All the 1.0-litre cars you can buy in South Africa – Power and efficiency compared

With the advent of turbocharging technologies and stricter emissions regulations, downsizing has been the prevailing trend in the automotive industry.

Today, it’s not uncommon to find large vehicles that would once have been driven by a 6.3-litre engine now powered by a 2.0-litre block with one or more turbos bolted to it.

Similarly, with smaller drive units, companies have been able to reduce the size of their vehicles without compromising on power.

What this means for the average consumer is that they now have around 20 options on the new-car market with a 1.0-litre engine, the majority of which offer decent outputs and fuel consumption at a competitive price.

If you’re looking for the most powerful 1.0-litre on offer, your main choices come from sister brands Audi and VW, whose A1 and Polo hatchbacks, as well as the T-Cross crossover, push out a respectable 85kW and 200Nm each.

The most efficient model, however, is the Fiat 500 which only burns one litre of petrol for every 25 kilometres driven; while the most affordable choice is the Suzuki S-Presso with a window sticker of R174,900 – coincidentally making it the most attainable passenger car on the market, too.

1.0-litre rides

All the cars with 1.0-litre engines that you can buy in South Africa right now are detailed in the below table.

Click on the underlined prices for more information.