These are the cars South Africans want – Even if they can’t afford them

South Africans love to browse for cars they’d like to own, even if they are unlikely to ever afford them.

AutoTrader recently published its annual Car Industry Report for 2025, revealing several new insights about the country’s pre-owned vehicle market.

This includes a list of the top 10 most-searched-for cars, which makes for an interesting contrast with the best-sellers list.

A web search does not necessarily show an intention to buy; rather, it is an indication of the vehicles that motorists are most curious about.

If a person is interested in a new model but sees that it is out of their price range, it’s common for them to check out second-hand trading platforms and classified sections to see if they can find a used example that they can afford.

Even then, it’s unlikely that the average motorist will be able to afford the car in question if it happens to be a high-end bakkie, luxury SUV, or hot hatchback.

This is why the most-searched-for list and best-seller lists can often be very different, as motorists will look for their dream car before reassessing their options and searching for something comfortably within their means.

For reference, these were the best-selling used cars in South Africa in February 2026:

1. Ford Ranger
2. Toyota Hilux
3. VW Polo Vivo
4. VW Polo
5. Suzuki Swift
6. Toyota Fortuner
7. Toyota Corolla Cross
8. Isuzu D-Max
9. Hyundai Grand i10
10. Toyota Starlet

Admittedly, this list doesn’t include model variants, but for the most part, the vehicles here are fairly typical everyday models, ranging from affordable hatchbacks and crossovers to the three most popular bakkies in the country.

What South Africans are really interested in

By comparison, most of the cars found on the most-searched-for list are considerably more upmarket.

It shows that many South Africans aspire to own a high-end vehicle, even if it’s not something they are able to afford right now.

These were the most-searched-for car variants on AutoTrader in 2025:

The top three models are all hot hatchbacks, comprising the VW Golf GTI, Golf R, and Polo GTI.

It tells an interesting story in peoples’ search habits, as the Golf GTI had the most hits at 7,014,500.

The Golf GTI is an iconic nameplate, and so it’s no surprise that it’s the most popular option.

The even more powerful Golf R coming in second is likely the result of motorists searching for the GTI, and then searching for the R to see how big the price difference is between the two.

From there, many are evidently adjusting their expectations to search for the comparatively more affordable Polo GTI, which has far more views than the regular Polo TSI.

This suggests that motorists interested in owning a Polo first check to see if a GTI model is in their budget, before looking at the standard models.

Outside the top four, we have the Toyota Hilux 2.8GD-6, which is notable given that this refers to the higher-end models like the Raider, Legend, and GR-Sport.

It’s a similar story for the Ford Ranger, where the most-searched versions are the top-spec Wildtrak and Raptor.

Continuing the hot hatch theme is the Audi RS3, which is surprising given that Audi is not an especially large brand in South Africa.

However, the RS3 is the most powerful hot hatch on the market right now, which naturally makes it a prized vehicle in the eyes of petrolheads.

The last two models in the top 10 are the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class, though there’s a curious difference between the two.

While most searches for the BMW were for the standard 320d units, Mercedes fans were specifically looking for the high-performance AMG C63.