When picking out the best cars for teens, safety is usually the biggest concern for parents. The cost of insuring a car is tied to the risk of causing injury or property damage. Using insurance costs as a proxy for risk and safety, we examined 125 cars for a sample 18-year-old driver living in Pennsylvania, to see which types of cars insurers saw as least risky and safest.
Our study found a wide range of insurance costs in the sample with the Mazda MX-5 Miata as the cheapest car to insure, Subaru Outback was the second cheapest to insure and Volkswagen Golf GTI took third place. For the best cars to insure for adults, visit here.
Best cars for teens
The table below shows the 20 cheapest models to insure for our 18 year-old sample driver. Smaller compact cars, such as the Mazda MX-5 Miata and the Volkswagen Golf GTI, made it into the top 20 list. SUVs and larger cars were also represented, including the Subaru Outback and the Honda Odyssey.
1 | Mazda MX-5 Miata | $23,720 | $2,640 |
2 | Subaru Outback | 23,495 | 2,735 |
3 | Volkswagen Golf GTI | 25,385 | 2,740 |
4 | Mini Countryman | 19,950 | 2,766 |
5 | Volkswagen Routan | 28,375 | 2,769 |
6 | Smart Fortwo | 13,270 | 2,776 |
7 | Fiat 500L | 19,195 | 2,786 |
8 | Honda Odyssey | 28,825 | 2,788 |
9 | Subaru Legacy | 20,295 | 2,792 |
10 | Mini Paceman | 23,300 | 2,807 |
11 | Toyota Sienna | 26,920 | 2,808 |
12 | Ford Mustang | 22,510 | 2,821 |
Show All Rows
{"alignsHorizontal":["left","left","right","right"],"alignsVertical":[],"columnWidths":[],"data":[["\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ERank","Car","MSRP","Average Annual Car Insurance"],["1","Mazda MX-5 Miata","$23,720","$2,640"],["2","Subaru Outback","23,495","2,735"],["3","Volkswagen Golf GTI","25,385","2,740"],["4","Mini Countryman","19,950","2,766"],["5","Volkswagen Routan","28,375","2,769"],["6","Smart Fortwo","13,270","2,776"],["7","Fiat 500L","19,195","2,786"],["8","\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Ca class=\"ShortcodeLink--root ShortcodeLink--black\" title=\"Honda Odyssey\" href=\"https:\/\/www.valuepenguin.com\/cost-of-honda-car-insurance\"\u003EHonda Odyssey\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E","28,825","2,788"],["9","Subaru Legacy","20,295","2,792"],["10","Mini Paceman","23,300","2,807"],["11","\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Ca class=\"ShortcodeLink--root ShortcodeLink--black\" title=\"Toyota Sienna\" href=\"https:\/\/www.valuepenguin.com\/toyota-car-insurance\"\u003EToyota Sienna\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E","26,920","2,808"],["12","\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Ca class=\"ShortcodeLink--root ShortcodeLink--black\" title=\"Ford Mustang\" href=\"https:\/\/www.valuepenguin.com\/ford-mustang-car-insurance\"\u003EFord Mustang\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E","22,510","2,821"],["13","Fiat 500","16,845","2,824"],["14","Volkswagen Beetle Hatchback","18,995","2,826"],["15","Buick Encore","24,160","2,831"],["16","Subaru Forester","21,995","2,833"],["17","Subaru XV Crosstrek","21,995","2,838"],["18","Volkswagen Jetta","15,695","2,850"],["19","Volkswagen Beetle Convertible","25,595","2,860"],["20","Dodge Grand Caravan","20,895","2,865"]],"footnote":"","hasMarginBottom":true,"isExpandable":true,"isSortable":false,"maxWidth":"1215","minWidth":"100%","showSearch":false,"sortColumnIndex":0,"sortDirection":"asc"}
Most expensive cars to insure for teens
The list of the most expensive cars to insure is largely made up of compact cars and vans. The amount of the annual insurance premium varied by more than $640 between the cheapest (Mazda MX-5 Miata) and most expensive (Kia Forte) to insure. Surprisingly, some of the most expensive cars to insure had sticker prices less than $20,000, including the Kia Forte and Honda Civic.
