Older car or new Swift for cheaper 18-year-old insurance?

[Daiman]

Hi everyone, I need some wisdom from the hive mind because I am going slightly mad trying to figure this out.

My DD has just turned 18 and we are looking at first car options. Originally, my plan was to buy her a solid older car for around £3,000 to £4,000. My logic was that a cheaper car would mean cheaper insurance, and less heartbreak when she inevitably gets the odd scrape while getting used to driving.

However, I’ve been watching a few YouTube videos that suggest this isn't necessarily true anymore. Apparently, newer cars with modern safety features are actually coming back with lower insurance quotes for young drivers than older bangers.

I've tried running comparison quotes myself to test this, but the numbers are hard to compare and my whole picture is looking increasingly blurred.

To complicate things, I’ve spotted that Suzuki is running a 4-year 0% finance deal on the new Swift PCP. It feels like an absolute steal, especially if the insurance actually turns out to be lower, but I'm not sure whether this is real or just something that I want to believe.

Has anyone actually been through this recently? Is the "new car = cheaper insurance" thing a myth, or is it a genuine reality for an 18-year-old?

Thanks in advance!

No idea about the swift, but I got fully comprehensive insurance (with a black box) our ds’s 10 year old Peugeot 208 for £890 which was extremely good compared to lots of his friends with fiestas, polos, corsas etc.

It was also cheaper if DS was the registered owner and keeper.

ds has been ok, but lots of his friends have had minor scrapes in their cars so have a think how you’d both feel about that happening on a brand new car.

Thanks this is helpful - especially the point about the registered owner and keeper - surprising this was the case.

It might not be with all insurance companies, but was certainly a factor with the policy that we took out in the end.

I think the PP means owner and registered keeper.