The cheapest car you can buy in South Africa in every segment

Car prices have shot up over the last few years in South Africa, making it hard to discern what the reasonable asking rate is for a particular model.

This issue is exacerbated by the fact that certain vehicle segments have declined in popularity while others have rapidly expanded over the same period.

Sedans are a good example of this, as they used to be the go-to body type for most households.

However, motorists have largely shifted over to crossovers and SUVs, resulting in a steep drop-off in the number of available sedans.

Today, there are only six sedans that cost less than R300,000 in South Africa, the cheapest of which is the R209,900 Proton Saga.

Of course, if you’re looking for the cheapest car possible, you’ll need to look at hatchbacks, where the Toyota Vitz currently sets the benchmark for R178,800.

Crossovers are also reasonably affordable if you know where to look, as Suzuki provides the R237,900 Ignis.

Larger SUVs, on the other hand, start with the R439,900 Jetour Dashing.

If you need something with more than five seats, you can pick up an MPV like the Renault Triber, which asks for R228,999.

Estate cars are a completely different story, as you will need to drop a minimum of R815,000 nowadays to purchase the Subaru Outback.

The same is true of other niche body types like coupes and convertibles, where the cheapest option is the R833,900 Toyota GR86 and the R379,900 Fiat 500C, respectively.

As for bakkies, you can purchase a basic workhorse single-cab like the Suzuki Super Carry for R193,900.

Double cabs are considerably more expensive, as the current entry-level model is the R399,900 Foton Tunland G7.

Setting the bar for every bracket

These are the cheapest models in every major vehicle segment in South Africa.

Click on the underlined prices to visit TopAuto Car Prices for more information.

Coupe

Toyota GR86 2.4 Manual

• Starting price – R833,900
• Power – 174kW/250Nm
• Fuel consumption – 9.5l/100km

Convertible

Fiat 500C 1.2 Style

• Starting price – R379,900
• Power – 51kW/102Nm
• Fuel consumption – 4.8l/100km

Crossover

Suzuki Ignis 1.2 GL

• Starting price – R237,900
• Power – 61kW/113Nm
• Fuel consumption – 5.1l/100km

Estate

Subaru Outback 2.5i Field

• Starting price – R815,000
• Power – 138kW/245Nm
• Fuel consumption – 7.3l/100km

Hatchback

Toyota Vitz 1.0

• Starting price – R178,800
• Power – 49kW/89Nm
• Fuel consumption – 4.4l/100km

MPV

Renault Triber 1.0 Life

• Starting price – R228,999
• Power – 52kW/96Nm
• Fuel consumption – 5.5l/100km

Sedan

Proton Saga 1.3 Standard Manual

• Starting price – R209,900
• Power – 70kW/120Nm
• Fuel consumption – 7.0l/100km

SUV

Jetour Dashing 1.5T Momentum

• Starting price – R439,900
• Power – 115kW/230Nm
• Fuel consumption – 7.8l/100km

Single cab bakkie

Suzuki Super Carry 1.2

• Starting price – R193,900
• Power – 59kW/104Nm
• Fuel consumption – 5.9l/100km

Extended cab bakkie

Isuzu D-Max 1.9TD Extended Cab

• Starting price – R499,700
• Power – 110kW/350Nm
• Fuel consumption – 7.1l/100km

Double cab bakkie

Foton Tunland G7 2.0TD Double Cab TL Manual

• Starting price – R399,900
• Power – 120kW/390Nm
• Fuel consumption – 8.0l/100km