1 | Kia Forte | $15,900 | $3,282 |
1 | Mini Cooper Hardtop | 23,162 | 3,282 |
3 | Mitsubishi i-MiEV | 22,995 | 3,282 |
4 | Scion tC | 19,210 | 3,268 |
5 | Kia Rio | 13,900 | 3,217 |
6 | Hyundai Accent | 14,645 | 3,202 |
7 | Mitsubishi Lancer | 17,195 | 3,152 |
8 | Ford F-150 | 25,025 | 3,146 |
9 | Honda Civic | 18,190 | 3,138 |
10 | Hyundai Elantra | 17,200 | 3,125
|
{"alignsHorizontal":["left","left","right","right"],"alignsVertical":[],"columnWidths":[],"data":[["Rank","Car","MSRP","Average Annual Car Insurance"],["\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E1","Kia Forte","$15,900","$3,282"],["1","Mini Cooper Hardtop","23,162","3,282"],["3","Mitsubishi i-MiEV","22,995","3,282"],["4","Scion tC","19,210","3,268"],["5","Kia Rio","13,900","3,217"],["6","Hyundai Accent","14,645","3,202"],["\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E7","Mitsubishi Lancer","17,195","3,152"],["8","\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Ca class=\"ShortcodeLink--root ShortcodeLink--black\" title=\"Ford F-150\" href=\"https:\/\/www.valuepenguin.com\/ford-car-insurance\"\u003EFord F-150\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E","25,025","3,146"],["\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E9","\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Ca class=\"ShortcodeLink--root ShortcodeLink--black\" title=\"Honda Civic\" href=\"https:\/\/www.valuepenguin.com\/cost-of-honda-car-insurance\"\u003EHonda Civic\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E","18,190","3,138"],["10","Hyundai Elantra","17,200","3,125\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E"]],"footnote":"","hasMarginBottom":true,"isExpandable":true,"isSortable":false,"maxWidth":"1215","minWidth":"100%","showSearch":false,"sortColumnIndex":0,"sortDirection":"asc"}
How we conducted the study
The ranking was based on the most purchased cars in 2014 that cost less than $30,000; there were a total of 125 cars included in the study. The example driver we used was an 18-year-old male, who had a clean driving record and a good credit score, who used his car mostly for commuting to school or work.
The average cost for insuring each car was calculated by getting quotes from 20 different auto insurance companies in Pennsylvania. We used requirements for auto insurance in Pennsylvania for the policy coverage in the study.
{"alignsHorizontal":[],"alignsVertical":[],"columnWidths":[],"data":[["\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EPennsylvania Required Car Insurance Coverage","PA Required Min. Limits"],["\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Ca class=\"ShortcodeLink--root ShortcodeLink--black\" title=\"Bodily Injury (BI)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.valuepenguin.com\/bodily-injury-car-insurance-coverage\"\u003EBodily Injury (BI)\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E","$15,000 per person \/ $30,000 per accident"],["\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Ca class=\"ShortcodeLink--root ShortcodeLink--black\" title=\"Property Damage (PD)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.valuepenguin.com\/property-damage-liability-car-insurance\"\u003EProperty Damage (PD)\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E","$5,000 per accident"],["\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Ca class=\"ShortcodeLink--root ShortcodeLink--black\" title=\"Medical Benefits (PIP)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.valuepenguin.com\/personal-injury-protection-car-insurance\"\u003EMedical Benefits (PIP)\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E","$5,000 per accident\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E"]],"footnote":"","hasMarginBottom":true,"isExpandable":true,"isSortable":false,"maxWidth":"1215","minWidth":"100%","showSearch":false,"sortColumnIndex":0,"sortDirection":"asc"}
Editorial Note: The content of this article is based on the author’s opinions and recommendations alone. It has not been previewed, commissioned or otherwise endorsed by any of our network partners.