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Shrink your car and you will shrink your car insurance – that is the message that 2.7million motorists are hearing loud and clear.

Research from Saga car insurance shows that more than a quarter of drivers (27 per cent) have taken steps to reduce their car insurance premiums while ensuring they are still legally covered. Among the steps taken, around eight per cent of motorists have even gone as far as to pick up a smaller car in order to attract better insurance premiums.

Downsizing can have a positive impact on your car insurance premiums because smaller cars generally have less powerful engines and are less likely to be driven at high speeds. Therefore the impact of any accident that occurs is usually significantly less, which means the insurer has less to fork out on claims.

Keeping your vehicle choice small and conventional is particularly useful for young drivers. Generally insurers frown on young drivers with fast or modified cars, so you should think before you buy.

If you don’t want to do anything as radical as changing your car to earn cheaper car insurance there are still ways to save.

For example, around one in ten motorists have increased their voluntary excess to reduce their premiums – a smart move as long as the excess is set at a level you can comfortably afford if an accident occurred. A further four per cent of motorists have removed named drivers from their policy.

Additional ways to save on car insurance include parking on a drive or in a garage at night rather than on the street. Only insure the people that will definitely be driving your car and make sure you are insured for the correct amount of miles you drive each year.