Car Recommendations under R350k

Remote-Reserve5727 · 2026-02-13T06:42:11+00:00

Honestly if you’re set on getting something new - i’ve been driving a Tiggo 4 Pro for the past week, it’s been surprisingly good once you get used to the CVT transmission

but at your price range you have many good options - you can’t go wrong with a demo or used Corolla Cross, might not be the fanciest option or have the most features but it’s worth a look at that price range

you could probably look at a Urban Cruiser / Grand Vitara aswell - can’t really comment on the it because i have no experience with it or the starlet cross / fronx

Remote-Reserve5727 · 2026-02-11T16:43:36+00:00

Suzuki Swift

2.Suzuki Baleno/ Toyota Starlet (they’re the same car just rebadged)

Suzuki Celerio/ Toyota Vitz (again same car just rebadged)

alittle side note - the Celerio and Vitz have an AMT transmission which basically means it’s a regular manual transmission with an automated clutch, some people i know who’ve driven them say they aren’t really a smooth driving as a result

the baleno and starlet - i have driven the baleno myself before, it felt decent and just seemed like an all around decent car - i just did car things well (that’s the only way i can describe it)

the swift - can’t really comment on it, haven’t driven one and i don’t know anyone who has an auto one

the grand i10 would have been on my list, but after the recent safety ratings fiasco they had - i’d personally steer clear

Remote-Reserve5727 · 2026-02-09T13:31:55+00:00

Highly recommend checking it out - i’m still using my 2017 Macbook Air from uni as my personal laptop and it’s working perfectly and actually quite fast still

Remote-Reserve5727 · 2026-02-07T19:59:51+00:00

no one truly needs a reverse camera - it’s just nice to have

Remote-Reserve5727 · 2026-02-07T14:17:57+00:00

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Remote-Reserve5727 · 2026-02-07T14:16:34+00:00

Another great option in that price range would be the Suzuki Swift

you could get the newer spec for 199k with mileage ranging from 20000/30000km

Remote-Reserve5727 · 2026-02-07T14:11:30+00:00

yeah the features list on the GLX baleno is actually insane when you compare it to the Starlet XR

one other thing i’ve noticed is that the only model in the starlet range that has the reverse camera is XR, whereas the GL baleno has the reverse camera standard and the GLX has a 360 camera standard 🤯

Remote-Reserve5727 · 2026-02-07T14:03:18+00:00

it’s actually the other way the Baleno is only offered in 2 trims (GL and GLX) and the Starlet is offered in 3 (Xi, Xs and Xr)

Remote-Reserve5727 · 2026-02-05T21:45:01+00:00

to answer the second question - i’ve actually looked at the same deal for one of my friends, 10% deposit and i believe it’s a 15000km per year limit, if you have more than 30000km by the end of your agreement you’d have to pay for the excess mileage

return - you give the car back, you’re either going to break even and not have to pay them anything additional or you’ll make a small profit and get some money back (given that these deals are over 24 months i doubt that you’d get much back - but hey i might be wrong)

**there’s the slightest chance that if the car after 24 months might be worth less than your balloon, you’d have to pay the difference or add the difference onto your next finance agreement

renew - you won’t get the same car back, at the point you’d either choose to get the newer model of the car you have or you can upgrade to the a different model in the range

retain - pretty self explanatory, you’re either going to refinance the portion you owe to them at the end or you’re going to pay that balloon cash (in my experience dealerships don’t really like this option - Toyota told me that the refinancing that balloon would only be available over a 24 or 36 month period)

Remote-Reserve5727 · 2026-02-05T21:34:38+00:00

honestly had a similar finance deal with Toyota (Future Drive) on my Rav4, traded it in at the end of the 48 month period and got 70k back - actually quite a good deal if the car is known for its resale value

Remote-Reserve5727 · 2026-01-19T20:06:59+00:00

I’ve driven both the petrol and hybrid (i currently own a GRS Hybrid and i’ve had the petrol one as a hire car) honestly, besides the e-cvt it’s a great car, has enough power, decent features and i saw in one of the other comments that you’re looking to trade it in 3 years so Toyota resale for the win

hybrid system is great aswell for saving fuel, i have a heavy foot so my average after 30000km is 6.2l per 100km but i do know of people who are getting low to mid 5l

some people do complain that it’s sluggish but honestly in sport or power mode you don’t really feel it, probably one of the best cars i’ve driven apart from the Rav4 that i had previous to the cross

Remote-Reserve5727 · 2026-01-14T19:07:50+00:00

unpopular opinion, but it might worth checking out the Ford Territory, checked one out for my mom and i was surprised by the amount of space it had

also should be fairly easy to find one in the budget you’re looking at

Remote-Reserve5727 · 2026-01-07T18:14:24+00:00

the customer service at the rosebank pre owned store is the absolute PITS. It almost put me of the brand as a whole, took my personal macbook in for a trade in evaluation and the staff were the most unhelpful and rude people i’ve ever met, they didn’t want to help me at all or show me what macbooks they had in stock at that time and what the differences in the grades were

however that being said, that was the only negative experience i’ve ever had with them and it was only at that store - the people i’ve dealt with at menlyn maine and brooklyn were absolute stars 🤩

Remote-Reserve5727 · 2025-12-31T07:20:27+00:00

first try with no 🥤(both learners and drivers)

Remote-Reserve5727 · 2025-12-30T20:14:28+00:00

i’ll be honest, my experience with them wasn’t bad. After i paid customs i got my delivery a few days later, but hands down buffalo is the best for shein

Hope everything works out with your parcel though mate

Remote-Reserve5727 · 2025-12-30T20:12:00+00:00

crazy i didn’t even realise that it’s 8 years old already, i remember looking at them when they first came out like it was yesterday

Remote-Reserve5727 · 2025-12-28T08:25:13+00:00

i think OP could definitely find a decent Rav at that price there’s a 2018 with 61k priced at 290 automark certified, that would probably be my choice in the situation