The real cost of petrol in the Toyota Corolla Cross and Ford Ranger

Fuel consumption is one of the most important factors to consider when buying a new car, yet it’s also a statistic that can be hard to visualize in practice.

A figure of 7.0l/100km may sound reasonable on paper, but it’s not always obvious what this number translates to when you’re paying for your next tank at the pump.

TopAuto, therefore, took a closer look at South Africa’s favourite cars to see which ones truly offer the best bang for your buck over the long term.

To do so, we calculated the cost of fuel spent per kilometre for each of the top 10 best-selling models from March, based on the current price of both petrol and diesel.

As a reference, petrol 95 is retailing for R21.62 per litre as of April 2025, while diesel 0.05% is going for R19.32 per litre.

The standout in this regard is the Suzuki Swift, which is the only model on the list to cost less than R1 per kilometre to drive thanks to its small and efficient three-cylinder, 1.2-litre petrol plant.

Unsurprisingly, small hatchbacks tend to perform the best in this type of assessment, as the Hyundai Grand i10 and VW Polo Vivo tied for second place with a cost of R1.19 per km.

SUV and crossover fans, meanwhile, should look to the Nissan Magnite, which only runs up a tab of R1.28 per km.

Bakkie fans, on the other hand, might want to check out the Ford Ranger, which outperformed the Toyota Hilux, Isuzu D-Max, and Mahindra Pik Up in this assessment.

One thing to clarify with the bakkies is that we compared an automatic 4×4 double cab version of each model to maintain a more balanced result.

Frugal favourites

Below is a list of South Africa’s top 10 best-selling cars from March 2025 arranged according to their fuel cost per kilometre.

1. Suzuki Swift 1.2 GL – R0.95 per km

• Fuel consumption – 4.4l/100km
• Range – 841km
• Tank size – 37 litres
• Cost to refuel – R799,94
• Cost per km – R0.95

2. Hyundai Grand i10 1.0 Premium – R1.19 per km

• Fuel consumption – 5.5l/100km
• Range – 673km
• Tank size – 37 litres
• Cost to refuel – R799.94
• Cost per km – R1.19

3. VW Polo Vivo 1.4 – R1.19 per km

• Fuel consumption – 5.5l/100km
• Range – 818km
• Tank size – 45 litres
• Cost to refuel – R972.90
• Cost per km – R1.19

4. Nissan Magnite 1.0 Visia – R1.28 per km

• Fuel consumption – 5.9l/100km
• Range – 678km
• Tank size – 40 litres
• Cost to refuel – R864.80
• Cost per km – R1.28

5. Ford Ranger 2.0 BiTurbo double cab XLT 4×4 – R1.45 per km

• Fuel consumption – 7.5l/100km
• Range – 1,067km
• Tank size – 80 litres
• Cost to refuel – R1,545.60
• Cost per km – R1.45

6. Toyota Corolla Cross 1.8 Xi – R1.47 per km

• Fuel consumption – 6.8l/100km
• Range – 691km
• Tank size – 47 litres
• Cost to refuel – R1,016.14
• Cost per km – R1.47

7. Isuzu D-Max 1.9TD double cab LS X-Rider 4×4 Auto – R1.47 per km

• Fuel consumption – 7.6l/100km
• Range – 1,052km
• Tank size – 80 litres
• Cost to refuel – R1,545.60
• Cost per km – R1.47

8. Chery Tiggo 4 Pro 1.5 LiT – R1.51 per km

• Fuel consumption – 7.0l/100km
• Range – 729km
• Tank size – 51 litres
• Cost to refuel – R1,102.62
• Cost per km – R1.51

9. Toyota Hilux 2.8GD-6 double cab 4×4 Raider Auto – R1.54 per km

• Fuel consumption – 8.0l/100km
• Range – 1,000km
• Tank size – 80 litres
• Cost to refuel – R1,545.60
• Cost per km – R1,54 per km

10. Mahindra Pik Up 2.2CRDe double cab 4×4 S11 Karoo Storm – R1.80 per km

• Fuel consumption – 9.3l/100km
• Range – 860km
• Tank size – 80 litres
• Cost to refuel – R1,545.60
• Cost per km – R1.80