Insure.com has come out with its annual ranking of average insurance premiums for 2010 car models.  Surprisingly, an SUV, the Mazda Tribute I, a two-wheel drive 4-cylinder model, was found to be the least expensive new model to insure.  According to the ranking, the Mazda Tribute I has an average annual premium of $1,070.25.  The Insure.com ranking included a variety of makes and models including compact cars, SUVs, and sports cars. 

A variety of factors influence insurance costs.  Vehicles that are highly appealing, have a lot of horsepower, and driven during peak hours or late at night tend to have higher insurance costs.  For 2010, the Porsche 911 Carrera GT2 two-door coupe, a car that costs nearly $200,000 was found to be the most expensive vehicle to insure.  A 40 year-old male with a good driving record would pay an average of nearly $3,000 a year to insure this 530 horsepower Porsche.

From an insurance perspective, a “soccer” mom who owns a Mazda Tribute I, poses a significantly lower risk than a driver of a Porsche.  She is much less likely to make a claim and is probably not an aggressive driver.  Mazda Tribute’s are also much cheaper to repair after a collision than a Porsche. 

Other SUVs making the lists top 20 were the four-wheel drive Jeep Wrangler X, and the two-wheel drive Hyundai Tucson GLS, Kia Sportage LX, Hyundai Santa Fe GLS, Jeep Patriot Sport, Honda CR-V LX, Dodge Journey SE, and four-wheel drive Ford Escape XLS.  No SUVs were in the rankings top 20 vehicles to insurance, which was dominated by European sports cars and high performance sedans.