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10 best-selling pickup trucks that are the cheapest to insure

April 1, 2022
4 mins
A white truck tows a trailer behind it on a mountain road

This article has been updated from a previous version.

The pickup trucks Canadians buy most often are mostly built “Ford tough.” All other models’ sales paled in comparison.

The Ram Pickup (the second best-selling truck in Canada) came in with more than 83,000 sales in 2021, and the best-selling sports utility vehicle (SUV) in 2021, the Toyota RAV4, topped out at just under 68,000.

The Ford F-Series is undoubtedly a Canadian favourite. However, the pandemic hit the sales of the Ford F-Series and Ram trucks hard as both trucks saw their sales plummet.

Canada’s 10 top-selling pickup trucks

Although sales dropped significantly for both contenders, neither is in jeopardy of losing its title of being in the top two best-selling pickup trucks in Canada.

Rank Pickup truck make and model 2021 sales 2020 sales % change
1 Ford F-Series 116, 402 128,650 -9.52%
2 Ram Pickup 73,477 83,673 -12.19%
3 GMC Sierra 53,757 51,512 +4.36%
4 Chevrolet Silverado 36,419 52,767 -30.98%
5 Toyota Tacoma 14,879 16,946 -12.20%
6 Ford Ranger 11,200 10,840 +3.32%
7 Toyota Tundra 6,654 11,053 -39.80%
8 Chevrolet Colorado 5,572 6,648 -16.19%
9 GMC Canyon 4,865 5,030 -3.28%
10 Jeep Gladiator 4,343 4,859 -10.62%

Source: GoodCarBadCar.net

Which trucks rank best for cheapest auto insurance? Hint: it’s neither of the two top sellers.

The best-selling pickup trucks ranked by cheapest to insure in Ontario

Although they have a fraction of the sales of this segment’s powerhouses, the Ford Ranger and Chevrolet Colorado come out on top for the trucks most likely to have cheaper auto insurance rates in Ontario.

Rank Pickup truck make and model Average premium for vehicle model in
Ontario*
1 Ford Ranger $1,470.16
2 Chevrolet Colorado $1,484.64
3 Toyota Tacoma $1,513.93
4 GMC Sierra $1,644.03
5 Chevrolet Silverado $1,738.73
6 Jeep Gladiator $1,868.14
7 Toyota Tundra $1,892.78
8 Ram Pickup $1,935.36
9 Ford –F-Series $1,945.98
10 GMC Canyon $2,135.88

Overall, pickup trucks fared better in insurance rates than those for Canada’s best-selling SUVs.

The best-selling pickup trucks ranked by cheapest to insure in Alberta

The Ford Ranger tops the list for best-selling pickup trucks to insure in Ontario and Alberta. And while drivers typically pay less for auto insurance in Alberta, this is not the case for pickup trucks. This may be, in part, due to the popularity of the vehicle is in the province.

Rank Pickup truck make and model Average premium for vehicle model in
Alberta*
1 Ford Ranger $1,371.39
2 GMC Sierra $1,770.77
3 GMC Canyon $1,857.75
4 Jeep Gladiator $1,926.00
5 Toyota Tundra $1,999.17
6 Ford –F-Series $2,084.49
7 Chevrolet Colorado $2,093.58
8 Toyota Tacoma $2,095.58
9 Chevrolet Silverado $2,163.82
10 Ram Pickup $2,332.25

Auto insurance rates are highly unique

The amount of information used to inform the auto insurance rate you pay is vast. It’s also highly unique to your particular situation — details such as where you live, your driving and insurance history, and your driving record factor into your premium. There’s also the type of vehicle you drive because some are involved in more claims (collision-related or theft, for example) or are prone to have higher claims costs.

Insurance premiums are also unique to each insurance provider, and no two are alike. Each company has its own formula, and the numbers will vary even when all else is equal, such as your personal and vehicle details. That is why it’s important to keep in mind that the vehicle that costs you the least to insure may not be the truck that’s the cheapest choice for someone else.

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Estimated annual fuel or charging cost

Pickups are the worker bees of all the passenger vehicles, and depending on how often you’re out hauling stuff or towing items, there’s a better than average chance you spend as much on fuel each year as you do on your coverage. Probably more.

We ranked the pickups by the estimated annual fuel cost. This time, the Chevrolet Silverado shot to the top of the list. The Ford-F Series and Ram options can be particularly costly depending on the exact model or vehicle upgrades.

Rank Pickup truck make and model Estimated annual fuel cost**
1 Chevrolet Silverado $3,649 - $5,298
2 Ram Pickup $3,649 - $7,959
3 GMC Sierra $3,731 - $5,298
4 Ford –F-Series $3,329 (hybrid) - $5,656
5 Ford Ranger $3,902 - $4,368
6 Jeep Gladiator $4,018 - $4,475
7 Chevrolet Colorado $4,100 - $5,048
8 GMC Canyon $4,100 - $4,690
9 Toyota Tacoma $4,260 - $4,618
10 Toyota Tundra $5,692 - $5,835

When you drive a pickup truck, the fuel cost is considerable, especially when you factor in the volatility of gas prices in Canada.

Methodology

*To get the average premium by make and province, we used actual data from people who have shopped for auto insurance at RATESDOTCA.

Since coverage can vary based on home address, age, and several other factors, we limited the scope of our analysis to provide a more accurate apples-to-apples comparison.

To get the average premium for each vehicle model in Ontario and Alberta, we used the following methodology:

  • Number of vehicles: 1
  • Number of drivers: 1
  • Clean driving record (no collisions, suspensions, or traffic tickets)
  • Age: 30-39
  • Gender: Male

We then ranked the models by the cheapest premium to most expensive premium. Results may vary based on your circumstances.

**The annual estimated fuel cost is based on driving 20,000 kilometres per year — a realistic distance for most Canadians — at fuel prices estimated to be $1.79/L for regular, $2.02/L for premium, and $2.05/L for diesel based on the national daily average retail prices for gasoline on March 25, 2022. This information comes from the Natural Resources Canada Fuel Consumption Ratings Search Tool. It does not include the additional costs of driving a plug-in hybrid electric model or battery electric vehicle. Consumption varies within a model due to options chosen when the car is purchased, how you drive, traffic, and road conditions.

Lesley Green

Lesley Green is a seasoned writer and editor. She previously worked at RATESDOTCA, sharing her expertise with the marketing team for nearly two decades. Lesley enjoys live theatre, travelling, curling and, depending on how well she's hitting the ball, golfing.

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