The petrol station with the cheapest snacks in South Africa

Puma has the cheapest snacks on average of any petrol station in South Africa, while Engen stands out for having the most expensive options.

Petrol stations are a cornerstone of the South African motoring experience, serving as a pit stop for families travelling on national roads, and convenience stores for anyone stocking up on their way home from work.

Every major forecourt franchise sells the same core goods, ranging from cold drinks and bottled water to chips, chocolate bars, and a few household essentials like bread.

This raises the question of which stations offer the best prices for the everyday items we tend to grab, so TopAuto decided to pay a visit to seven different franchises around Gauteng to see who had the best deals.

We visited Astron Energy, BP, Engen, Puma, Sasol, Shell, and TotalEnergies and compared a ‘basket’ of the goods one would typically buy at a garage.

This included the types of snacks one would buy on a road trip, as well as a few household goods such as a loaf of bread, 1 litre of milk, toilet paper, and charcoal.

Of course, not every station has all these items on hand, but in the end, we were able to compile a list comparing prices for most of the goods we identified.

Another aspect that makes the comparison tricky is the fact that many petrol station brands are affiliated with different supermarket chains.

BP’s forecourts are supplied by Pick n Pay, while Engen stocks its locations with Woolworths goods, and some Astron Energy locations have a FreshStop, which is part of the Food Lover’s Market Group.

We also added a takeaway cappuccino and a fresh pie to our list of goods in order to compare the coffee chains and counter options at each station.

While some forecourts only have a self-serve coffee machine, others feature dedicated food and drink outlets from major brands

Notably, some Shell garages have a Vida e Caffè, while Astron is partnered with the Seattle Coffee Company, and BP has its own Wild Bean Café brand.

With all that said, here are the pricing results for each petrol station we visited. In cases where a brand is not specified, we looked for the cheapest available option.

Note that these prices are based on petrol stations we personally visited in Gauteng, and are likely to vary by region.

Puma had the lowest prices on average, though Astron and Sasol also offered some good deals on certain goods like bread and chips.

TotalEnergies self-service coffee had the lowest price, but Astron’s Seattle was the cheapest of the three coffee chains we were able to compare.

Engen, meanwhile, proved to be the most expensive on average. Part of this is due to the fact that it stocks Woolworths goods instead of the common brands found at other forecourts.

For example, every other station contained a standard pack of Eet Sum Mor biscuits, the closest comparison at Engen was a pack of Woolworth’s Digestives.

While this makes Engen more expensive if you are just planning to grab a few goodies, it does present a major advantage that the other stations lack.

Of all the forecourts we visited, the Engen was the only one that offered goods beyond the usual drinks and junk food.

It had items such as fresh fruit and vegetables, steak, crumbed chicken breasts, ice cream tubs, eggs, pasta, and Woolworths ready meals.

So while Engen is the most expensive, it is by far the best option for anyone who needs to make a quick grocery trip on their way home from work, based on our test.