Nissan GT-R, Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Among Most Expensive To Insure

By Bengt Halvorson

Bengt Halvorson

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2009 Nissan GT-R

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The Nissan GT-R is one of the most exciting and sought-after new sports cars, and whether at its $76,840 base price or with the more likely dealer markup, it’s one of the hottest performance bargains this year. In TheCarConnection.com’s Bottom Line on the 2009 Nissan GT-R, executive editor Marty Padgett declares that “it’s a supercar in all but price tag—a bargain Bugatti Veyron at less than one-tenth the price.” With its ‘attainable exotic’ status, it’s not at all surprising that the GT-R is the most expensive vehicle to insure in the U.S., with an annual premium of just over $2,500.

Several other high-performance vehicles also ranked right up near the top, according to the insurance comparison-shopping site Insure.com, including the Dodge Viper, BMW M6, Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, and BMW M5. Luxury SUVs were the other most expensive group to insure, with the Mercedes-Benz G-Class, Hummer H2, and Land Rover Range Rover all in the top 20.

The lone lower priced vehicle at the ‘most expensive’ end of the list is the $23,525 Chevrolet Cobalt SS, which costs an average $1,762 annually to insure.

2009 Hyundai Santa Fe

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The least expensive new model to insure, the 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe, can be insured at about one-fourth the cost of the GT-R. Other low-insurance SUV choices include the the Kia Sportage, Saturn Vue, and Mazda Tribute. Several minivans ranked among the cheapest, including the Hyundai Entourage, Kia Sedona, and Honda Odyssey, but it was a little more surprising that several small cars—the Kia Rio5, Smart Fortwo, and Scion xB—ranked among the least expensive to insure.

Next to just fuel costs and depreciation, insurance ranks as one of the highest yearly costs associated with owning a late-model vehicle.

Insure.com says that owners of the GT-R (as other expensive-to-insure vehicles) will buy it for power and speed, “and their driving habits will be reflected in frequent and expensive claims,” while the most affordable vehicles to insure tend to more closely reflect a vehicle’s safety. So, to the point, sports-car buyers are going to have to pay extra for those bad drivers, no matter how responsible they are.

The company used averages based on a 40-year-old male driver who commutes 12 miles to work, and rates were averages across zip codes and companies.

Continue below for the rankings.

The 20 most expensive 2009 vehicles to insure:

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 IS F
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 20 least expensive 2009 vehicles to insure:

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 (B-Series)
19        $959        Chevrolet Impala
20        $960        Dodge Grand Caravan