No car is perfect when it comes to safety. We know that automakers take safety seriously: in just the last 10 years, technical advances like crumple zones, reinforced cabin beams, and electronic stability control have reduced fatalities and severe injuries. But some cars are safer than others … and here are some recent makes and models that don’t pass muster, according to the Insurance Institute For Highway Safety’s 2009, 2010, and 2011 rankings. We also called three major insurance companies to ask them how much more they’d charge to insure these cars. You might be a little surprised by their car insurance comparison statistics.
The Worst:
1. 2009-2011 Chevrolet Aveo
A three-time loser in the rankings, the 2009, 2010, and 2011 Aveos all made the most dangerous list. The problem? The car doesn’t handle rear impacts nearly as well as front-end impacts, meaning that if drivers get rear-ended at high speeds, they’re in trouble.
Insurance Ratings Increase: This vehicle had premiums ranging from 10% to 40% higher than average. One agent, Steve, summed it up for us: “The Aveo is not the best car for safety on the road, so record is really important here. A good driver would probably only pay about 10 percent more: a bad driver, especially in the 2009, I might not even give him a quote.”
2. 2010 Kia Spectra
A recent entrant, the Spectra topped the 2011 ratings for among the highest deaths per million drivers, due to poor protection on the rear and sides.
Insurance Ratings Increase: 20% to 50%. One agent who asked to stay anonymous said “Kias are relatively safe; keep in mind that 102 deaths per million vehicles is pretty minor all around. That said, even fender benders are more likely to cost me. So I have to price accordingly.”
3. 2009-2011 Nissan 350Z
The 350Z is on the list because, well, it’s a sports car. Not only is it small and thus not likely to come out better in a collision, sports car drivers are known for their love of speeding.
Insurance Ratings Increase: 15% to 45% … and that’s on top of the usual sports car premium. Amanda, an agent we interviewed, summed it up like this: “You want me to insure a sports car? That’s not cheap. You want me to insure a sports car that’s slightly more likely to kill you? That’s insane. I’ve given cheaper rates to Porsche drivers.”
4. Hummer (yes, any Hummer)
Hummers are awful in terms of rear-end safety, making them dangerous to drive, especially since they can cause a lot of collateral damage. But that’s not what makes them so unappealing.
Insurance Ratings Increase: 50% or more, and that’s if you can find an insurer. One agent literally laughed when we asked what a Hummer would cost, and explained, “They’re a defunct brand, with a bad safety rating across the board, expensive parts, and a tendency among drivers to be more likely to drive badly because they feel safe even though they aren’t. So not only will they wreck, and every Hummer I’ve insured has wrecked, they’ll cost a fortune to fix. I’m always happy to tell angry customers with Hummers to get a second opinion; it teaches them a lesson about how insurance works.”
5. Any SUV manufactured before calendar year 2004
SUVs post 2004 tend to come with electronic stability control, a vital safety feature that has rendered them much safer than other classes of cars. But before then, without the ESC, they were, and remain, major rollover risks compared to other vehicles.
Insurance Ratings Increase: 15% to 75%. “It’s because teenagers and bad drivers are driving them,” says an agent. “They’re old, so they’re filtering down to the market of people who just need a junker and may not be the best driver.” “I would not buy a teenager one of those cars,” says another. “They’re still roadworthy, but they’re aging, which means more likelihood of mechanical problems, and it really does raise the chance of rollovers. I’d really only give normal rates to a driver with a spotless safety record who wasn’t going to drive it much.”
6. 2010 Chrysler PT Cruiser
The PT Cruiser may look unique, but those unique looks come with a cost: the PT Cruiser is less safe than others in its class when it comes to side or rear impacts.
Insurance Ratings Increase: 25% at least. “It really depends on the driver in this case, because, again,” emphasized an agent, “these cars aren’t nearly as dangerous as much older models. But being hit anywhere but the front means a higher cost of repair, so the premiums reflect that.”
7. 2010 Toyota Sienna
The Sienna doesn’t do well with rear impacts … which is a problem, since it’s a minivan.
Insurance Ratings Increase: 30% or more, depending on who’s in the back seat. One agent actively dislikes this vehicle: “If a guy with a family walks in, I’ve got to ask myself how likely it is his child is going to be injured. It’s the worst part of my job by a country mile. They’re not deliberately risking their kids. But I have to charge accordingly. Thankfully I’ve never had an accident.”
8. 2011 Nissan Titan, all makes
The Titan is the least safe pickup on the market, according to many, thanks to its poor side-impact performance.
Insurance Ratings Increase: 10% to 60%. One agent laid it out for us: “It really depends on use. If this is tooling around a construction site, not really on roads, whatever. If it’s on the roads a lot, it’s at risk.” Another stated that “pickups in general are not the safest class, and honestly Titans aren’t that popular anyway, but they’re just more dangerous for the class.”
9. 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt
The Cobalt doesn’t actually have an area in which it’s “worst,” it’s just all-around mediocre in terms of safety.
Insurance Ratings Increase: 10% to 25%. The agents agreed that the Cobalt is riskier, but not as bad as some on this list. “Put it to you this way, I probably wouldn’t buy my kid one, but I wouldn’t warn an adult who knew what he was getting into away from it,” one told us.
10. 2010 Kia Rio
The Rio is another “270 degrees” car: a car where only the front end does well in crash tests.
Insurance Ratings Increase: 20% to 40%. “It’s small, it has bad crash protection, and it’s everywhere,” said one agent.
A Few General Tips
The insurance agents we surveyed shared a few tips with us on how they determine insurance rates for specific vehicles:
- Side and rear impacts are the biggest problem, making those the factors agents most closely scrutinize.
- The more recent, the better; even the worst current model cars from insurance research are leaps and bounds better than cars from five years ago. This is especially true of SUVs.
- Color matters. A black, gray, blue, or red car will tend to blend into the background for other drivers and make an impact more likely. Painting your car a more visible color will lead to premium cuts.
- Record also matters: a bad car doesn’t crash on its own, after all. A driver with a spotless record in a bad car may not notice a change in premiums simply because their careful driving counteracts the risks of the car.
Remember, always check the safety ratings of a car before purchasing it, and when you’re not sure about a car’s insurance, come to CarInsuranceComparison.com. We’ll run your insurance needs by dozens of insurers and find you the best possible rates. We’ve even got the tools to help you find the insurance rates on a car you’re thinking of owning. Enter your zip code below to find the best rates for free!
