It will depend on many factors which type of car may be the cheapest for you to insure such as if the vehicle is new or used, the type of engine, and category of the vehicle. Older cars often have more discounts regarding comprehensive insurance premiums. Family cars with moderate repair costs are usually cheaper to insure than large or powerful cars which can be expensive to repair.
Insurance claims are more frequent in urban areas so motorists in cities usually pay more for their insurance than those who live in the country. The place where the car is kept is also rating factor.
In the UK new models of motor vehicles are given an insurance group rating which insurers find helpful as one of the ways in which they determine a driver's premium. Factors used to calculate group ratings include the following so you may wish to consider them when purchasing your car:
- Damage and Parts Costs
- Repair Times
- New Car Values
- Body Shells
- Performance
- Car Security
Insurance companies classify cars so that they can provide the correct level of insurance. To do this they assign each car to a group between 1 and 20. The higher the group, the more relatively expensive it is likely to be to insure the vehicle thus 1 is low, 20 is high. You can look up the group rating for cars that you are considering buying at the Association of British Insurers (ABI) site.
Another way to find the cheapest and generally best car for your needs you can do research online. There are many lists of cars that are cheapest to insure in the UK. One list can be found at money.uk.msn.com.
The site mentioned above lists for car groups 1-4, the lowest group of automobiles, vehicles such as the VW Polo, Toyota Yaris hatchback, Vauxhall Corsa hatchback, and the Ford Fiesta. As for diesel versus a petrol (or gas) powered vehicle, typically a diesel will costs more to buy and insure. If it is a lot more to insure really depends upon the type of car it is in total since the engine type is only one factor of the rating system.
Once you have decided on a vehicle and purchased it you can look for affordable UK motor insurance here.