The salary you need to earn to afford the cheapest Toyota in South Africa

Motorists need to earn at least R24,000 per month to purchase a Toyota on a finance plan in South Africa, according to a calculation by TopAuto.

Toyota is the most popular car brand in the country, thanks in large part to its wide selection of vehicles covering everything from bakkies to luxury SUVs, performance models, and affordable hatchbacks.

This brings us to the Vitz, which is the cheapest Toyota in South Africa with a starting price of just R189,900, making it one of the last cars on the market that falls under R200,000.

For this sum, you can expect a 1.0-litre naturally-aspirated petrol engine, which puts out 49kW and 89Nm.

The base Vitz is fitted with a five-speed manual gearbox and has an average fuel consumption of 4.4l/100km.

If you want an automatic, you’ll have to upgrade to the R239,900 XR, which uses a five-speed automated manual transmission and consumes a slightly higher 4.4l/100km.

The hatchback’s equipment includes halogen headlights, a chrome-accented grille, 14-inch steel wheels, a full-sized spare wheel, manual air conditioning, a 12V socket, rear parking sensors, ABS with electronic brake-force distribution, two airbags, and two speakers, though a radio must be installed separately in the base variants.

Anyone who picks up the pricier XR can further expect remote central locking, all-electric windows, a USB port, a multifunction steering wheel, four speakers, and a 7-inch infotainment screen with Bluetooth and wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Each purchase of the Vitz comes with a 3-year/100,000km warranty and a 2-year/30,000km service plan.

What you need to earn

We can use the following formula to work out the monthly payments on the Vitz:

• Car price – R189,900/R239,900
• Payment term – 60 terms (5 years)
• Interest – 11.50%
• Deposit – 0%
• Balloon – No balloon payment
• Extras – No optional extras

According to this, you’ll need to pay at least R4,272 per month for the base model, or up to R5,372 per month for the XR.

Financial experts then recommend that you do not spend more than 20% of your gross monthly salary on vehicle payments.

This means you’ll need to earn anywhere from R23,360 per month to R26,860 per month to afford a Toyota on a finance plan in South Africa.

Note that this figure does not account for insurance, fuel, and maintenance, which must all be factored into your budget.