Budget Buggies: What Are The Cheapest Cars to Insure?

Forbes has published a list of the cheapest cars to insure, taking into account personal factors inputted when obtaining auto insurance quotes, including age, gender, a person's driving record and address. Despite all of those things, the make and model of a vehicle can drastically affect the insurance rates. Minivans, mid-priced crossover SUVs and pickup trucks are some of the most affordable vehicles to insure in 2012, while (surprise, surprise) premium sports coupes and luxury cars will be far more expensive. When all of the above factors are equal, the premiums will always be higher the more expensive a car is. That obviously makes sense, as somewhere along the line the insurance companies have to consider the write-off value. The most expensive car covered in the article, the Audi R8 Spyder Quattro, comes in at around $3,384 per year. By comparison, the cheapest car is the Toyota TM Sienna LE minivan, with an average premium of $1,111 per year. Other cars that come in at the low end include the Dodge Grand Caravan and the Honda HMC Odyssey. “Minivans have always had a strong showing in our ‘least expensive' rankings,” said Amy Danise, editorial director of Insure.com, in the company's report. “They regularly prove to be safe, economical vehicles. And, notably, we're seeing pickup trucks back on the ‘least expensive' list after an absence last year.” Other affordable cars insurance-wise are the Jeep Patriot and Compass, Ford F Escape, Kia Sportage, Hyundai Tuscon, Chevrolet GM Silverado and Nissan Frontier. The expensive, or naughty, list, coming in between $2,500-$3,000, includes the Jaguar XKR. Other vehicle that made the list include the Mercedes-Benz CL-Class and SL-Class, Porsche 911 and Nissan GT-R sport coupes and the Audi A8, BMW 7 Series, Porsche Panamera and Mercedes-Benz S-Class luxury Sedans. In addition to the make and model of the car, women and married men often obtain cheaper premiums, as obviously do people without tickets and accidents on their records. People with a DUI or who are considered a poor credit risk often cannot get insurance at all.