With Suzuki updating its prices at the start of November and pushing up the window sticker of its DZire in the process, South Africa has officially lost its last sub-R200,000 sedan.
Until just recently, the entry-level DZire was still attainable for R198,900, but now, the four-door starts from a minimum of R204,900.
For this price, you get a 1.2-litre petrol motor with 61kW and 113Nm, and niceties such as all-round electric windows, electric side mirrors, manual airconditioning, central locking, ABS with brake assist, and two airbags.
While the R6,000 hike isn’t unreasonable in the grand scheme of things, it nevertheless highlights the fact that new vehicles are becoming more and more unattainable to the average South African consumer regardless of brand or segment.
Polar opposites
Sedans are in a unique segment in South Africa, with the dwindling popularity of the body style leading to mid-range options essentially vanishing from the market in recent years.
Back in the day, sedan buyers had dozens of options to choose from across all price ranges, being all but a death sentence for a manufacturer if they didn’t have such a car in its line-up.
Ford, Hyundai, Mazda, Nissan, Opel, VW, you name it, they all had a competitively-priced sedan that did relatively well in the sales department and which you might still see roaming the streets today.
As time passed and crossovers became the go-to option for many buyers, though, sedans took a backseat in development and one by one, they were discontinued.
Especially in South Africa, motorists favoured the extra ground clearance offered by crossovers on our pothole-ridden roads, and they brought comparable features and cargo room to sedans but at a far more affordable rate than fully-fledged SUVs.
This trend took flame in the 2010s, and now in the 2020s, if you want a sedan, you can either have a budget-focused model from nameplates including Suzuki, Proton, Honda; or a premium alternative from the likes of Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz.
If you’re looking for a mid-ranger, however, you’ll find that the options are fewer and further apart, mainly taking the form of the Toyota Corolla Sedan which already retails from a heady R531,200 – not exactly affordable, but not nearly as expensive as the Germans.
Fortunately, there are a handful automakers who have noticed the gap at the lower end of the market and have taken action. In the last few years, Proton launched the R210,000 Saga, Hyundai re-entered the category with the first Grand i10 Sedan, and Kia gave us the new Pegas, all of which are targeted at price-conscious buyers.
This suggests that sedans may not be leaving showrooms as soon as we thought, as there are seemingly still more than enough patrons for them, but that the vast spectrum of options we once had is unlikely to make a return.
Keyword: South Africa has officially run out of R200,000 sedans