Five cars to consider for less than R3500 a month

In an era where *R250 000 can buy you a pretty decent new budget car, one thing that most new cars around that price point have in common is that they’re all small and quite slow. In the mainstream new-car market, reasonable performance begins at around R400 000, and most fun cars cost another hundred thousand or more.

Fear not, because we’ve selected five used cars which serve different purposes and lifestyles but can all be had for economy-car payments. Most importantly, they have a certain “something” that makes them special. If you're looking at buying a car but need to sell your current vehicle, AutoTrader can get you an Instant Offer!

*Update: Interest rates have gone up, as has the pricing of new cars and, subsequently, used cars. For this reason, we've had to adjust our monthly repayment amount from R3500 to R4500 per month for the purpose of this article. This equates to around a R250 000 budget with a 10% deposit and a 12% interest rate over 72 months. - AutoTrader

1. Small hatchback: Hyundai Accent 1.6 Hatch

We decided to look beyond the mainstream of Polos, Fiestas and Clios and picked something Korean instead. Concurrently with this generation of Accent sedan (it has since been dropped from the local market), Hyundai also offered a hatchback variant of that same model but didn't really promote it. It was eventually quietly dropped from the price list, a victim of the i20’s success, but that fact doesn’t diminish its appeal in any way.

Related: Are low-mileage cars better?

What makes it special? 

On the surface, it’s a generic hatchback through and through, but it’s sized a bit differently to the normal market segmentation. It falls somewhere between the i20 and i30 in size and was only available with one engine in South Africa: a non-turbo 1.6-cylinder 4-cylinder mill, good for 91 kW and 156 Nm, mated with a 6-speed manual transmission. 

This is good for decent performance (certainly far ahead of most similarly-priced new budget cars) and fair economy, with a 0 – 100 km/h sprint in the low-10 second bracket and a top speed of around 190 km/h, and average fuel consumption in the low-6.0 L/100 km range.

Related: Is the Hyundai Accent good for a new driver?

It also feels surprisingly sporty to drive, with well-balanced chassis behaviour and responsive steering. Ride quality is a bit firmer than the Accent sedan, but still compliant enough to cope with our road conditions. Safety also improved because the hatch was the only Accent with a full complement of six airbags (instead of the sedan’s two). But the biggest trick lies in its luggage compartment, which measures a solid 370-litres – matching (and sometimes beating) cars of the next size class. 

Scanning through the Accent hatches listed on AutoTrader, there are a few relatively low-mileage examples available for around R200 000, with higher-mileage (more than 80 000 km) cars dropping below the R 180 000 mark. That’s stunning value for money for a most agreeable small car with several large-car features, above-average space, and fun driving dynamics.

2. Performance hatchback: Suzuki Swift Sport

If you’re not planning to do any heavy hauling or carry large people but want something that turns a drive to the grocery store into an adventure, you really should give the Suzuki Swift Sport some serious consideration. The second-generation Swift Sport is the darling of enthusiastic drivers everywhere, and for good reason: driving it is like playing with a puppy – you can’t help smiling.

This little warm hatchback has now started appreciating in value, perhaps due to its stellar reputation, but some moderate-mileage examples can still be had for less than our R 200 000 barrier, although the ones that still retail within budget are a bit older by now (the newest dates from 2015). If you want a Swift Sport at a fair price, get one before their values climb even further! 

What makes it special?

The secret is in the Swift Sport’s extremely lightweight and beautifully precise 6-speed manual gearbox, a combination that should get to 100 km/h in slightly less than 9 seconds and a top speed of 195 km/h. But here’s the thing: the Swift Sport feels quicker than it is, and while it’s perfectly happy to putter around town, the powertrain only really comes alive in the upper reaches of its rev range. 

You have the rev the rings off the little engine to extract meaningful performance, and that’s exactly where the fun lies – in an increasingly turbocharged world, there’s definite appeal in a high-revving, naturally aspirated engine that relishes being worked hard. Throw it at a set of curves, however, and the superb chassis makes up for any power disadvantages, carrying silly speeds through corners. Think of it as a go-kart with a roof and air-con, and you’re halfway there.

