Small SUVs and CUVs (Crossover Utility Vehicles) are the fastest growing segment in the automotive industry. In 20 years, the segment has grown to over 40% of the market and has shown no signs of slowing down.
With such a market dominance, how do small SUVs fare on the insurance side? Surprising well, actually. Costing on average 5% more than the average midsized car, small SUVs have a slight disadvantage in fuel economy numbers but more than make up for it with affordable auto insurance rates.
How much does small SUV insurance cost?
The small SUV segment has surprisingly good insurance rates, ranging from the Chevrolet Trailblazer at $1,370 per year for full coverage insurance to the Ford Mustang Mach-E at $2,048 per year for 2023 models. The average cost of insurance for all small SUVs is $1,649 per year.
The table below ranks all 2023 compact SUVs by annual and monthly insurance policy cost.
As a monthly expense, auto insurance for the small SUV segment ranges from $114 to $171 per month. Assumptions made for these rates include full coverage, a middle-aged safe driver, and rates are averaged for all trim levels for each vehicle model.
Our small SUV segment could be called the “affordable small SUV” class, as it does not include small luxury SUVs like the Acura RDX, Lexus UX 200, or Audi Q3. We rank luxury vehicles separately in order to have more of an apples-to-apples comparison of insurance cost.
Next, we’ll cover some of the more commonly asked questions that might pop up when researching insurance for a small SUV.
Which small SUV is cheapest to insure?
The cheapest 2023 model year small SUV to insure is the Chevrolet Trailblazer, costing $1,370 per year. This breaks down to $685 for a 6-month policy or $114 per month. With the average small SUV costing $1,649 per year for insurance, the Chevrolet Trailblazer can potentially save around $279 a year.
The other models ranked in the top five small SUVs with the cheapest insurance cost include the Subaru Crosstrek at $1,380 per year, the Nissan Kicks at $1,386, the Nissan Rogue Sport at $1,412, and the Mazda CX-5 at $1,422.
Also see our complete SUV car insurance cost comparison including mid-size and full-size models to find out what is the cheapest SUV to insure.
Which small SUV is most expensive to insure?
The most expensive small SUV to insure is the Ford Mustang Mach-E, costing $2,048 per year. It will cost around $678 more to insure a Ford Mustang Mach-E each year compared to the cheapest small SUV to insure, the Chevrolet Trailblazer.
At $2,048 a year, that is a 21.6% premium over the $1,649 average for the small SUV class, and 16.9% more than the national average car insurance rate (all vehicles) of $1,728.
What does insurance cost on average for a small SUV?
The average insurance rate for all 47 vehicles in our small SUV insurance cost comparison is $1,649 per year. This compares very favorably to the overall all-vehicle national average insurance rate of $1,728, a difference of $79 per year.
What is the most popular small SUV?
By far, the Toyota RAV4 is the most popular small SUV in America. With third quarter 2022 sales of 102,456 units, it beats the second place Honda CR-V by about 40,000 sales. Incidentally, RAV4 insurance costs a little more than the average small SUV at an additional $27 more per year.
Does a Toyota RAV4 or Honda CR-V cost less to insure?
With the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V being #1 and #2 in small SUV segment sales, an obvious question is which one costs less to insure. The easy winner is the CR-V at $1,534 per year compared to the RAV4 at $1,676, a difference of $142 per year.
The insurance cost for each model does average rates across all trim levels, so it’s important to understand that comparing a base level Toyota RAV4 LE to the premium Honda CR-V Touring will have an entirely different result.