Is The Honda CR-V The Least Expensive Car To Insure? Here's What The Data Says

When you're buying a new car, there are a lot of hidden costs to think about. Alongside the purchase price, you'll need to consider maintenance, fuel, taxes, and insurance. Out of all those costs, insurance can give unprepared drivers a particularly nasty surprise, since some cars command outrageous insurance premiums. However, at the other end of the spectrum, some cars are consistently among the cheapest to insure. The Honda CR-V is one of those, with multiple studies confirming that it has some of the lowest average premiums of any new car.

Studies are split over whether or not it's the absolute cheapest car to insure, but it's consistently ranked within the top one or two models. According to Insure.com's 2026 insurance premium study, the CR-V has the cheapest insurance premiums of any car on the market, with an average monthly cost of $161, or $1,932 annually. Meanwhile, CarEdge crowned the Mazda CX-5 the cheapest overall, with an annual cost of $1,947. However, it still ranked the CR-V in a close second place, with an average of $1,951.

A 2026 study by Bankrate that assessed the cost of full coverage claimed that the cheapest premiums were found with the Subaru Outback. The Subaru reportedly costs an average of $2,242 annually, while the CR-V again took the second-place spot with an average of $2,270. Regardless of whether or not it's the absolute cheapest to insure, buyers will find the CR-V one of the safest bets overall for affordable insurance.

While budget-conscious buyers will undoubtedly appreciate the cheap premiums, it's far from the only reason to buy a Honda CR-V. Both new and used models are appealing options thanks to their efficiency, practicality, and strong value retention, with the latter meaning buyers should get more of their original investment back when it comes time to upgrade. Many examples of the CR-V are also built in America, with the Indiana Auto Plant and the East Liberty Auto Plant in Ohio having produced the latest generation of the car since 2022.

The CR-V is available with a choice of either a gas or hybrid powertrain, and the CR-V Hybrid has a few key advantages over its pure-combustion counterpart. It offers superior low-end torque that can make a big difference when taking off, and it's more efficient than the non-hybrid to boot. However, our reviewer found that the all-wheel drive car's EPA-estimated rating of 37 mpg combined was very optimistic, with our real-world testing returning an average of 31 mpg. The front-wheel drive version should return slightly better figures, but drivers should still expect a real-world mpg figure that's lower than the EPA's 40 mpg combined estimate.