South African motorists looking for an affordable car that won’t suck their wallets dry at the fuel pumps have a wide selection of hatchbacks to choose from under R300,000.in October 2023, following significant increases in September.
Diesel vehicle owners are getting an even bigger punch in the gut, with the wholesale price of 50ppm diesel increasing by R1.94. Nevertheless, diesel cars tend to be more fuel-efficient overall than petrol cars, so their running costs can be lower.The cheapest passenger diesel car with a fuel-efficient engine we could find for sale in South Africa at the time of publication was the Mahindra XUV300 1.5TD, which starts at R315,999 for the W6 model.
Most passenger diesel cars cost well over R500,000, with a handful of panel vans and single-cab utility bakkies below that price.