What First Car Has the Cheapest Insurance Group for Young Drivers UK? Group 1 Cars You Can Buy
What first car has the cheapest insurance group for young drivers UK? The group 1 and 2 cars worth looking at, what they typically cost to buy, and why the group alone will not tell you your premium
The short answer: the lowest insurance groups on a small petrol first car are group 1 and group 2. At a typical first-car budget the realistic group 1 options are the Volkswagen Up!, Skoda Citigo, Hyundai i10 1.0 and Nissan Micra 1.0. Group 2 adds a longer list.
How to use this page: it helps you narrow down which cars are worth looking at. It is not a list of exactly which car to buy. The group, the price and the running costs all change with the exact engine, trim, year and condition, so always check the specific car before you commit.
Prices below are the range most used examples were advertised at in early October 2026, leaving out the cheapest and dearest oddities. They are asking prices, not what cars sell for. Groups are the usual group for that version of the car and can differ by engine, trim and year.
Group 1: the lowest group
| Car (petrol, manual) | Years | Typical asking price | Group |
|---|---|---|---|
| Volkswagen Up! 1.0 | 2013 to 2020 | £3,500 to £5,500 | 1 |
| Skoda Citigo 1.0 | 2012 to 2016 | £3,750 to £4,500 | 1 |
| Hyundai i10 1.0 | 2015 to 2017 | £5,000 to £5,500 | 1 |
| Nissan Micra 1.0 | 2017 to 2019 | £7,000 to £7,750 | 1 |
Group 2: still low, more choice
| Car (petrol, manual) | Years | Typical asking price | Group |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vauxhall Corsa 1.0 | 2013 to 2014 | £2,250 to £3,250 | 2 |
| Dacia Sandero 1.2 | 2013 to 2016 | £2,750 to £3,000 | 2 |
| SEAT Mii 1.0 | 2012 to 2017 | £3,750 to £5,000 | 2 |
| Smart Forfour 1.0 | 2015 to 2019 | £4,000 to £5,500 | 2 |
| Vauxhall Corsa 1.4 | 2016 to 2018 | £3,750 to £5,750 | 2 |
| Skoda Fabia 1.0 | 2015 to 2019 | £5,000 to £7,500 | 2 |
| Vauxhall Adam 1.2 | 2016 to 2019 | £6,000 to £7,750 | 2 |
| Ford Ka+ 1.2 | 2016 to 2018 | £6,500 to £7,500 | 2 |
What stands out
- Group 1 is a short list. Newer group 1 cars exist (a 2018 to 2021 Volkswagen Polo 1.0 and a 2017 to 2021 Skoda Fabia 1.0, for example), but at roughly £8,250 to £12,500 they are outside most first-car budgets.
- The famous low-group names are usually group 3. The Toyota Aygo, Peugeot 107 and Citroen C1 (roughly £2,500 to £3,750), along with the Fiat Panda, are still low and often the cheapest cars to buy. Our guide to the first cars actually in insurance group 1 covers which is which.
- The cheapest car to buy is not in the lowest group. A 2013 to 2014 Vauxhall Corsa 1.0 is one of the cheapest on the list, and it is group 2.
- Fuel economy will not separate them. Official figures for these cars sit in a similar band, roughly 50 to 65 mpg, so insurance and condition will matter more than fuel.
How insurance groups work
- Every car sold in the UK is rated from 1 to 50, where group 1 is the lowest.
- The rating is assessed by Thatcham Research. It reflects repair costs, the price of parts, how the car performs and how easily it is stolen.
- Small petrol cars with a 1.0 litre engine and no sporty trim land in the bottom groups because they are cheap to fix and not fast enough to tempt a young driver into trouble.
- The lowest few groups are mostly city cars and small hatchbacks. The middle takes in ordinary superminis and family hatchbacks. Performance models and bigger engines sit at the top.
- For a young driver, the higher the group the more it pushes up the premium. But the exact gap between two groups depends on the driver, the postcode and the insurer, so there is no fixed price per group. Treat any pounds-per-group figure you read elsewhere as an illustration.
