Toyota Starlet vs Starlet Cross in South Africa – The winner is clear

South Africans have voted with their wallets, and the winner is clear.

Toyota’s newest crossover, the Starlet Cross, is favoured by local car buyers far more than its hatchback sibling, the Starlet.

The Cross saw tremendous success in August, reeling in an impressive 1,181 buyers thereby positioning it as the eighth best-selling vehicle in the country despite its relatively short stint on the market, having only been introduced for the very first time in July.

While still an impressive feat, the Starlet accrued 842 sales last month which saw it end up in 14th place on the best-sellers list.

The hatchback was launched in May 2022 and has enjoyed strong demand ever since.

In fact, the Starlet nameplate made its debut in South Africa all the way back in September 2020 when the first generation was launched, meaning it has already had just shy of four years to build up a rapport with local buyers.

Be that as it may, neither its familiarity nor its lower price tag of R252,100 was enough to lure customers away from the ever-popular crossover silhouette, and so the Starlet Cross, which goes for a minimum of R299,900, promptly usurped its place as South Africa’s favourite affordable Toyota.

Starlet vs Starlet Cross

It probably comes as no surprise, since they share most of their name, that the Starlet and Starlet Cross sit on the same platform.

The latter is slightly larger than its sibling on account of its bulkier body style, but they have the same wheelbase and similar cargo holds.

The dimensions of the stablemates are compared below:

Another noteworthy similarity is their powertrains.

Both the crossover and hatchback employ a 1.5-litre petrol-burning drive unit churning out 77kW and 138Nm, and both are available in five-speed manual or four-speed automatic guise.

The Cross is slightly heavier than the Starlet (1,005kg vs 965kg) and thus returns a marginally higher fuel usage of 5.6-5.8l/100km compared to 5.4-5.7l/100km.

They are both capable of reaching a top speed of 175km/h, though.

Top = Starlet, Bottom = Starlet Cross

Apart from the affordable Toyotas’ proportions, where the real differences start to shine through is when you look at their respective line-ups and specification sheets.

The Starlet is sold in three trim levels comprising Xi, XS, and XR; whereas the Cross is only available in XS and XR grades.

The Starlet Xi thus sets the baseline of what you can expect to get for your money, being delivered with 15-inch steel wheels in styled plastic covers, automatic air conditioning, a multifunction steering wheel, a 7-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, four speakers, rear parking sensors, hill assist, ABS with brake assist, and two airbags.

Comparing the mid-spec XS units, the hatchback further comes with LED fog lamps and 16-inch alloy rims.

In contrast, the crossover brings automatic LED headlights and daytime running lights (DRL), a leather-wrapped steering wheel, cruise control, and a reverse camera, on top of everything that is already included in the Starlet Xi and XS.

The Cross’s unique amenities can only be found on the top-spec version of the Starlet, alongside chrome door handles, keyless entry, six speakers, and four more airbags.

Once again the flagship Starlet Cross boasts a selection of distinctive items, likely as a result of it being the newest of the two, including model-specific 16-inch alloys, a 9-inch infotainment screen, an electrochromatic rear-view mirror, a panoramic camera system, a wireless charging pad, and a heads-up display.