We looked at 50 of the most popular models on the road today to see which were the least expensive to insure. Our research showed that minivans and small pick-up trucks were, on average, the least expensive cars to insure while large sedans had the most expensive insurance costs. Auto insurance costs are higher for certain vehicles for a variety of reasons—a car having high repair costs, a poor safety record or few anti-theft features will likely cost more to cover.

What is the Least Expensive Car to Insure? (Brand New)

We found that the Honda CR-V was the cheapest car to insure out of the 50 vehicles we considered, with an annual auto insurance cost of $2,346. This is 22% less than the average yearly premiums across the all of vehicles we surveyed. Furthermore, the CR-V’s insurance costs were $2,397 less per year than the most expensive car to insure—the Tesla Model S.

Rank	Car Name	Type of Car	Vehicle Price	Annual Auto Insurance Rate
1	Honda CR-V	Small SUV	$25,102	$2,346
2	Chrysler Pacifica	Minivan	$21,996	$2,416
3	Honda Odyssey	Minivan	$26,391	$2,457
4	Ford F-Series	Standard Pick-up Truck	$22,849	$2,471
5	Toyota RAV4	Small SUV	$20,257	$2,475
6	Chevrolet Equinox	Small SUV	$19,837	$2,560
7	Chevrolet Colorado	Small Pick-up Truck	$17,816	$2,562
8	Toyota Tundra	Standard Pick-up Truck	$29,920	$2,577
9	Honda Ridgeline	Small Pick-up Truck	$27,226	$2,611
10	Ford Fiesta	Subcompact Car	$12,063	$2,621
11 (tie)	Dodge Grand Caravan	Minivan	$20,175	$2,634
11 (tie)	GMC Canyon	Small Pick-up Truck	$24,446	$2,634
13	Toyota Tacoma	Small Pick-up Truck	$22,749	$2,670
14	Nissan Frontier	Small Pick-up Truck	$25,992	$2,687
15	Kia Sedona	Minivan	$22,877	$2,699
16	Honda Fit	Station Wagon	$17,760	$2,720
17	Toyota Sienna	Minivan	$25,189	$2,746
18	Ford Escape	Small SUV	$17,710	$2,834
19	Chevrolet Cruze	Compact Car	$14,849	$2,841
20	Chevrolet Tahoe	Standard SUV	$39,568	$2,888
21	Honda HR-V	Station Wagon	$20,679	$2,931
22	GMC Sierra	Standard Pick-up Truck	$23,357	$2,937
23	Ram Pickup	Standard Pick-up Truck	$20,157	$2,998
24	Chevrolet Impala	Large Sedan	$21,193	$3,001
25	Toyota Camry	Midsize Sedan	$20,147	$3,036
26	Honda Accord	Midsize Sedan	$23,561	$3,042
27	Honda Civic	Compact Car	$19,601	$3,042
28	Chevrolet Silverado	Standard Pick-up Truck	$24,773	$3,057
29	Nissan Sentra	Midsize Sedan	$13,475	$3,059
30	Chevrolet Traverse	Standard SUV	$28,009	$3,072
31	Ford Focus	Compact Car	$13,140	$3,083
32	Volkswagen Jetta	Compact Car	$14,754	$3,109
33	Kia Soul	Station Wagon	$15,186	$3,114
34	Chevrolet Camaro	Subcompact Car	$20,875	$3,141
35	Toyota Corolla	Midsize Sedan	$15,651	$3,164
36	Ford Taurus	Large Sedan	$18,123	$3,173
37	Nissan Murano	Station Wagon	$23,949	$3,188
38	Nissan Rogue	Station Wagon	$18,969	$3,193
39	Chrysler 300	Large Sedan	$21,029	$3,268
40	Nissan Altima	Midsize Sedan	$16,824	$3,269
41	Toyota Highlander	Small SUV	$29,207	$3,283
42	Jeep Grand Cherokee	Standard SUV	$26,125	$3,347
43	Toyota 4Runner	Standard SUV	$31,467	$3,355
44	Dodge Charger	Large Sedan	$22,760	$3,378
45	Ford Mustang	Subcompact Car	$22,218	$3,485
46	Nissan Versa	Compact Car	$11,947	$3,525
47	Ford Explorer	Standard SUV	$28,322	$3,587
48	Mercedes-Benz C-Class	Subcompact Car	$34,752	$4,122
49	Mercedes-Benz E / CLS-Class	Subcompact Car	$48,694	$4,129
50	Tesla Model S	Large Sedan	$69,184	$4,743

Our research showed that—contrary to conventional wisdom—the least expensive vehicles did not always have lower insurance costs than more expensive cars. Vehicles with values between $25,000 and $30,000 actually had the lowest auto insurance rates at $2,871 per year on average—6% less than the cheapest cars with values between $10,000 and $15,000. However, the most expensive cars—with values of more than $30,000—did cost the most to insure, with annual car insurance premiums of $3,847.

Which Car Make is The Least Expensive to Insure?

Americans have a large list of car makes, or brands, to choose from when it comes to shopping for a car. Our analysis found that certain car makes tend to skew a bit more expensive than others. For example, we found Honda and GMC vehicles tended to be cheaper to insure than luxury brands such as Mercedes and Tesla.

The Cheapest Car Type to Insure

Conventional wisdom says that large or fast vehicles are usually more expensive to insure. Interestingly however, a standard size pickup trucks actually proved to be cheaper—on average—to insure than compact cars. Below you can see which types of car are usually cheaper to insure:

Why Does the Car You Drive Affect Your Insurance Rates?

Insurers set their prices based on how likely they predict that a driver of a certain vehicle will get into an accident or file a claim. If drivers of particular model file claims at a high rate, then everyone who drives that car—even if they themselves have a good driving record—will have to pay more. This is why sports cars, that are more likely to be involved in accidents because of their high performance, often are expensive to insure.

Vehicles that cost more to repair—or have high market values—will also often have higher insurance rates. This is because insurance companies will anticipate having to pay out more for any comprehensive and collision insurance claims—which covers the cost to repair or replace your vehicle—for high-cost cars. Because of this heightened risk for insurers, they increase premiums.

Lastly, car theft also plays a role on your rates. Some cars get stolen more than others, so if you are driving one of those cars your rates are probably going to be higher. However drivers should keep in mind that there are many other factors at play that impact auto insurance rates, such as age.

How We Got Our Data

We gathered quotes from the four largest insurers—State Farm, Progressive, GEICO and Allstate—for a 30-year-old male with a clean driving record living in each of the four largest metropolitan areas in the U.S.: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Dallas. The insurance prices represent the total cost for full coverage policies with liability coverage limits above the state minimums. Average car values were obtained from CarGurus and car types are based on the EPA’s vehicle size designations.