Why the group does not tell you your premium
The group sets a baseline. What an 18-year-old actually pays also depends on age, postcode, having no claims history, the type of policy and the insurer. These FirstCarScout estimates for an 18-year-old driving 8,000 miles a year (September 2026) show how little the group alone predicts:
| Car | Group | Estimated insurance a month |
|---|---|---|
| Volkswagen Polo 1.2 | 4 | about £145 |
| Hyundai i20 1.2 | 5 | about £149 |
| Skoda Citigo 1.0 | 2 | about £155 |
| SEAT Mii 1.0 | 4 | about £161 |
| Volkswagen Golf 1.6 diesel | 10 | about £167 |
| Toyota Yaris 1.3 | 7 | about £184 |
| Renault Captur 0.9 | 8 | about £222 |
These are estimates for one standard driver profile, not insurer prices. Even so:
- A group 4 Polo and a group 5 i20 are estimated cheaper to insure than a group 2 Citigo.
- A group 10 Golf is estimated only about £12 a month dearer than the Citigo, while a group 7 Yaris is about £29 a month dearer.
- A higher-group car can come out cheaper if insurers see fewer or cheaper claims on it. A famously low-group car can price up if it is popular with young drivers who claim more.
So the group gets you into the right neighbourhood, but not the right street. Lists that rank by group and lists that rank by average premium are answering two different questions.
The next question is what the whole month costs: insurance, fuel, road tax and servicing together. In the same ranking the Citigo came out cheapest overall at about £259 a month despite not having the lowest premium. We explain why in why a low insurance group car can still cost more to run each month.
Cars other lists recommend, and where they sit
Most “cheapest to insure” lists lead with the same names:
- Hyundai i10: the most commonly recommended first car. The 1.0 from 2015 to 2017 is group 1 at roughly £5,000 to £5,500.
- Volkswagen Up!, Skoda Citigo and SEAT Mii: the same car under three badges. The Up! and Citigo are group 1 and the Mii is group 2, so check the exact version you are looking at.
- Kia Picanto, Toyota Aygo, Peugeot 107 and Citroen C1: all very low groups, but the Aygo, 107 and C1 are usually group 3 rather than group 1.
- Vauxhall Corsa and Ford Fiesta: a Corsa 1.0 from 2013 to 2014 is group 2, but groups vary widely across these models, so the exact engine and trim matter far more than the badge.
- Volkswagen Polo and Skoda Fabia: only the lowest-powered versions are in the bottom groups. A Fabia 1.0 from 2015 to 2019 is group 2 at roughly £5,000 to £7,500.
Which engine and trim to choose
The same model can sit in very different groups depending on engine, power, trim and gearbox, so the version you buy matters more than the model name.
- A plain 1.0 petrol in a basic trim is usually where the low groups are.
- Sporty trims and badges such as GT, ST-Line, S line, R-Line or SRi can jump the car several groups.
- Engine size is not a reliable shortcut. See why a 1.0 and a 1.2 can sit in different groups for reasons that have nothing to do with engine size.
- The trim level trap: one Corsa can be affordable to insure while another costs far more.
- Browsing listings? How to spot a low-insurance trim on AutoTrader shows how to check without typing the registration every time.
Your first car and building a no-claims record
A first policy is the start of your no-claims history. The cheapest group on its own is not the only thing that matters: a car you can afford to insure, run and keep for a year or two is what lets you build that record.
A clean first year, particularly on a telematics policy, tends to be rewarded at renewal, though that is a general pattern and not a guarantee. If you are weighing up a black box, what actually happens after year one walks through how renewal pricing tends to move.
The levers that move the number more than the group
If you want a young driver’s premium to come down, these usually matter more than shaving one group off the car:
- A black box (telematics) policy: often one of the biggest levers for a new driver, because it prices you on your real driving rather than only your age. Check the small print on curfews, mileage limits and what happens if your score is poor.
- Compare fully comprehensive too: it can cost less than third party for young drivers.
- Add a genuinely used experienced named driver, such as a parent. Never list them as the main driver when the car is really yours: that is fronting, it is fraud, and it voids the whole policy.
