5 of the most affordable SUVs to own in South Africa
A report out in October provided South African motorists with guidance on how cheap or expensive it can be to service their vehicle, including a range of SUVS.
The 2017 Kinsey Report is published by veteran motoring scribe Malcolm Kinsey and is regarded as the most comprehensive survey on everyday motoring – covering 62 vehicles in nine categories, down from 69 vehicles previously due to the omission of Citroens, Opels and Chevrolets.
The report highlighted a list of prices of 35 parts and the cost of each “parts basket” as a percentage of a car’s price.
Kinsey priced in the following SUVs under three main categories:
Compact Crossovers: – 6 vehicles
The Mahindra KUV 100 is seen as the cheapest SUV to overall, followed in second place by the Peugeot 2008, ahead of the Ford Ecosport 1.0T by a mere R23. Mahindra is lowest in the both the service and repair section with the Peugeot best in the crash parts section, the report said.
Crossovers: – 8 vehicles
This category is again won by the Toyota Fortuner – convincingly in both least expensive parts basket and percentage calculation. Second goes to the RAV 4 2.0 – up 7 places from 2016, – and third the Ford Kuga 1.5T.
Executive Crossovers: – 8 vehicles
All the vehicles in this section have automatic transmissions – the manual options not being as popular. The Toyota Prado 3.0 VX (Parts basket as a % of selling price: R178,390) beat the Volvo (R199,835) with good prices in service (1st), repair (2nd) and crash (2nd) parts. The Range Rover Evoque (R233,259) held on to the third place which it achieved last year.
In fourth is the Grand Cherokee 3.0 CRD which is a welcome newcomer and has the 3rd least expensive crash parts basket, the report said.
The categories used to rate cars in their defined market segments are:
Category A (Service Items): covering everyday replaceable items, such as air filters, spark/glow plugs, brake pads/shoes and wiper blades.
Category B (Repair Parts): covering major items, such as cam belts, shock absorbers, clutch and pressure plates, flywheels, and fan belts.
Category C (Crash Parts): this looks at major replacement body costs, such as bonnets, grilles, doors, fenders and bumper skins, and light assemblies.
Mahindra KUV 100
- Priced from: R187,995
- Total parts price: 43.40%
- Parts basket as a % of selling price: R81,597
Toyota Fortuner 2.8 GD
- Priced from: R557,200
- Total parts price: 15.25%
- Parts basket as a % of selling price: R84,992
Peugeot 2008 ACTIVE
- Priced from: R299,900
- Total parts price: 30.32%
- Parts basket as a % of selling price: R90,920
Ford Eco-Sport 1.0T
- Priced from: R280,900
- Total parts price: 32.38%
- Parts basket as a % of selling price: R90,944
Mazda CX3 2.0
Priced from: R284,800
Total parts price: 32.46%
Parts basket as a % of selling price: R92,441
The Renault Duster 1.6 is the only other SUV with a parts basket as a % of selling price less than R100,000, at R98,126, and with a selling price starting from R259,900.




