When you’re thinking about buying your first car, it’s important to consider how much your insurance is going to cost.
Young drivers (aged 17–24) are considered to be a higher risk to insurance companies, so often premiums are much higher. This is because young drivers are inexperienced, and are statistically more likely to demonstrate over-confidence and risky driving behaviours.
In order to make sure you’re getting the best deal possible, it’s a good idea to pick a car that’s in one of the lower insurance groups.
You might also consider getting a telematics box, which monitors your driving style and speed, and passes the information back to your insurer. The advantages of this are that your insurer will provide you with feedback so that you can reduce your premiums and also increase your awareness of how to drive safely.
What are the insurance groups?
Car insurance groups are scaled from 1–50, with 50 being the most expensive group of cars to insure.
In the lower groups, you’ll usually find lower-specification models with smaller engines. There’s a whole host of other factors that contribute to a car’s insurance grouping, such as repair times, parts prices, performance, safety and security features.
Our top picks of cheap cars to insure
Ford Ka
Most Ford Ka models come under insurance group 3, although you’ll pay a little more for some of the sportier models, such as Grand Prix or Metal, which fall under groups 5 and 6.
Hyundai i10
S, S Air, SE and Premium models are more likely to be in insurance groups 1–4, meaning they are incredibly cheap to insure.
Vauxhall Corsa
Expression and Life models are in insurance groups 1–3, providing you opt for the smaller engine option.
ŠKODA Fabia
ŠKODA offers a 1.0-litre engine option with all Fabia trims, placing each one in groups 1–3.
SEAT Mii
The S, SE (manual) and Ecomotive models are all in insurance group 1.
Dacia Sandero
If you need a little more room, the 1.2 16V Access, Ambient and Laureate Sandero models come under insurance group 2, which is really impressive for a car of this size.
Fiat Panda
Fiat Panda 1.2 Pop and Lounge models are in insurance group 3, which is a little higher than others on this list, but running costs are extremely low.
ŠKODA Citigo
Pick any car in the ŠKODA Citigo range and you won’t pay much for insurance. All new models are in insurance groups 1–4. For ultimate savings, opt for the S, SE or Sport trims, all of which are all in group 1.
Kia Rio
The new Kia Rio 2 1.4 CRDi 76bhp model falls under insurance group 2.
Buying your first car
We know that buying your first car can be pretty confusing, so we’ve compiled a helpful guide that covers everything from finance to VED and breakdown cover, so you can make sure you’re clued up on all of the finer details of car ownership.