Most affordable Toyota in South Africa

Toyota has announced the pricing of the new Vitz, the replacement to the popular Agya and the most affordable model the automaker now offers in South Africa.

At the bottom of the range, the Vitz in standard trim goes for R189,900 – including a 3-year/100,000km warranty and a 2-services/30,000km service plan – and it provides quite a respectable feature set for this end of the market, though there are still a few things left to be desired.

From the outside, the easiest way to differentiate the base Vitz from its pricier XR-badged counterparts are the black door handles and wing mirrors, the omission of front fog lamps, and 14-inch steel wheels with silver plastic covers.

In terms of features, prospective owners can expect a manual airconditioner, manual windows, rear parking sensors, a key reminder, ABS with brake assist, two front airbags, and a 12V socket for powering external gadgets.

Young parents will also be glad to know it comes with ISOFIX child-seat mounts as well as child safety door locks, in addition to a 295-litre boot for cargo and luggage.

Like its predecessor, the entry-level Vitz does not come with a radio from the factory meaning buyers will have to install their own media units.

It does, however, offer two pre-wired speakers and boasts Toyota Connect support which provides a GPS locator, logbook, battery health checks, driver ratings, licence renewal, roadside assistance, and service bookings via a smartphone app.

Under the shell, the Toyota then sees a 1.0-litre, naturally-aspirated petrol engine married to a five-speed manual gearbox for a combined power output of 49kW and 89Nm.

The driveline excels with fuel consumption as it reports a low average of 4.4l/100km, thus allowing the 32-litre tank to complete 732km before it’s empty.

The hatch is also capable of toppling 160km/h if the opportunity to do so presents itself.

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