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Young and newly promoted in SA? Here are 5 best Youth Day starter pack cars

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<i>Image: Quicpic</i>
<i>Image: Quicpic</i>

"To celebrate Youth Day mobility, here are five reasonably affordable cars in South Africa," writes Lance Branquinho.

You are young and newly promoted. Bus and Quantum taxi transport no longer serves your transport identity. But what does a young person buy that is not awful or boring?

Volkswagen Vivo Maxx - R225 000

Volkswagen's Vivo is South Africa’s most popular passenger car, which means the formula those clever Germans have concocted for the local market is expertly blended.

We all know that Mzansi road conditions can be trying, especially when one routes home to visit family or friends in a rural part of the country, with Dirt road detours and potholes where you least expect them.

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The solution? VW’s new Vivo Maxx, everything that is great about the recently updated Vivo with the benefit and 15mm more ground clearance. Evidently that doesn’t sound like much, but it can be the difference between surviving or being stranded after a pothole strike. 


Kia Picanto - R139 495

Probably South Africa’s most sophisticated entry-level car, the third-generation of Kia’s city car combines big-car refinement with small car manoeuvrability.

                                                                       Image: Kia Motors SA

Superbly safe too, thanks to a new steel structure which benefits from Kia’s inhouse enriched boron steel blended into the design.

Picanto’s charmingly contemporary in appearance and on the open road it exhibits no small-car nervousness, something which often afflicts city car that are delightfully agile in town. It’s a small car with a big heart. 


Hyundai i20 Active - R279 900

You have a Korean Smartphone, so why not match it with a Korean compact hatchback keen on adventure? Hyundai’s i20 Active was launched last month and it now headlines the very popular i20 range in South Africa.

                                                                        Image: Charlen Raymond

This adventurous Hyundai hatchback is distinguished from other i20s by its pseudo-SUV styling trinkets and a 20mm increase in ride height. That last engineering upgrade should serve it well if you are a committed rural explorer at risk of potholes.

Inside there is a riot of red detailing on the shifter knob, seat bolsters and ventilation surrounds. Some neat kit onboard too with automatic climate control to keep you cool on those sweltering days and a comprehensive touchscreen infotainment system – just like your Samsung Smartphone.

And for only R2500, your local Hyundai dealer can unlock full satnav functionality on the i20 Active’s infotainment system. 

Renault Sandero Stepway - R186 900

A perennial favourite of those who are adventurous at heart but forced by work commitments to live in a city. If you can’t wait for that late Friday afternoon packing session, loading up a vehicle with adventure gear for a weekend away, then the Sandero Stepway is for you.

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Engineered specifically for rugged African and South American road conditions, instead of billiard perfect European tarmac, Stepway is impressively capable for what is essentially a front-wheel drive hatchback.

The 900cc turbocharged triple boosts to a respectable 66kW, which gives Sandero Stepway reasonable urge. Ground clearance is very impressive too, at 193mm, which should enable navigation to places that other front-wheel drive hatchback owners can only dream of.

Toyota Aygo - R162 100

Not all newly employed youngsters are stupid with their money. There are some who seek the balanced compromise between owning a personal mobility vehicle and not having to be burdened by unforeseen motoring costs, or the probability of suffering huge asset depreciation.

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If you want to pay those monthly instalments into the safest possible entry-level vehicle option, there is no better choice than a Toyota. And it does not have to be the ungainly looking Etios, you can keep things stylish and still benefit from Toyota’s unrivalled reliability with an Aygo.

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