Insure.com has compiled a list of the top 20 most and least expensive vehicles to insure for the 2009 model year.  They ran the numbers for more than 300 cars and found out what a 40 year-old man with a $500 deductible would pay.

Topping the list is Nissan’s “budget supercar,” the GT-R.  We’ll refrain from ranting about how surprisingly expensive the GT-R is, but this will be one more argument against the Datsun supercar killer.

In Nissan’s defense, “budget” doesn’t necessarily mean “inexpensive”.

The top 20 most expensive cars to insure is mostly made up of sports cars and luxury SUVs, which fall into the ‘if you can afford the car, you can afford the insurance’ category.  The big surprises are the Cobalt SS and Honda S2000, both great sports cars with great bang-for-the-buck.  Unfortunately, cheap sports cars end up driven badly and crashed a lot, so when you’re shopping for an S2000 or Cobalt SS, make sure to get insurance quotes before you sign any papers.

Insure.com explains that the vehicles in the top 20 are probably there mostly due to the driving styles of owners, and sports cars inspire aggressive driving.  That also explains the H2 and Escalade, a recent study found that they were among the most ticketed cars last year.

The 20 most expensive 2009 vehicles to insure.

Rank     Average Premium     Vehicle

1       $2,533                  Nissan GT-R

2       $2,446                  Dodge Viper

3       $2,236                  BMW M6

4       $2,186                  Ford Shelby GT500

5       $2,088                  Mercedes-Benz G-Class

6       $2,071                  Audi S8

7       $2,020                 BMW M5

8       $1,912                  Hummer H2

9       $1,881                  Lexus ISF

10       $1,819                Porsche 911

11       $1,762                Chevrolet Cobalt SS

12       $1,717                Jaguar XK Series

13       $1,714               BMW M3

14       $1,694              Cadillac XLR

15       $1,637              Audi R8

16       $1,603             Land Rover Range Rover

17       $1,592             Cadillac Escalade EXT

18       $1,587             Honda S2000

19       $1,584             BMW X6

20       $1,577             Mercedes-Benz SL-Class

The bottom 20 is less surprising than the top.  The only interesting part is that the top (bottom?) five cars are all made by Hyundai or Kia, cementing their position as the place to go when you want the most value for your dollar.  The Jeep Wrangler also made the list, which inspires me to give up the sports car and start off-roading.

The 20 least expensive 2009 vehicles to insure.

Rank      Average Premium        Vehicle

1         $832                      Hyundai Santa Fe

2         $840                     Kia Sportage

3         $848                     Hyundai Entourage

4         $857                     Kia Sedona

5         $870                     Kia Rio5

6         $871                     Honda Odyssey

7         $881                     Smart Fortwo

8         $911                     Saturn Vue

9         $913                    Mazda Tribute

10         $915                   Chrysler Town & Country

11         $921                   Scion xB

12         $929                  Mazda Mazda5

13         $936                  Volkswagen Passat

14         $939                 Jeep Wrangler

15         $951                 Honda Accord

16         $954                 Suzuki Forenza

17         $955                 Lincoln Town Car

18         $957                 Mazda Truck

19         $959                 Chevrolet Impala

20         $960                Dodge Grand Caravan

Insure.com is a little bit confused about forced induction, their press release included this line.

“The GT-R’s supercharged engine helped drive it to the top of the list. It’s a 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged 24-valve V6 with 485 horsepower.”

It’s forgivable, but somebody needs to inform them that this isn’t a ‘blinker’ vs ‘turn signal’ issue where there are two words for the same thing.