2017 Kia Rio (4th Generation)

SA’s 10 Best-Selling Passenger Cars Of October 2017

October 2017’s aggregate new vehicle sales in South Africa came in at 51 037 units, an increase of 4,6% year-on-year, according to Naamsa.

As always, it’s also interesting to take a look at what’s happening in terms of individual model sales. We’ve already examined the figures and picked out the 10 best-selling bakkies for the month, and now it’s time to do the same with the passenger vehicle market (check out our list of worst-selling cars, too).

Of course, one must bear in mind that certain automakers – such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW – disclose only aggregate sales statistics. Kia and Hyundai, however, thankfully started releasing their individual model sales figures a few months ago, which makes the picture a little clearer.

So, what happened in the tenth month of 2017? Well, rather predictably, the Volkswagen Polo Vivo kept first place, although Toyota’s combination of the Corolla, Auris and Corolla Quest (the brand reports an overall figure rather than individual model sales) managed to move up on to second.

The Toyota Etios, meanwhile, rocketed up three spots to third (more than doubling its sales total month-on-month), which saw the regular Volkswagen Polo relegated two places to the unfamiliar position of fourth. The Toyota Fortuner held steady in fifth, while the Ford EcoSport climbed two to sixth.

The Kia Picanto did enough to retain seventh, while the Toyota RAV4 returned to the table to snaffle eighth. The Ford Fiesta plummeted from fourth to ninth, while the Kia Rio fell one place to take the final spot on the table.

Other interesting figures

So, what else happened in October 2017? Well, Fiat sold 24 units of its revived Panda, making it the brand’s second most popular offering behind the Fiat 500 (32). Ford registered 594 units of the Everest, while the Figo (473) and Focus (298) also contributed to the Blue Oval’s cause. The refreshed Kuga, meanwhile, managed 62 units.

Opel’s top-seller was again the Mokka X (83), while the new Honda CR-V came in with 93 units. Hyundai again enjoyed meaningful contributions from all of its passenger vehicles, with the i20 (640), Tucson (522), Creta (395) and i10 (376) leading the way.

Jaguar Land Rover’s best-performer – by quite some margin – was the new Range Rover Velar (165), with the Discovery (86) next in line for the British brand. Kia managed to sell 161 units of its Sportage, while Mazda counted on its CX-3 (294) and CX-5 (283) for the bulk of its sales.

The new Pajero Sport (27) was Mitsubishi’s second most-popular product for the month, behind the ASX (53). Nissan’s key vehicles all sold well, with the Datsun GO (528), Almera (431), updated X-Trail (396) and repositioned Micra Active (324) doing the heavy lifting for the Japanese brand.

Peugeot totalled 69 units for the month, with the 2008 (26) edging out the 3008 (22) and 208 (21). The Renault Clio (696) came close to grabbing a spot in the top ten, while the Kwid added a further 511 units. Interestingly, two examples of the Koleos were registered in SA in October, suggesting a launch of this SUV may be imminent.

The outgoing Swift (314) showed no signs of letting up, while the new Ignis added a useful 129 units for Suzuki. The Avanza (659) performed well for Toyota, while the C-HR came in with a handy 170 units. The A3 (265) was Audi’s top seller, although the new Q5 also impressed with 134 units. The Golf (676) and Tiguan (336) fared well for Volkswagen in October, while Volvo’s biggest haul came courtesy (as usual) of the XC60, with 40 units.

See the top ten table below (and have a look back at September’s figures here):

South Africa’s 10 best-selling passengers cars of October 2017:

1. Volkswagen Polo Vivo – 2 851
2. Toyota Corolla/Auris/Quest – 2 135
3. Toyota Etios – 2 059
4. Volkswagen Polo – 1 950
5. Toyota Fortuner – 1 337
6. Ford EcoSport – 1 047
7. Kia Picanto – 1 020
8. Toyota RAV4 – 916
9. Ford Fiesta – 855
10. Kia Rio – 843

http://www.carmag.co.za/news_post/sas-10-best-selling-passenger-cars-of-october-2017/
 
I own the previous gen Rio, which I bought because it was great value for money, Kia have gotten cheeky and no longer offer value.
I will look elsewhere when buying again.
 
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Pretty bad for open road lol

1.4L probably have to work quite hard to keep the car at 125km/h, would be better at say 100km/h
 
Don't also forget about the relatively old tech engines & 4-speed auto gearboxes.

Besides that they're pretty good.

STILL?

I thought they got over that with the Turbo Veloster?

Guess I just assumed the other models would follow.
 
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Pretty bad for open road lol

1.4L probably have to work quite hard to keep the car at 125km/h, would be better at say 100km/h

Seems pretty decent for the real world with a 1.4 and a heavier body.

Only thing going to do much better would be a diesel or hybrid.
 
My A1 1.4 Tfsi easily gets 5 l/100 on the open road... and that’s a 5 year old car... Kia / Hyundai should give these engines a miss now...
 
It's a catch 22 with the motors with no obvious right way. What you lose in performance and fuel economy you gain in reliability, maintenance, outright cost etc.

Hyundai / Kia not the only ones keeping the naturally aspirated engines in the cheaper cars. Vw, Honda, Suzuki, Toyota all do it even though they have small turbo engines.
 
My A1 1.4 Tfsi easily gets 5 l/100 on the open road... and that’s a 5 year old car... Kia / Hyundai should give these engines a miss now...

Last I checked an A1 is not in remotely the same price bracket as the Rio.

So the difference in price would probably negate the savings in fuel anyway.
 
It's a catch 22 with the motors with no obvious right way. What you lose in performance and fuel economy you gain in reliability, maintenance, outright cost etc.

Hyundai / Kia not the only ones keeping the naturally aspirated engines in the cheaper cars. Vw, Honda, Suzuki, Toyota all do it even though they have small turbo engines.
Suzuki and VW have turbocharged engines available for their cheaper models, we just don't have them here because our fuel isn't clean or because the cars will be too expensive here
 
Suzuki and VW have turbocharged engines available for their cheaper models, we just don't have them here because our fuel isn't clean or because the cars will be too expensive here
Same as Kia. 1.0t in UK Rio.
 
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