Cars you can buy for the same price as the average rent in South Africa

The average rent for properties in South Africa currently sits at R7,971 per month across all nine provinces, ranging from as low as R5,468 in Northwest to as high as R9,462 in Western Cape, according to BusinessTech.

As car prices continue their rampant rise in the country, it’s very easy to spend more per month on your daily driver than on the house it sleeps at overnight.

Assuming you are looking to purchase a vehicle on a finance plan with the aim of paying around R8,000 per month, we can calculate the maximum approximate selling price of that particular model by plugging this instalment into the following formula:

• Monthly instalment – R8,000
• Payment term – 60 terms (5 years)
• Interest – 10%
• Deposit – 10%
• Balloon – No balloon payment
• Extras – No optional extras

From this, we now know that to pay less for a car than for the average rental property in the country per month, it must have a selling price of R413,000 or less.

The cars

Listed below are the various vehicles you can buy in South Africa which will make your monthly car instalment roughly the same, or lower than the mean property rental rate.

Click on the underlined prices for more information.

Nissan Navara 2.5DDTi Single Cab XE

• Starting price – R383,500
• Power – 120kW/403Nm
• Fuel consumption – 7.2l/100km

Mazda CX-3 2.0 Active

• Starting price – R384,700
• Power – 115kW/206Nm
• Fuel consumption – 6.9l/100km

Haval Jolion 1.5T Premium

• Starting price – R384,950
• Power – 105kW/210Nm
• Fuel consumption – 7.5l/100km

VW Polo 1.0TSI 85kW Life

• Starting price – R391,400
• Power – 85kW/200Nm
• Fuel consumption – 5.4l/100km

Ford EcoSport 1.0T Active

• Starting price – R393,700
• Power – 92kW/170Nm
• Fuel consumption – 6.3l/100km

BAIC Beijing X55 1.5T Dynamic

• Starting price – R394,900
• Power – 130kW/305Nm
• Fuel consumption – 7.2l/100km

Hyundai Venue 1.0T Motion Auto

• Starting price – R394,900
• Power – 88kW/172Nm
• Fuel consumption – 6.9l/100km

Mahindra Pik Up 2.2CRDe Double Cab S6 Karoo

• Starting price – R397,999
• Power – 103kW/320Nm
• Fuel consumption – 7.9l/100km

Chery Tiggo 4 Pro 1.5T Elite SE

• Starting price – R399,900
• Power – 108kW/210Nm
• Fuel consumption – 6.8l/100km

JAC T6 2.8TDi Double Cab 4WD Lux

• Starting price – R399,900
• Power – 68kW/210Nm
• Fuel consumption – 10.5l/100km

Suzuki Jimny 1.5 GLX AllGrip Auto

• Starting price – R399,900
• Power – 75kW/130Nm
• Fuel consumption – 6.8l/100km

Mitsubishi ASX 2.0 ES Auto

• Starting price – R399,990
• Power – 110kW/197Nm
• Fuel consumption – 7.9l/100km

Kia Sonet 1.0T EX+

• Starting price – R399,995
• Power – 88kW/172Nm
• Fuel consumption – 6.0l/100km

Toyota Corolla Cross 1.8 XS

• Starting price – R401,800
• Power – 103kW/172Nm
• Fuel consumption – 6.8l/100km

Fiat Tipo Sedan 1.4 City Life

• Starting price – R404,900
• Power – 70kW/127Nm
• Fuel consumption – 5.7l/100km

Renault Duster 1.5dCi Intens

• Starting price – R404,999
• Power – 80kW/250Nm
• Fuel consumption – 4.8l/100km

GWM Steed 5 2.0VGT Double Cab SX 4WD

• Starting price – R406,950
• Power – 110kW/320Nm
• Fuel consumption – 7.9l/100km

Abarth 595 Turismo 1.4T

• Starting price – R409,900
• Power – 121kW/230Nm
• Fuel consumption – 6.0l/100km

Honda BR-V 1.5 Comfort

• Starting price – R409,900
• Power – 89kW/145Nm
• Fuel consumption – 6.8l/100km

Isuzu D-Max 1.9TD Single Cab

• Starting price – R411,800
• Power – 110kW/350Nm
• Fuel consumption – 7.3l/100km