Features / 17 September 2025 / Michael Taylor

5 cheapest cars you can buy in South Africa right now

There are five passenger cars in South Africa that can be bought for less than R200,000.

Vehicle prices have gone up at an alarming rate these past few years, as more than 70% of new models now retail for over half a million rand.

Even cars that we typically associate with affordability, such as the VW Polo Vivo, can now fetch prices between R271,900 and R363,100, which means there are very few options left for those who can’t afford to spend more than R200k.

Thankfully, South Africa recently received a new addition to this segment with the Tata Tiago – a small hatchback that costs just R184,900.

Tata left our passenger car market a few years ago but officially relaunched this month with four new models, one of which is the entry-level Tiago.

This brings the number of sub-R200,000 models up from four to five, which one could charitably describe as a 25% improvement in consumer options.

The Tiago is only the third cheapest set of wheels, however, as we also have the Toyota Vitz and Suzuki S-Presso.

The S-Presso used to be the most affordable car in the country, with a starting price of R178,900, but Toyota later dropped the price of the Vitz to R178,800 in a rather cheeky attempt to claim the title of South Africa’s cheapest car.

Of course, the Vitz is not technically a Toyota, as it is a rebadged version of a different Suzuki – the Celerio.

The Celerio starts at R188,900, making it the fourth most affordable car on our list.

Lastly, there’s the Renault Kwid, which falls just short of the cut-off with a showroom sticker of R196,999.