- Pay annually, not monthly: monthly payment is effectively a loan with interest on top.
- Be accurate but realistic on mileage: lower honest mileage costs less.
For a full walkthrough, see our guide to getting car insurance under £125 a month as a new driver.
The one habit that saves the most
Check the specific car before you buy it, not after. The Check a Car tool takes a registration and returns the insurance group, an estimated monthly running cost and the MOT status. It takes a minute, and the gap between two similar small cars can be hundreds of pounds a year. Treat the purchase price and the first year of cover as one combined budget.
To see cars matched to your age and budget, ranked by total monthly cost, use the FirstCarScout Car Finder, or browse the lowest insurance group first cars and our guide to the best small cars for new drivers on a budget.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest insurance group for a first car in the UK?
Group 1 is the lowest group. The group 1 petrol cars you can realistically afford (under about £8,000) are the Volkswagen Up! 1.0, Skoda Citigo 1.0, Hyundai i10 1.0 and Nissan Micra 1.0, with group 2 adding a longer list. Groups can vary by exact engine, trim and year, so check the registration of the car you are viewing.
Does a group 1 car always mean the cheapest premium?
No. The group is a baseline, and your age, postcode, policy type and insurer all change the final price. In our September 2026 estimates for an 18-year-old, a group 4 Polo and a group 5 i20 came out cheaper to insure than a group 2 Citigo. These are estimates for one driver profile, not insurer prices.
Does the same car always have the same insurance group?
No. The same model can sit in very different groups depending on engine, power, trim and year, and sporty trims can jump several groups. Always check the exact car, and get premiums on that registration before you view it.
What is the best way to lower a young driver’s premium?
A black box policy is often one of the biggest levers for a new driver, and it is worth comparing against standard cover. Comparing fully comprehensive as well as third party, adding a genuinely used experienced named driver, paying annually rather than monthly and giving realistic mileage also help. Never list someone as the main driver if you are the one really driving the car, as that is fronting.
Is learner cover cheaper than insurance after I pass?
Often yes, because a supervised learner is treated as lower risk than a newly passed driver on their own, and the jump after passing can be large. Learner cover usually ends when you pass, so get a post-pass premium sorted in advance. It is worth pricing both before you commit to a car.
Common questions
Which cars are in the lowest insurance groups for young drivers?
The lowest group for a petrol first car you can realistically afford (under about £8,000) is group 1: the Volkswagen Up! (2013 to 2020), Skoda Citigo (2012 to 2016), Hyundai i10 1.0 (2015 to 2017) and Nissan Micra 1.0 (2017 to 2019). Group 2 adds cars such as the SEAT Mii, Skoda Fabia 1.0, Vauxhall Corsa 1.0 and Dacia Sandero 1.2. The Toyota Aygo, Peugeot 107 and Citroen C1 are usually group 3. Treat this as a shortlist to narrow down, then check the exact car.
What is a car insurance group?
Every car sold in the UK is rated from 1 to 50, where group 1 is the lowest. The rating is assessed by Thatcham Research and reflects things like repair costs, the price of parts, how the car performs and how easily it is stolen.
Does a group 1 car guarantee a low premium for a young driver?
No. The group sets a baseline, but age, postcode, having no claims history yet, the policy type and the insurer matter at least as much. In FirstCarScout's September 2026 estimates for an 18-year-old, a group 4 Volkswagen Polo (about £145 a month) came out cheaper to insure than a group 2 Skoda Citigo (about £155 a month).
What lowers a young driver's premium more than the insurance group?
A black box (telematics) policy is often one of the biggest levers. Also compare fully comprehensive cover, which can cost less than third party for young drivers, add a genuinely used experienced named driver such as a parent, pay annually rather than monthly, and be accurate but realistic on mileage. Never list a parent as the main driver when the car is really yours: that is fronting, it is fraud and it voids the policy.
When should I check what a car will cost to insure?
Before you buy it. Take the registration from a listing and check it first: the gap between two near-identical small cars can be hundreds of pounds a year. Treat the purchase price and the first year of cover as one combined budget.
