The salary you need to afford the new BMW X3 in South Africa

South Africans households will need to earn at least R125,000 per month if they want to purchase the upcoming BMW X3 on a finance plan, according to a calculation by TopAuto.

The next-gen X3 is set to go on sale before the end of the year with five derivatives that run the price spectrum from R1,136,417 up to R1,545,446.

It has access to three different engines, starting with the 20d – a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel unit with 145kW and 400Nm.

There’s also the 30e plug-in hybrid, which pairs a 2.0-litre petrol engine with an electric motor to achieve 220kW and 450Nm.

Finally, there’s the top-spec M50, which gets a 3.0-litre turbo-petrol mill with 280kW and 540Nm.

All variants are fitted with the xDrive all-wheel-drive system in conjunction with an eight-speed automatic gearbox.

Depending on the selected trim, features on the upmarket X3 can include 20-inch alloy wheels, adaptive LED headlights, keyless entry and start, a leather steering wheel with paddle shifters, Sports seats, Econeer fabric upholstery, three-zone climate control, ambient lighting, a wireless charger, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, cloud-based navigation, and a dual-curved display for the driver and infotainment systems.

It also comes with safety and assistance systems like cruise control, front-collision warning, lane-departure warning, lane-change warning, speed limit info, speed limit assist, front and rear parking sensors, and a reverse camera.

Each BMW X3 is sold with a 2-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty and a 5-year/100,000km maintenance plan, with an additional 8-year/100,000km battery warranty for the hybrid units.

What you need to earn

We can use the following formula to work out the monthly payments on the BMW:

• Car price – R1,136,417/R1,545,446
• Payment term – 60 terms (5 years)
• Interest – 11.75%
• Deposit – 0%
• Balloon – No balloon payment
• Extras – No optional extras

According to this, you’ll need to pay at least R25,088 per month if you want the base 20d, or up to R34,084 per month if you want the flagship M50.

Financial experts then recommend that you do not spend more than 20% of your gross monthly salary on vehicle payments.

This means your household will to earn a net income of anywhere from R125,044 per month to R170,420 per month to purchase the new X3 on a finance plan in South Africa.

Note that this figure does not account for insurance, fuel, and maintenance, which must all be factored into your budget.