How much money you really save when buying South Africa’s cheapest hybrid
The Toyota Corolla Cross is the most affordable hybrid in South Africa, promising to save owners thousands of rands over the long term in the form of a reduced petrol bill.
The catch is that the semi-electric powertrain comes at a significant premium, which means that motorists will need to do a lot of driving to make up the money spent on the vehicle before it actually starts to reflect positively on your monthly statement.
Upfront costs vs long-term savings
The Corolla Cross Hybrid is available in three different trim levels, but each model has the exact same fuel consumption relative to its non-electric counterpart, which simplifies the comparison.
Every model in the range is powered by a 1.8-litre petrol engine, but the hybrids are assisted by an electric motor that provides additional power and torque during acceleration.
The motor is powered by a dedicated battery pack, which is recharged using a set of regenerative brakes.
The following table shows how much petrol the hybrid crossover uses compared to the standard model, and how much it will have saved in fuel bills over the course of 1,000km.
The fuel cost is calculated based on the current value of petrol 95 which is sitting at R22.19 per litre as of September 2024.
| Model | Claimed fuel consumption | Fuel used after 1,000km | Fuel cost |
| Toyota Corolla Cross 1.8 XS | 6.8l/100km | 68 litres | R1,508.92 |
| Toyota Corolla Cross 1.8 Hybrid XS | 4.3l/100km | 43 litres | R954.17 |
This equates to a pretty good fuel-saving of R554.75 per 1,000km regardless of the model selected, so the next question is how much more you are spending for the frugal drivetrain.
The price of the units being compared is listed below:
The cost difference works out to R42,200, which we can use to calculate how much driving is needed to pay for the hybrid’s higher price tag before it starts saving money.=:
| Model | Vehicle price difference | Fuel savings per 1,000km | Driving distance to break even |
| Toyota Corolla Cross 1.8 Hybrid XS | R42,200 | R554.75 | 76,070km |
That’s quite a lot of mileage that you will need to undertake before your wallet starts to feel any benefit, but the good news is that you may potentially hit the break-even point much sooner than indicated.
The reason is that a car’s official fuel consumption is calculated based on a mix of urban (town) and extra-urban (highway) driving.
Counterintuitively, hybrids like the Corolla are actually at their most efficient in urban areas as the electrical underpinnings are designed to improve acceleration at low speeds and reduce unnecessary fuel spending.
At higher speeds, hybrid vehicles are almost entirely reliant on their combustion engines which means that freeways will actually net the lowest benefit to your average usage.
Since owners typically spend most of their day driving to work or the shops, the hybrid powerplant will be given more time to shine, so your long-term plan to save money could pay off much faster, depending on how much driving you do.
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