I think it depends on how much money you want to spend and how safe you want to be but go for a Group 1 or 2 insurance car and it'll be cheaper.  Newer car (say £2000 plus) probably means comprehensive insurance so costs more (but not by much) and you get better safety. Older car means  go for a  Polo  or  Clio  for safety (check  pictures/scores on Euro NCAP!) or Micra for reliability and you might want to chance Third Party Fire and Theft Insurance.  Had a  R reg Micra  for years but traded up for safety reasons.  Overall, I'd go for the Polo because after the new car electrical problems are sorted by the first owner they go on for ever, are safe, hold their value and have some street cred too.

Saxo's are almost always an insurance group above the comparable 106 so it's Citroen's that are consider the more "boy racerish" of cars at least in my experience.

i wouldnt go for a fiesta or a peugeot, some insurance companies class those as "boy racer" cars, and can increase your premium, even if you're not a boy racer

citroen saxo's are ok, if you get one of the 1.1L cars. 

Hi Jude --- There are loads to choose from that would suffice, to name a few below.

Nissan Micra,  Vauxhall Corsa,  Ford Ka,  Fiat seicento,  Ford Fiesta,  Citroen C2,  Peugeot 206,  VW Polo.

To name but a few the list is endless : My personal choice from above would be a low mileage Nissan Micra, excellent reliability and build quality, cheap to run, service and insure, nice handling and comfortable.

Hello,

I am a learner driver at the moment but as soon as I pass my Test I am in the market to buy a car. My problem is which car to buy. I want a small car that is safe and good around a town and for some long distance travel. I want a car that would be quite cheap to insure as well. Please help. Thank you