With the average Brit paying nearly £500 a year for car insurance, it makes up a significant proportion of the average motorist’s yearly expenses. So picking your next car based on what's cheapest to insure is a good way to save yourself some money. 

The cars below are compiled as the cheapest available in the UK for insurance, based on their insurance group rating.  

What are insurance groups? 

To make things a bit easier for the consumer, insurance groups are something devised by Thatcham Research to categorise vehicles into one of 50 groups. With group 1E being the least risk, and 50E being the highest, every car on the road fits into one of these categories. 

To get the cheapest insurance possible, make sure you’re looking at cars in groups no higher than 3, there is plenty of choice in groups 1, 2 and 3. 

What are the 10 cheapest cars to insure in the UK? 

1. Nissan Micra

One of the most commonly seen small cars on UK roads, but for good reason, the Nissan Micra is a great choice for those that don't need lots of space but want a reliable, practical and economical city car.  

The current generation of Micra is in the lowest insurance group: 1E. 

2. Volkswagen Polo 

First introduced to the VW lineup in 1975, the Polo is a great small car. With a wide variety of engine choices, including the nippy 1.5 TSI version, there’s bound to be a spec that suits you.  

The cheapest to insure is the 1.0 match specification, as it has the most humble performance stats out of all the versions. In the Match specification the Polo too falls into the 1E insurance group. 

3. Citroen C1 

The Citroen C1, Toyota Aygo and Peugeot 107 are all based around the same platform and drivetrain, meaning there’s not much to choose between them, but for some reason some people find the Citroen C1 cheaper to insure.  

As insurers take into account the desirability of a car, it may be the Toyota Aygo is more often stolen and such premiums are higher, but to get the cheapest insurance, the Citroen C1 is usually the best bet.  

4. Volkswagen Up! 

The Up! replaced the Lupo as Volkswagen's smallest vehicle, and they are quite compact. Fitting 4 large adults inside can be a squeeze and not overly comfortable on long journeys. But the Up!’s small size is also its plus point, being easy to park and get around the city in.

Classified in group 1E, the VW Up! Is a great choice for cheaper insurance premiums.  

5. Kia Rio 

If you want an economical car with a great warranty and dealer support, then any Kia is worth looking at, their 7-year warranty surpasses any other brands, and a long warranty as standard usually means the product is durable and well built too.  

The Rio is a clever small city car, capable of carrying 4 people short distances, but most importantly is only in insurance group 2, meaning low premiums.  

6. Seat Mii 

Based on the VW Up!, the Seat Mii is an alternative choice to the smallest VW offering, being a Seat it has a slightly better level of kit to the Up!, but still retains the same great packaging and practicality.  

7. Toyota Aygo 

Launched in 2005, the Aygo shares many of the same components with the Citroen C1 and Peugeot 107, including its 1 litre 3 cylinder petrol engine. That combined with the relatively good driver aids - electronic stability control and ABS - mean it’s in the lowest insurance category of 1E. 

8. Fiat 500 

Seen absolutely everywhere when new, the new 500 was a hit for Fiat, selling over 1.5 million cars between its release in 2008 and the re-styled version in 2015. This means there’s lots of choice on the secondhand market. 

Insurance is cheap too, as some generations of the 500 are in the 2E insurance group. 

9. Dacia Sandero 

Dacia, a subsidiary of Renault, released the Sandero in 2012, aimed at the motorist needing a small economical city or urban car that is priced competitively when new. The formula certainly worked as the sales figures were impressive, especially for a new brand to the UK. 

The Sandero is not only cheap to buy but cheap to run, being in one of the lowest insurance groups. Check with your insurer though before committing, as the group changed from 2E to 3E on certain models. 

10. Fiat Panda 

The Fiat Panda has been a staple in the small car world since its release. Modern variants have grown slightly from the original design ethos, but can now hold 4 adults in relative comfort. Despite this the Panda is still small enough to be easy to park and run on a tight budget.  

Pandas had a bit of a reputation for being easy to steal in the late 1990s, but Fiat have upped their game considerably in the last 15 years or so, with sophisticated alarm systems as standard. 

Because of this, the insurance group is back down to 3E, meaning the Fiat Panda is cheap to insure.  

Affordable repairs for your new car 

Now you’ve insured your vehicle, make sure to keep on top of repairs and services. Poor maintenance of your car can lead to large repair costs later down the line. 

Split the bill into interest-free pay monthly car repairs with Bumper.

Author - Joseph Law

Joseph has been writing about cars for over seven years and writing for Bumper for over two, blending his passion for automobiles with a talent for storytelling.

Joseph has written about engineering and cars for Autozilla, Komaspec, and several engineering manufacturers. When he's not writing or tinkering with one of his five cars, Joseph dreams of owning an Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale.