There are just over a dozen hatchbacks that can be afforded on a monthly instalment budget of R5,000 – including five with an automatic transmission.

Hatchbacks are the most popular vehicle segment in South Africa’s passenger car market, as they offer practicality, affordability, and excellent fuel efficiency, making them ideal for city driving and everyday use.

While there are hatchbacks that have all the luxuries a modern-day car can offer at a premium price – such as those from BMW and Audi – the segment also offers the cheapest cars on the market.

This makes them an attractive option for budget-conscious buyers who are looking for a reliable and efficient vehicle.

In addition to their affordability, hatchbacks are also well-suited for the country’s narrow and congested roads. With their compact size, they are easy to manoeuvre through traffic and park in tight spaces, making them a practical choice for urban dwellers.

Considering this, BusinessTech looked at the best vehicles one could afford with a monthly instalment budget of R5,000.

Experts still recommend that prospective car owners spend no more than 20% of their monthly income on vehicle finance – roughly making R5,000 a month the recommended amount for South Africans earning the average salary of R26,032 a month in South Africa.

A budget of R5,000 a month affords a dozen cars currently available on the South African market, four of which are among the most popular hatchbacks in South Africa, according to the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa)’s latest new vehicle sales report for March 2023.

These cars are the Suzuki Swift, Hyundai Grand i10, Renault Kwid, and the Suzuki S-Presso – which sold 1,248, 957, 431, and 383 units, respectively.

To calculate the monthly instalments of the vehicles on this list, we used  Wesbank’s repayments calculator with the following parameters:

• Payment term – 60 terms (5 years)
• Interest – 11.25%
• Deposit – 0%
• Balloon – No balloon payment
• Extras – No optional extras

Using these assumptions, there are 13 new vehicle models that are affordable with a monthly instalment budget of R5,000 – including five automatics.

The first of these automatic cars – the Suzuki S-Presso S-Edition – is also the cheapest on this list, with a price tag of R203,900. This works out to an instalment of around R4,554 per month.

The other cars that offer an automatic transmission are the Suzuki Celerio GL (R213,900), Renault Kwid Climber (R215,999), Proton Saga (R219,900), and the Toyota Agya (R222,100).

The most expensive option on this list, pushing the limits of the monthly instalment budget, is the Renault Kiger Life – costing R224,999 with an instalment of R5,015 per month.

It must be noted that while some of these cars offer cheaper models in their range – equating to an even cheaper monthly instalment – we chose the top-spec models one can afford with a budget of R5,000 per month.

For example, while the Suzuki S-Presso S-Edition auto costs R203,900, the model’s entry-level variant costs only R165,900 – working out to an instalment of only R3,723 per month.

With this in mind, the 13 best cars you can afford on a R5,000 monthly instalment budget are listed below.

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Suzuki S-Presso 1.0 S-Edition Auto 

• Car price: R203,900
• Estimated monthly instalment: R4,554
• Model starting price: R165,900

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Suzuki Ignis 1.2 GL

• Car price: R208,900
• Estimated monthly instalment: R4,663
• Model starting price: R208,900

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Suzuki DZire 1.2 GL 

• Car price: R211,900
• Estimated monthly instalment: R4,729
• Model starting price: R193,900

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Suzuki Swift 1.2 GL

• Car price: R212,900
• Estimated monthly instalment: R4,750
• Model starting price: R194,900

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Suzuki Celerio 1.2 GL Auto 

• Car price: R213,900
• Estimated monthly instalment: R4,773
• Model starting price: R178,900

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Kia Picanto 1.0 Start 

• Car price: R214,995
• Estimated monthly instalment: R4,797
• Model starting price: R214,995

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Renault Kwid 1.0 Climber Auto 

• Car price: R215,999
• Estimated monthly instalment: R4,819
• Model starting price: R184,999

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Hyundai Grand i10 1.0 Motion

• Car price: R219,900
• Estimated monthly instalment: R4,904
• Model starting price: R219,900

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Proton Saga 1.3 Standard Auto 

• Car price: R219,900
• Estimated monthly instalment: R4,904
• Model starting price: R199,900

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Toyota Vitz 1.0 XR 

• Car price: R219,900
• Estimated monthly instalment: R4,904
• Model starting price: R189,900

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Renault Triber 1.0 Zen

• Car price: R220,999
• Estimated monthly instalment: R4,928
• Model starting price: R210,999

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Toyota Agya 1.0 Auto 

• Car price: R222,100
• Estimated monthly instalment: R4,952
• Model starting price: R206,000

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Renault Kiger 1.0 Life 

• Car price: R224,999
• Estimated monthly instalment: R5,015
• Model starting price: R224,999

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Read: 18 new cars launching in South Africa in the coming months

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