These five used cars cost as little as a new budget hatchback, but are markedly superior in every way.
Budget hatchbacks certainly have their place at the entry level of our new-car market, but they are all rather limited in terms of practicality, performance, and useful features. Unless you’re determined to buy something new as cheaply as possible, you could find much better value for money with a late-model used example of something bigger and nicer.
We had a look at the offerings around the R 170 000 mark currently available on ChangeCars.co.za, and decided on an age cap of three years. Why this specific price limit? Because that’s about as much as the least-expensive Suzuki S-Presso costs at the moment. The age cap was chosen because budget-car buyers typically don’t want to spend a fortune to keep an older car going, and new-car buyers aren’t interested in older examples anyway.
For reference, today’s budget cars usually feature 1.0-litre three-cylinder engines with about 50 kW, and all feature five-door body shells with reasonable cabin space for four adults. Competitors in this segment include the Renault Kwid, and the Suzuki Celerio/Toyota Vitz twins. But such small engines tend to struggle when laden or on Gauteng’s high-altitude freeways, so let’s add a few extra kilowatts to the budget cars’ output figures as a target. Here are some of the larger and more-appealing alternatives we found:
1. Nissan Almera
Yes, it is as ugly as the truth and other road users will think you drive for a ride-sharing company, but you can get a 2021 or 2022 Nissan Almera for a similar outlay as a basic new S-Presso. If you shop carefully, you’ll even find one with less than 50 000 km on its odo, which should offer the prospect of many more trouble-free motoring years. Standard equipment is quite high, too, with alloy wheels and rear parking sensors being among the features you won’t find in an entry-level budget car.
Powered by a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, mated to either a five-speed manual gearbox or a four-speed automatic, the Almera has 73 kW and 134 Nm on tap to give it a clear performance advantage over any new budget offering. It also has a very spacious cabin and 490 litres in its luggage compartment, making it a much more practical proposition for family use. No wonder the Almera is so popular with Uber drivers!
2. Fiat Panda
This little tyke is almost as small as a new budget car, but it stems from a rather higher class. Essentially the crossover version of the 500 city car, the Fiat Panda has slightly more cabin- and luggage space than the budget cars, but is a whole lot more solidly-made and significantly more refined as well.
Power is provided by a 0.9-litre two-cylinder engine, but turbocharging takes its outputs up to 63 kW and 145 Nm, giving it a significant performance advantage over its new but naturally aspirated opponents. The best bit is the value for money on offer, because you’ll get a lot of change from your R 170 000 budget. About ten grand less than that price cap can get you a 2002 Panda 4x4, and twenty thousand less can get you into a 4x2 Panda in well-equipped Lounge trim, and they’ll all show less than 40 000 km on their odometers.
3. Suzuki Ciaz
Suzuki’s chronically and criminally overlooked Ciaz sedan is a satisfying and complete all-rounder, yet most new-car buyers seem to ignore this classy offering in the Suzuki model range. This leads to the Ciaz depreciating quicker than most other Suzukis, which is bad news for new-car buyers but makes for exceptional value in the used-car market. Powered by a 1.5-litre engine with 77 kW and 138 Nm, the Ciaz examples in our age group significantly upstage new budget cars in performance, while still being able to return mid-5 litre/100 km average fuel consumption figures.
At this price point, you’ll be able to get a lower-trim Suzuki Ciaz 1.5 GL from 2021 with around 50 000 km on the clock. And, while the Ciaz GL doesn’t have all the premium conveniences of a range-topping GLX example, you’ll still get electric windows all round, electric side mirror adjustment remote central locking, air conditioning, a Bluetooth-compatible audio system, and power steering. More importantly, it has a cavernous cabin and 495 litres in the cargo compartment.
4. Toyota Starlet
Another Suzuki worth considering, even if it carries a Toyota badge this time. Granted, the used Toyota Starlets around this price point are all in entry-level Xi trim and date from the previous generation, but they are still vastly superior to a new budget hatchback in every way. There’s a generous (355-litre) luggage compartment, which is almost double what you’d get in a little city car, along with a really spacious cabin and pleasing driving dynamics.