How much it costs to drive to Durban, Cape Town and the Kruger Park after the latest toll fee hike
South Africans planning to travel domestically can expect to pay more for transport costs compared to last year as they grapple with high petrol prices and increased toll costs.
Motorists still pay well over R20 per litre for petrol in South Africa, despite the reprieve in December and January.
As of 7 February, petrol prices will be hiked by 75 cents per litre, and diesel prices went up by 70 to 73 cents a litre – taking the inland price of petrol 95 to R23.24 and 0.005% diesel to R21.43.
Kicking motorists while they’re down is increasing toll fees, which the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) updated this month that will kick in from 1 March 2024 – hiking tolls by 6.25%.
How much it costs
BusinessTech has calculated the costs of travelling to South Africa’s most popular holiday destinations using the country’s top-selling cars in five categories including bakkie, SUV, hatchback, sedan, and crossover.
The calculation takes into account the cost of petrol and the expected toll fee increases.
South Africa’s best-selling cars in the selected categories were selected from the latest new vehicle sales report provided by Naamsa.
We then calculated how much fuel each of these cars consumes based on the manufacturer’s provided average fuel consumption per/100km.
In each case, the manufacturer’s least expensive model – and for bakkies, the cheapest double cab – was considered. 95 octane (R23.24) and 0.005% diesel prices (R21.43) as of February 2024 were used for comparison purposes.
We then calculated the fuel costs when travelling to some of South Africa’s most popular destinations, using the City of Johannesburg/Tshwane as a benchmark. These costs were then added to the latest toll costs as of 1 March 2024.
Toyota Hilux 2.4GD-6 double cab
- 7.1 litres/100km*
- R152/100km
Toyota Fortuner 2.4GD-6
- 6.8 litres/100km*
- R146/100km
VW Polo Vivo hatch 1.4 Trendline
- 5.7 litres/100km
- R132/100km
Toyota Corolla Quest 1.8 Plus
- 7 litres/100km
- R163/100km
Toyota Corolla Cross 1.8 Xi
- 6.8/100km
- R158/100km
Estimated fuel cost
| Car | Johannesburg to Cape Town | Johannesburg to Durban | Johannesburg to Gqeberha | Johannesburg to Kruger National Park |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toyota Hilux | R2 128 | R866 | R1 596 | R623 |
| Toyota Fortuner | R2 044 | R832 | R1 533 | R599 |
| VW Polo Vivo | R1 848 | R752 | R1 386 | R541 |
| Toyota Corolla Quest | R2 282 | R929 | R1 712 | R668 |
| Toyota Corolla Cross | R2 212 | R901 | R1 659 | R648 |
Estimated toll cost
| Car | Johannesburg to Cape Town | Johannesburg to Durban | Johannesburg to Gqeberha | Johannesburg to Kruger National Park |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toyota Hilux | R233.00 | R326.50 | R182.50 | R286.00 |
| Toyota Fortuner | R233.00 | R326.50 | R182.50 | R286.00 |
| VW Polo Vivo | R233.00 | R326.50 | R182.50 | R286.00 |
| Toyota Corolla Quest | R233.00 | R326.50 | R182.50 | R286.00 |
| Toyota Corolla Cross | R233.00 | R326.50 | R182.50 | R286.00 |
Estimated total cost
| Car | Johannesburg to Cape Town | Johannesburg to Durban | Johannesburg to Gqeberha | Johannesburg to Kruger National Park |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toyota Hilux | R2 361 | R1 193 | R1 779 | R909 |
| Toyota Fortuner | R2 277 | R1 159 | R1 716 | R885 |
| VW Polo Vivo | R2 081 | R1 079 | R1 569 | R827 |
| Toyota Corolla Quest | R2 515 | R1 256 | R1 895 | R954 |
| Toyota Corolla Cross | R2 445 | R1 228 | R1 842 | R934 |
Tolls
The routes and tolls that were taken for the above comparison were as follows:
Johannesburg/Pretoria to Cape Town
| Tollgate | Class 1 – light vehicle with or without a trailer, including motorcycles, motor tricycles and motor cars |
|---|---|
| Grasmere | R25.50 |
| Vaal | R84.50 |
| Verkeerdevlei | R72.50 |
| Huguenot | R50.50 |
| Total Cost | R233 |
Johannesburg/Pretoria to Durban
| Tollgate | Class 1 – light vehicle with or without a trailer, including motorcycles, motor tricycles and motor cars |
|---|---|
| De Hoek | R63.00 |
| Wilge | R88.00 |
| Tugela | R94.00 |
| Mooi | R66.00 |
| Marianhill | R15.50 |
| Total Cost | R326.50 |
Johannesburg/Pretoria to Gqeberha
| Tollgate | Class 1 – light vehicle with or without a trailer, including motorcycles, motor tricycles and motor cars |
|---|---|
| Grasmere | R25.50 |
| Vaal | R84.50 |
| Verkeerdevlei | R72.50 |
| Total Cost | R182.50 |
Johannesburg/Pretoria to Kruger National Park
| Tollgate | Class 1 – light vehicle with or without a trailer, including motorcycles, motor tricycles and motor cars |
|---|---|
| Middelburg | R79.00 |
| Machadodorp | R118.00 |
| Nkomazi | R89.00 |
| Total Cost | R286.00 |
*Indicates a car has a diesel engine.
All prices are estimates and are based on the manufacturer’s average fuel consumption per/100km. Prices are for comparison purposes only and are not meant as financial advice.
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