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What Does it Cost to Insure the UK's Most Popular Vehicles?
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The price you pay for car insurance will depend on a number of factors, one of which is the car you drive. In fact, some cars can cost hundreds of pounds more to insure than others, due to differences in repair/replacement costs, standard anti-theft features, safety records, etc. We've gathered quotes for the top 5 selling cars so far in 2018, as of April, to get an idea of what most new car owners will pay to insure their car.
What are the Most Popular Cars in the UK?
According to the SMMT, the best selling vehicle in the UK year-to-date through June 2024 is the Ford Puma. The Puma is the clear winner, selling 16% more cars than the runner up, the Kia Sportage.
| Rank | Car Name | Sales Jan - April 2018 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ford Puma | 23,205 |
| 2 | Kia Sportage | 20,026 |
| 3 | Nissan Qashqai | 19,687 |
| 4 | Audi A3 | 16,520 |
| 5 | Volkswagen Golf | 15,573 |
But how do these most popular cars compare in terms of insurance costs?
Which is the Cheapest Popular UK Car to Insure?
Of the 5 most popular UK cars, we found the cheapest car to insure is the Ford Puma. To analyze each car we gathered quotes from multiple companies for a sample 50-year-old driver with a good driving record and no history of recent claims. The following table ranks the top 5 most popular cars from least expensive to insure to most expensive to insure.
The most expensive to insure of the group was the Audi A3. This car cost around 30% more to insure than the cheapest (~£100 for our sample driver per year).
| Rank | Car Name | Average Yearly Insurance Price | Average Excess | OTR Starting Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ford Puma | £350 | £330 | £25,345 |
| 2 | Volkswagen Golf | £385 | £310 | £27,035 |
| 3 | Nissan Qashqai | £402 | £310 | £30,165 |
| 4 | Kia Sportage | £425 | £310 | £29,390 |
| 5 | Audi A3 | £457 | £330 | £29,515 |
While you might expect that the most expensive cars cost the most to insure, the data shows that this is not always the case. For example, the starting price of the Nissan Qashqai is higher than the Kia Sportage and the Audi A3, yet costs less to insure. Perhaps this is due to certain cars being a more-likely target of car thieves or being more expensive to repair.
Methodology
Online comprehensive car insurance quotes were gathered from around a dozen insurance brokers for a 30-year old male car owner with a clean record, who expects to drive 8,000 miles per year, lives in London and keeps their car in the driveway of their home, using the entry-level models for each car. Prices for older or younger drivers would differ, as you can read about in our article on the average cost of car insurance. Starting on-the-road (OTR) prices were gathered for the entry level models from each car company's website.