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The bakkie dominating South Africa’s used car market

South Africa’s pre-owned car sector celebrated a successful 2025, as much as the new vehicle sales market, and that can be attributed to the popularity of used bakkies, and the Ford Ranger in particular.

According to data from AutoTrader, the used market shipped 30,742 vehicles in December 2025, with 1,744 of the examples sold being Ford Rangers.

It was the best-selling used vehicle in South Africa last month, as buyers opted for four-year-old Rangers with an average mileage of 83,958km over any other used option.

The average used Ranger sold last month fetched a price of R497,960, which represents a saving of nearly R80,000 compared to buying the cheapest variant of the popular bakkie brand new.

By contrast, the most expensive version of the Ranger is the 3.0T V6 Raptor double-cab, one of South Africa’s most powerful bakkies.

Brand new, it will fetch a handsome price of R1,271,000, while there are used models available at less than half that price.

The thing that makes the Ranger such a popular choice in South Africa is the variety it offers.

Single-cab workhorses are found on construction sites and farms across the country, while double-cab variants are often used by families to haul children to and from school.

Its versatility is its strength, and attractive prices on relatively new models ensure a steady stream of used Ford Rangers finding their way to new owners every day.

Slightly more than 2,000 new Rangers were sold in the last month of 2025, compared to over 1,700 used models; the difference isn’t that big.

The current-generation model Ford Ranger, which was released late in 2022, offers pre-owned buyers the opportunity to own this generation’s Ranger before it is upgraded later this year.

As good as new

Thousands of these used current-generation Ford Ranger bakkies are on display in showrooms across South Africa in a variety of trim levels and configurations.

From the most basic of workhorses, offering business owners a reliable fleet option, to the powerful Raptor with performance that rivals that of hot hatchbacks, most versions of the Ford Ranger are available used.

These three variants represent the cheapest, mid-range, and most expensive current-generation Ford Ranger models available on the new and used market:

Ranger XL single-cabRanger XLT double-cabRanger Raptor
Motor2.0-litre single turbo diesel2.0-litre bi-turbo diesel3.0-litre V6 turbo petrol
Power125kW and 405Nm154kW and 500Nm292kW and 583Nm
Transmission6-speed manual or automatic transmission6-speed or 10-speed automatic10-speed automatic transmission
Driveline2×4 / 4×42×4 / 4×4Full-time 4WD
Towing capacity3500kg braked towing capacity3500kg braked towing capacity2500kg braked towing capacity
Payload capacity1121kg915kg
670kg
Ground clearance234mm237mm272mm
Price newR575,000R802,000R1,271,000
Used price rangeR290,00 – R570,000R399,995 – R769,900R699,900 – R1,300,000
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