Which has the lowest running costs: Toyota Corolla vs Ford Focus vs Hyundai Elantra

By Stuart Johnston

Toyota’s Corolla has been a top seller in its segment for decades. Here we find out how it shapes up against the Hyundai Elantra and the Ford Focus in overall running costs

Toyota’s Corolla has been a mainstay model here in South Africa since the 1970s. For many years it was the top selling car overall in South Africa, although buying trends have shifted towards smaller hatchbacks, SUVs and cross-overs (not to mention bakkies!) in recent years.

Nevertheless, in the family-sized sedan and fleet markets, the Corolla still rules supreme. No other sedan model comes close to its sales of some 500-plus units each month. In fact the only model that beats it is the Toyota Corolla Quest, a cheaper, fleet-orientated vehicle based on the previous-generation Corolla.

The competitors

The competitors we chose for this comparison come from two mainstay brands. We selected the Toyota 1.6 Prestige manual model to go up against the Ford Focus 1.5 T Sedan Trend and the Hyundai Elantra 1.6 Executive.

In terms of style, the Corolla is unsurprisingly the most conservative. The Elantra is based on a similar concept with a tad more styling panache, while the Focus sedan  looks closer to a hatchback than its rivals here, and is arguably the most modern sedan in this comparison.

For further reading  on these three cars  click here for the Ford Focus, click here for the Corolla, and click here click here for the Hyundai Elantra.

Pricing

All three models are priced very similarly. The Ford Focus 1.5 T Trend is the least expensive at R317 000. The Toyota Corolla 1.6 Prestige is slightly more expensive at R321 600, and the Elantra is marginally the most expensive at R323 900.

Bang for your buck

The Focus rules the roost as far as power outputs go. It is the only turbocharged model here, boasting 132 kW and 240 Nm. The Hyundai Elantra weighs in with a naturally-aspirated (non-turbo) 93 kW and 155 Nm, while the Corolla comes third with 90 kW and 1`54 Nm of torque.

Warranties and service plans

The Hyundai Elantra wins this “race” with its industry-leading seven year mechanical parts warranty, allied to its overall warranty of five years/150 000 km. A service plan is standard at five years/90 000 km, with service intervals of 15 000 km

The Ford Focus has a four-year/120 000 km warranty, a four-year/80 000 km service plan, and 20 000 km service intervals.

The Toyota Corolla has the most conservative warranty, with a three-year/100 000 km warranty and six services/90 000 km service plan. Services are to be conducted at yearly intervals or every 15 000 km.

Parts costs

We used the acclaimed Kinsey Report 2017 for parts price comparison. Here the Toyota Corolla wins, with a consumable service-parts price total of R5 253. Second is the Ford Focus Sedan on R5 542, and third is the Hyundai on R5 662. These prices are totalled for the typical wear-and-tear items replaced at service, and generally not covered by a service plan. The differences here are very small between the three cars, amounting to just over R400 between the trio.

Mechanical repair parts

In the mechanical repair segment of the Kinsey Report, the Corolla is again the winner. This segment covers items that might need replacing such as clutches, timing chains (or belts), shock absorbers, and the like. The Corolla won with a total of R15 796, versus the R20 175 of the Elantra, and the R22 691 of the Focus.

Accident repair parts costs

In the accident repair pricing category, the Corolla is the biggest winner, mainly because the Corolla is a locally-built model, whereas as both the Focus and the Elantra are fully built-up imports, and many parts subject to import tax. The repair parts basket in the Kinsey Report totalled R52 469 for the Corolla. Second, but by a big margin, was the Focus on R87 874, with the Elantra third on R111 635. The accident repair parts basket lists items such as replacement doors, light clusters, windscreens and the like.

Fuel consumption

On paper, the winner here is the Ford Focus 1.5T sedan manual. The quoted fuel consumption figure is 5,6 litres/100 km. Second is the Elantra with 6,5 litres/100 km, and third the Corolla on 6,6 litres/100 km.

Difficult to compare turbo cars to non-turbos in real-world motoring

It is very difficult to pick a “real-world”  winner here. If the cars were all driven conservatively on flat roads without any accidents or mechanical repairs over a period of one year, the Ford Focus would win, given its lower purchase price and theoretical fuel  saving. A saving of 0,9 litres/100 km translates to a fuel saving of 180 litres over a distance of 20 000 km. That figure rises to 200 litres with a 1,0-litres/100 km saving.

Theoretical fuel price differences

At current fuel prices  (R14,62 for  a litre of 93 unleaded on March 29, 2019) the Hyundai would cost R2 631 more to fuel over 20 000 km than the Focus. The Corolla’s costs would be R2 924 more than the Focus.

This theoretical fuel saving would easily absorb the marginal differences in service parts not covered by the service plan. However, in our experience, turbo petrol cars like the Focus only show consumption superiority in steady conservative running at highway speeds. Lots of commuting, with plenty of on-off  use of the accelerator pedal would often see the less-powerful naturally aspirated cars prove to be superior in this type of running.

So the winner is …..

It’s a tough one. Despite our reservations, the powerful Ford Focus Sedan could possibly be the fuel-saving winner over a 20 000 km distance, with the Elantra and Corolla so closely matched it would be difficult to call. The Corolla wins the parts battle, especially if any accidents requiring extensive parts replacement occur. And the Hyundai wins the warranty competition.

Given the closeness of the pricing of these three sedans, there is little to choose between them. But in the end, if we had to pick our overall running costs winner, we would go with the Toyota Corolla 1.6 Prestige. Probably the biggest factor for us would be the ease of re-sale here, because the more examples of a model that are sold new, the easier it is to re-sell. And that makes the Toyota Corolla the budget winner. For used model  prices on the Toyota Corolla, Hyundai Elantra and Ford Focus sedan click here.