Most affordable automatic crossover in South Africa – What you get for R240,000

Crossovers are quickly establishing themselves as the new favourite vehicle type for the majority of consumers in South Africa, owing to their increased practicality over the equivalent hatchback while costing significantly less than most SUVs.

At the same time, automatic gearboxes are becoming the norm for most road users thanks to the convenience that they offer, but unfortunately, it is somewhat difficult to marry these two ideas into a single vehicle at a reasonable price, as there are only three crossovers on sale right now that offer a self-shifting transmission for less than R300,000.

The youngest member of this club is the recently-released Nissan Magnite EZ-Shift, a new take on the carmaker’s popular compact SUV that provides an automatic box at a lower price than the CVT transmission used by the pre-existing units.

At R243,900, it is officially the most affordable automatic crossover that you can buy in South Africa, so it’s worth taking a look at what you are getting for this price if you are in the market for an SUV with an easy-to-use gearbox.

What you get

The EZ-Shift uses a 1.0-litre petrol engine in tandem with a five-speed automated manual transmission (AMT) which links to the front wheels.

This setup provides a total of 53kW and 96Nm while consuming an average of 5.9l/100km on a typical fuel cycle.

On the base Visia model, equipment includes 16-inch steel wheels, a full-sized spare wheel, electronically adjustable side mirrors, a rear roof spoiler, cloth seats, a two-way manually adjustable front chairs, a chrome-accented gearstick, a Bluetooth stereo with six speakers, a multifunction steering wheel, automatic air conditioning, a 12V socket, two airbags, ABS, and rear parking sensors.

You will then need to pay R20,000 to upgrade to the mid-range Acenta, which adds a push-start button with keyless entry, 16-inch alloy rims, chrome door handles, LED daytime running lights, a 60:40 split for the rear seats, a three-way manually adjustable driver’s seat, an 8.0-inch infotainment screen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a 7.0-inch digital driver’s display, Isofix child-seat mounts, and a reverse camera.

For the full experience, the range-topping R279,900 Acenta Plus rounds out the equipment list with LED headlights, a leather steering wheel, and a 360-degree camera.

Each purchase of a Magnite EZ-Shift also includes a 6-year/150,000km warranty and a 3-year/30,000km service plan.