If your child is 18 and ready to go through the process of obtaining their very own driver's licence, which vehicles should you be looking at?
Purchasing a car for an 18-year-old means that there are a few aspects to keep in mind. First and foremost are the safety features of the vehicle, fuel economy, reliability and last but not least, the price.
For the purpose of this article, we have set ourselves a limit of R200 000 for our top picks of three new and three used vehicles that fall within this budget. Please note that the models listed in this article were all available under the set budget at the time of writing this article. Pricing and availability can change at any moment and without notice. (Not quite shopping for cars yet, but still preparing for the big test? Click here to download AutoTrader's free K-53 help guides.)
New vehicles
While there are vehicles available in larger segments within this budget, a good first car for an 18-year-old will be something more compact such as a hatchback. Not only do they provide reliability and frugality but are also easy to manoeuvre, due to their compact dimensions. Here are three new hatchbacks for your consideration.
| Suzuki Swift | Toyota Agya | Renault Kwid Climber | |
| Engine | 1.2-litre, 4-cylinder, petrol | 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder, petrol | 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder, petrol |
| Transmission | 5-speed manual | 5-speed manual | 5-speed manual |
| Power | 61 kW | 49 kW | 50 kW |
| Torque | 113 Nm | 89 Nm | 91 Nm |
| Airbags | 2 (driver + passenger) | 2 (driver + passenger) | 2 (driver + passenger) |
| Safety systems | ABS, EBA, ESC | ABS | ABS |
| Fuel consumption | 4.9 L /100 km | 4.8 L /100 km | 4.7 L /100 km |
| CO2 emission | 116 g/km | 112 g/km | 112 g/km |
*This table was completed with information sourced from www.duoporta.co.za
Used vehicles
If you are considering a used model for your child in the same budget, slightly older but more premium offerings become available. For this table, we searched for used hatch models on AutoTrader, no older than 2019, that are selling for less than the R200 000 budget.
| 2019 Volkswagen Polo Comfortline | 2020 Toyota Yaris Xs | 2019 Nissan Micra Acenta | |
| Engine | 1.0-litre, turbocharged, 3-cylinder, petrol | 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder, petrol | 0.9-litre, turbocharged, 3-cylinder, petrol |
| Transmission | 5-speed manual | 6-speed manual | 5-speed manual |
| Power | 70 kW | 79 kW | 66 kW |
| Torque | 175 Nm | 140 Nm | 140 Nm |
| Airbags | 6 (driver + passenger + sides + curtains) | 2 (driver + passenger) | 6 (driver + passenger + sides + curtains) |
| Safety systems | ABS, EBA, ESC, TCS, HSA | ABS, EBA, EBD, ESC | ABS, EBA, EBD,ESC |
| Fuel consumption | 4.5 L / 100 km | 5.9 L / 100 km | 5.1 L / 100 km |
| CO2 emission | 103 g/km | 136 g/km | 115 g/km |
*This table was completed with information sourced from www.diskdrive.co.za
