By Lorraine Sommerfeld
Want some good car insurance news? LowestRates.ca has released a list of the 10 vehicles in Canada that are the cheapest to insure. At a time when everybody is groaning under the weight of ever-rising car insurance costs, the list will help you in two circumstances.
If you’re car shopping, keep these reduced-raters in mind; and if you’re selling, your car’s being on this list needs to go in your ad.
10. 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan SE
This year’s Grand Caravan is 19.40 per cent less expensive to insure than the average national premium, and it’s just the first of three appearances the model makes on this list. They’re either too boring to steal or too hard to get in trouble with. Nice badge for the model, though. For value-conscious owners, it’s hard to beat.
9. 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan SE
Another Caravan, and this one’s 19.54 per cent less expensive. Even the older ones hold up well and parts are everywhere, making repairs cheaper.
8. 2013 Ford F-150 XLT SuperCrew 4×4
This Ford is 24.68 per cent less expensive than the average. There’s a bit of a kink with this one. While nationwide it is No. 8 on this list, in Alberta it’s one of the Top-10 most-stolen vehicles, making it more costly to insure in that province. Be sure to double-check with your agent.
7. 2019 Dodge Grand Caravan GT
It comes in at 25.89 per cent less expensive. To everybody trashing minivans, I give you a decent reason to consider this perennial workhorse: it stopped production in 2020 (it’s being replaced with the Chrysler Pacifica, as well as with a less-expensive version of the same, the Chrysler Grand Caravan). These vans are great, and you can use the insurance savings to replace the brakes it eats for breakfast.
6. 2006 Toyota Corolla CE
Toyota’s compact sedan comes in at 25.94 per cent less expensive. Huh. I’m kinda surprised this isn’t the cheapest vehicle to insure. I mean, look at it. Who’d steal it? How much trouble could you get into? But it is the oldest model on the list, and LowestRates calls it “affordable, reliable, and simple.” Yup.
5. 2015 Volkswagen Golf 2.0 TDI 4-Door Hatchback
This Golf diesel is 27.89 per cent less expensive. This surprised me, mostly because this car is a blast to drive, especially with the (rarely) available manual transmission, and it’s driven by people who like to have a blast when they’re driving. That usually makes them more expensive to insure, not less. Definitely a nice surprise.
4. 2011 Chevrolet Cruze LT Turbo
Chevrolet’s compact sedan comes in at 28.83 per cent below the average. The 2011 Cruze was named the Canadian Car of the Year by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC).
3. 2010 Toyota Matrix
Toyota’s wagon is 32.90 per cent less expensive to insure than the national average. What can we say? You not only get a super-cool car, you get a great break on your insurance. It’s been out of production since 2014, and remains a great buy for anyone wanting a reliable ride. And super-cool. Did we mention that?
2. 2011 Ford F-150 XLT SuperCrew 4×4
The second F-150 to make the list is 35.78 per cent less expensive than the average premium. The F-150 has dominated truck sales in North America for 40 years. The 2011 version addressed previous issues the truck had with a brand-new engine, and that reliability improvement puts it high on this list.
1. 2009 Dodge Journey SXT 2WD
This Journey is 43.29 per cent less expensive than the average national premium. Dodge’s first crossover debuted in 2009, and hits this list as the vehicle that is cheapest in the country to insure. Production has discontinued with the 2020 model.