Related: This video review tells you everything about the previous-generation Suzuki Swift family.

The Swift Sport is a robust little thing, too. Well-looked-after examples will likely run until the end of time, and they’ll keep their owners happy until then: we are still to meet a current or prior Swift Sport owner who doesn’t speak very highly of it. Other advantages include super-low fuel consumption (when driven with moderate restraint), affordable insurance and servicing, and niceties like cruise control, automatic air-conditioning and xenon headlights. 

3. Nissan X-Trail

The next-generation Nissan X-Trail has already been revealed in overseas markets, and it's sure to arrive in South Africa in due course. That doesn't render the outgoing model any less capable, however, especially as it is still perfectly suited to family transport.

What’s special about it?

There's nothing really unusual about this third-generation X-Trail, except for the fact that it offers up to 7 seats (unusual in its size class) and features in-car technology that was cutting-edge upon release (and is still largely up to par today). Most notably, the X-Trail has lots of interior and luggage space (especially in 5-seater format) and gives a ride quality and overall refinement that belies its age.

You can have it in FWD format with a 2.0-litre petrol, as a 1.6-litre turbodiesel, or with AWD and a 2.5-litre petrol engine. The latter is the one we'd recommend: A 2.0-litre X-Trail is a bit lazy, and the 1.6 dCI doesn't like short-distance commuting (which could lead to blocked diesel particulate filters). This leaves the 2.5-litre as the most appealing choice in the range, even though it was only available with a CVT (Constantly Variable Transmission).

4. Sports car: Mazda MX-5

If you’re into old-school rear-wheel drive dynamics and plenty of smiles per mile, Mazda’s little 2-seater roadster will be right up your alley – and there are plenty of examples available for far less than our R 200 000 budget cap. It’s obviously not practical from a loading- or passenger-carrying perspective, but that is the nature of sports cars everywhere. The emphasis here is on fun and character, not outright speed, and the small Mazda delivers that in spades.

What makes it special?

A roadster with a front-mounted engine and 6-speed manual gearbox, sending power to a limited-slip diff-equipped rear end, is the traditional formula for an inexpensive sports machine – and it’s a recipe that’s led to the MX-5 becoming the world’s best-selling sports car of all time, with more than a million examples sold over the last 3 decades. It combines the virtues of wind-in-the-hair sensations with excellent and playful handling and Japanese reliability and durability.

Related: Watch this video to meet all four generations of the Mazda MX-5 family.

Even the most expensive third-generation (NC) MX-5 gets onto this list with an advertised price of R50 000 shy of our price limit, for which you can pick up a soft-top (which is more desirable among keen drivers) with less than 100 000 km on the odometer. As is usually the case with speciality cars, the price tag may vary according to condition rather than age, with mint second-generation (NB) cars sometimes fetching higher prices than rougher later-model examples. 

Our advice would be to look for one with the lowest mileage, and most comprehensive service history and in the best overall condition. We’d generally advise against a highly modified MX-5 unless it comes at a bargain price and carries some well-known aftermarket components. For the rest, keep it standard and enjoy the finely-honed machine that Mazda intended it to be.

5. Double Cab bakkie: Isuzu KB 300D-Teq

This is a bit of a bargain: For less than R 200 000, you can have a 3.0-litre double-cab Isuzu bakkie with less than 100 000 km on the clock. Sure, it will be an older example (around 2013 vintage), but these bakkies are proven to run for hundreds of thousands of kilometres so the mileage isn't too much of an issue. It won't even look old in your driveway because these KBs date from the beginning of the outgoing model's production run.

What’s special about it?

Very little, in reality: the Isuzu KB had no revolutionary or cutting-edge features and used fairly simple drivetrain technology. These factors are appealing in themselves, though, because conservative engineering and proven underpinnings mean that mechanical issues should be few and far between and easily resolved by most technicians.

*Prices were accurate at the time of publication but are liable to change without prior notice.