What South Africa’s favourite car is worth three years later

The VW Polo Vivo is the most popular passenger car in South Africa, consistently selling over 2,000 units per month.

It is also the single most popular used car derivative on the market, particularly the 1.4-litre variants, and retains nearly 80% of its original value three years later.

The entry-level VW Polo Vivo 1.4 has a starting price of R271,900, and three years later sells used for R215,273, according to used vehicle marketplace AutoTrader.

Overall, the Vivo is the third-best-selling used car in South Africa, with 1,247 units sold in August. Of these, 944 were 1.4-litre variants.

Despite falling behind the Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux ranges in overall sales, the entry-level Vivos outsold their individual derivatives by quite some margin.

The second-best-selling individual used model in August was the Polo 1.0 TSI with 752 units sold, followed by the Toyota Hilux 2.8 GD-6 with 724. The Ford Ranger XL was fourth with 591 sales, while the Hilux 2.4 GD-6 was fifth with 570.

According to AutoTrader, despite the two Polos maintaining solid performance in the used market, both saw their sales figures slump last month.

Both models may have recorded month-on-month increases of 1.7% and 5.8%, respectively, but their annual sales performance was less encouraging.

Polo Vivo sales fell 7.7% year-on-year, while Polo volumes declined 20.5%. They were also the only two models in the top 10 to record annual sales declines.

Despite this, the Polo Vivo remains popular, helping the German carmaker end the month as the country’s second-favourite used car brand.

Alongside this, the popular VW hatch beat the average used car sold in South Africa last month on every metric.

AutoTrader’s data shows the average Vivo sold last month cost R215,273, was three years old and only had 47,071km on the clock.

On the other hand, the average used car sold on AutoTrader last month cost R432,938, had an average mileage of 69,991km, and was already five years old.

A Kariega special

The Polo Vivo is a locally-built favourite, sold almost exclusively in the South African market, with models not shipped further than Sub-Saharan Africa.

Since introducing the hatch to the local market in 2010, the Polo Vivo has been South Africa’s top-selling passenger model, with hundreds of thousands of units sold.

Its popularity warranted a range-wide refresh in 2022, which included a new front-end design, new infotainment, new seat trim design and enhanced safety features.

“Polo Vivo has firmly established itself as a leader in the entry-level hatch market in spite of new models being launched on a regular basis and with an even greater offering in the Polo Vivo,” VW said at the time.

The refresh included new interior trims for the entire range – Vivo, Life, Style and GT – as well as a new 9-inch Mirgor radio infotainment system.

Additional updates that set the current generation apart from previous models include new alloy wheels, comprising 14-inch examples on the Vivo, 15-inch ‘Ubomi’ wheels on the Life models, 16-inch ‘Portago’ wheels for the Style and 17-inch ‘Mirabeau’ alloy wheels on the GT.

The most popular models – the 1.4-litre Vivo and Vivo Life – are fitted with the same petrol engine, with different outputs.

The base-spec Vivo produces 55kW and 130Nm, and averages a fuel consumption of 5.5l/100 km, while the Life variant pumps out 63kW and 132Nm, averaging fuel consumption of 5.9l/100km.

Earlier this year, VW expanded the entry-level Vivo range with the reintroduction of the Vivo Xpress, a small city van built for urban deliveries.

This model is fitted with the Life powertrain, but instead of back seats, it features a secure enclosed loading and storage bay similar to the Caddy panel van.

Today, the VW Polo Vivo line-up includes the nameless entry-level Vivo, the Xpress Panel Van, a 1.4-litre Life model, a 1.6-litre Style, a 1.6-litre Life, a limited edition 1.6-litre Life 15 Edition, and the top-spec 1.0TSI GT.