Motoring13.02.2024

Most fuel-efficient cars in South Africa — with prices

By Myles Illidge

South African motorists looking for a car that is light on fuel to save some money on their daily commutes have various options from which to choose, with some cars offering fuel consumption figures as low as 4.0 litres per 100km.

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy recently announced a big fuel price hike in February 2024, and predictions are that another hike is on the cards for March.

From 7 February, the unleaded 95 and 93 petrol prices each increased by R0.75 per litre, while the wholesale prices of 0.05% and 0.005% diesel jumped by R0.73 and R0.70, respectively.

Currently, South African motorists refilling with unleaded 95 and 93 inland are paying R23.24 and R22.92 per litre.

At the same time, motorists with diesel-powered cars are paying between R21.36 and R21.43 per litre, depending on the sulphur content of the fuel.

However, these are only wholesale diesel prices. Adding a 15% margin brings 0.05% diesel to R24.56 and 0.005% to R24.65.

MyBroadband looked for the most fuel-efficient cars available in South Africa to give motorists an idea of their options. We included petrol, diesel, and traditional hybrids in our comparison.

It should be noted that we haven’t included other factors, such as tyre replacements and vehicle maintenance, in the comparison. These can contribute to running costs significantly.

Suzuki dominates the comparison, with the carmaker taking up five of the fifteen spots on our list.

The next-most featured brands in our comparison include Fiat, Volkswagen, Renault, and Toyota, each with two entries.

The most fuel-efficient car you can buy in South Africa is the Fiat 500 0.9T with an automatic transmission. The car starts at R268,900 and consumes 4.0 litres of fuel per 100km.

However, several options offer fuel-consumption figures close to that of the Fiat, including The Toyota Vitz 1.0 XR, the Suzuki Celerio 1.0, and the Toyota Corolla Cross 1.8 Hybrid.

The Toyota and the Suzuki offer similar fuel efficiency at 4.2ℓ/100km. They are also closely priced at R239,900 and R225,900, respectively.

The Toyota Corolla Cross uses 4.3 litres of fuel per 100km, and pricing starts at R486,100.

The most fuel-efficient diesel-powered cars in South Africa are Fiat’s Fiorino 1.3 MultiJet panel van, Renault’s Duster 1.5dCi, and the Mahindra XUV300 1.5TD W8.

Fiat’s workhorse panel van uses approximately 4.4ℓ/100km and costs R391,900, while the Renault starts at R451,999 and uses 4.8 litres of fuel per 100km.

The diesel-powered Mahindra also uses 4.8ℓ/100km but costs slightly less at R378,099.

Below are fifteen of the most fuel-efficient cars you can buy in South Africa. Pricing, consumption, and performance figures were obtained from TopAuto’s car price tracking tool.