivers choose one of these 10 motors, they could save up to a third or even more.

That's because they all cost less than a grand to insure for a year on average for drivers in this age bracket.

All are relatively tiny city cars with low-capacity - and therefore low in power - engines.

Topping the list is the VW Up with a 59bhp 1.0-litre petrol motor under the bonnet.

It costs, on average, £888 for a 17 to 24-year-old to insure for a year.

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The 10 cheapest cars for young motorists to insure 

1. Volkswagen Up! 1.0 (59 BHP)  - Insurance group 2:  £888

2. Citroen C1 1.0 Vti (70 BHP) - Insurance group 7: £903

3. Skoda Citigo 1.0 MPi (59 BHP) - Insurance group 2: £913

4. Vauxhall Adam 1.2i (69 BHP) - Insurance group 2: £923

5. Fiat 500 1.2 (69 BHP) - Insurance group 5: £925

6. Peugeot 107 1.0 (68 BHP) - Insurance group 3: £937

=7. Vauxhall Viva 1.0 (73 BHP) - Insurance group 3: £947

=7. Ford Ka 1.2 (68 BHP) - Insurance group 3: £947

9. Hyundai i10 (1.0) 66 BHP) -Insurance group 2: £948

10. Peugeot 108 1.0 (68 BHP) - Insurance group 7: £968

 

Acceleration isn't what you'd call brisk - taking 14.4 seconds to hit 62mph from a standing start - and the top speed is 99mph.

Buying one new costs just under £10,000, though you can find used examples with less than 30,000 on the clock for around £4,000.

While the VW is in insurance group 2, the comparison site says this isn't always the best measure to determine if a car is cheap to cover. 

The volume of claims made against each model in the past for accidents, thefts and damage through vandalism will also impact quoted premiums, not just the performance of the vehicle itself. 

Just behind it in the list is the Citroen C1, which falls into insurance group 7. Despite that, the cost to insure one with a small capacity engine is just £903 for young motorists.

Third in the standings is the insurance-group 2 Skoda CitiGo, which is the same as the VW mechanically but costs £913 to cover.

8 factors for insurance grouping

Insurance groups are decided by a group rating panel.

This is made up of members from the Association of British Insurers and the Lloyds Market Association, supported by Thatcham Research. 

The panel decides which insurance group new car models fall into based on the following factors: 

- New car values

- Damage and parts costs

- Parts prices

- Repair times

- Performance

- Safety

- Bumper compatibility

- Car security

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