As auto prices continue their steady march upward, the fast-approaching barrier to entry for anyone looking to get into a factory-fresh car seems to be R200,000.
Once budget-minded models are now no longer within reach of buyers at the bottom end of the market – think of something like the well-known VW Polo hatchback which retails from R337,700, or the Toyota Urban Cruiser which recently saw the introduction of the second generation that sells from R329,400.
While they are still leaning toward the lower end of the price spectrum, they can’t be called “cheap” anymore.
Similarly, Suzuki – South Africa’s third most-favourite manufacturer – had to increase its prices due to factors such as inflation, an increase in raw material costs, profitability margins, where their competitors are priced, and the rand exchange rate.
At the moment, Suzuki still has a decent number of entries available under R200,000, however, with the next increase the best-selling Swift which now sells from R199,900 will no longer be attainable with our budget.
If it wasn’t for the recent re-introduction of the Proton brand to the local market, Suzuki would also have been the only carmaker with a sedan slotting in under R200,000, but with the debut of the Proton Saga in March, there’s now a total of two sedans under this amount.
Mahindra is the only company with a bakkie for this price, though, as even the compact Nissan NP200 has a starting price of R217,000.
Sub-R200,000 machines
The list below details the last remaining new cars on the South African market with starting prices under R200,000.
Click on the underlined prices to visit TopAuto Car Prices for more information.
Suzuki S-Presso 1.0 GL
- Starting price – R169,900
- Power – 49kW/89Nm
- Fuel consumption – 4.6l/100km
- Warranty – 5-year/200,000km
- Service plan – 2-year/30,000km
Suzuki Celerio 1.0 GA
- Starting price – R183,900
- Power – 49kW/89Nm
- Fuel consumption – 4.4l/100km
- Warranty – 5-year/200,000km
- Service plan – 2-year/30,000km
Renault Kwid 1.0 Life
- Starting price – R184,999
- Power – 50kW/91Nm
- Fuel consumption – 4.9l/100km
- Warranty – 5-year/150,000km
- Service plan – Optional
Toyota Vitz 1.0
- Starting price – R189,900
- Power – 49kW/89Nm
- Fuel consumption – 4.4l/100km
- Warranty – 3-year/100,000km
- Service plan – 2-services/30,000km
Suzuki DZire 1.2 GA
- Starting price – R198,900
- Power – 61kW/113Nm
- Fuel consumption – 4.9l/100km
- Warranty – 5-year/200,000km
- Service plan – 2-year/30,000km
Mahindra Bolero 2.5Di Single Cab Maxitruck Plus
- Starting price – R198,999
- Power – 46kW/195Nm
- Fuel consumption – 7.0l/100km
- Warranty – 3-year/100,000km
- Service plan – Optional
Proton Saga 1.3 Standard
- Starting price – R199,900
- Power – 70kW/120Nm
- Fuel consumption – 7.0l/100km
- Warranty – 5-year/150,000km
- Service plan – Optional
Suzuki Swift 1.2 GA
- Starting price – R199,900
- Power – 61kW/113Nm
- Fuel consumption – 4.9l/100km
- Warranty – 5-year/200,000km
- Service plan – 2-year/30,000km
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