InsWeb Corp., the Gold River-based online provider of insurance quotes, has released a list of the most expensive and least expensive auto models to insure.

InsWeb compared car insurance rate quotes requested by customers between January and September for 2010 model year vehicles. More than 400 models were part of the study.

The 10 least expensive models on the InsWeb list, in order, are the Kia Sedona, Mazda5, Ford Escape, Hyundai Santa Fe, Mercury Mariner, Chrysler PT Cruiser, Ford Explorer, Subaru Outback, Kia Optima and Chevrolet Equinox.

InsWeb listed the most expensive vehicles to insure in this order: Acura ZDX, Audi TTS, Audi A5, Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Corvette, BMW Z4, Lexus SC, Jaguar XF, Cadillac STS and Dodge Challenger.

"It's no coincidence that the majority of the most expensive vehicles to insure are performance vehicles," said Brad Cooper, InsWeb's senior vice president of operations.

"On the other end of the spectrum, most of the vehicles on the least-expensive-to insure list are minivans, wagons and small SUVs. Those vehicle types are often preferred by individuals with families – perhaps the least likely people to engage in risky driving behavior."