Buying a compact SUV is only the first of the bills. Over five years, fuel and servicing can add tens of thousands of rand to the sticker price, and the cheapest car to buy is not always the cheapest to keep. Hyundai's Creta, Haval's Jolion and Kia's Seltos sit in the same segment, so we compared them on the figures each brand publishes for South African models. We priced fuel at the November 2026 inland petrol price of R30.24 per litre and assumed 15 000 km a year. Where a figure is not published, we say so.
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Fuel costs
Fuel is the highest running cost that can be measured from published figures. The table shows each engine's annual bill at its claimed combined consumption.
Model and engine | Claimed L/100 km | Annual fuel bill | Monthly fuel |
|---|---|---|---|
Seltos LS manual, 1.5 naturally aspirated | 6.2 | R28 123 | R2 344 |
Seltos LS auto, 1.5 naturally aspirated | 6.4 | R29 030 | R2 419 |
Creta manual, 1.5 naturally aspirated | 6.5 | R29 484 | R2 457 |
Creta auto, 1.5 naturally aspirated | 6.3 | R28 577 | R2 381 |
Jolion Pro, 1.5 turbo | 8.1 | R36 742 | R3 062 |
Like-for-like, the Creta auto is about R450 a year cheaper to fuel than the Seltos auto, and the Seltos manual is about R450 cheaper than the Creta auto. The Jolion costs about R8 200 more per year than the Creta auto. Real-world results matter too. The Creta's tested figure of 7.8 L/100 km would lift its annual bill to about R35 400.
Service plans and warranties
Plan length is where the three diverge most, and the Jolion leads. Its plan runs for seven years or 75 000 km. At 15 000 km a year, the kilometre limit arrives first, at five years. The Creta's plan covers four years or 60 000 km, and the Seltos's covers three years or 45,000 km. All three service every 15 000 km, so each plan covers a fixed number of services.
Over five years at 15 000 km a year, a car needs five services. The Jolion's plan covers all five. The Creta's covers four, leaving one to pay for. The Seltos's covers three, leaving two.
Warranties are simpler. The Creta and Jolion are covered for seven years or 200,000 km. At 15,000 km a year, the seven-year limit is reached at 105 000 km, so the 200 000 km figure never applies to this buyer. The Seltos has five years of cover with unlimited kilometres. Its mileage promise is also irrelevant here, because its five-year limit ends cover first.
What the sticker prices include
Each quoted price includes the warranty and service plan, so the headline figures are comparable on that point. They are not comparable on equipment. The Jolion Pro is listed at R431 450 and the Creta Premium CVT at R434 900, a gap of R3 450, not the R2 000 often quoted. The Seltos LS auto is R414 995 and the LS manual R389 995, but both are entry trims. The turbo GT-Line S is listed at R614 995, and a later review quoted R626 995.
The Creta and Seltos prices come from pre-launch reporting, and Kia had not confirmed full spec sheets when its prices were published. They are not confirmed as current. Check every price against dealer lists before buying or publishing.
Five-year totals
The table adds five years of fuel to the purchase price, using the automatic entry trim of each model.
Model | Purchase price | Five-year fuel | Paid services | Total before servicing and tyres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Seltos LS auto | R414 995 | R145 152 | 2 | R560 147 |
Creta Premium CVT | R434 900 | R142 884 | 1 | R577 784 |
Jolion Pro | R431 450 | R183 708 | 0 | R615 158 |
Tyres and insurance are excluded. Tyre prices vary wildly by size and brand for these trims, and insurance depends on the buyer. The totals also compare trims that are not equipment-matched, and the Creta Premium sits above the Seltos LS.
Each paid service adds to the Seltos total. The Creta would only overtake it if the one-time service cost exceeded about R17 600. The Jolion only beats the Creta if one paid service costs more than about R37 400.
Verdict
Based on published figures, the Seltos LS auto is the cheapest of the three to run over five years, provided that paid service costs less than about R17 600. It is also the least equipped. The Creta is close behind. It costs about R17,600 more before servicing, yet it has one fewer paid service than the Seltos, and its fuel is about R450 a year cheaper than the Seltos auto. Its seven-year warranty is also longer than the Seltos's five.
The Jolion is the most expensive to run. It costs about R37 000 more than the Creta over five years, before servicing, mainly due to fuel. Its five-year plan covers every service in that period, so it only comes out ahead if a paid Creta service costs more than about R37 400.
The Creta is therefore the best middle choice rather than the outright cheapest. Before buying, ask each dealer for a written service plan price and a tyre quote for the exact trim you want.
