Summarize

Gumtree’s fourth Pre-Owned Car winner, the Toyota Corolla 1.6 XS Prestige has lifted the Award for the best two-year old pre-owned sedan for sale at under R250K on the South African used car market right now. 

The Gumtree Pre Owned Awards showcase the best used cars in twelve classes on the market every year by singling out the five that best retain their value in each class, according to Trans Union pre-owned car sales data. Those five are then put before the Pre Owned Awards Jury to select the best car in each category. 

In alphabetical order, the Hyundai Elantra, Suzuki Ciaz, Toyota Corolla and Quest and Volkswagen Polo were the five repmobiles to go before the panel and as Auto Bakkie Race exclusively predicted, it was the Toyota’s bold and refined Corolla that best impressed. The Corolla that shook off those odd Japanese looks also added superior handling, a smart, comfortable and spacious and well-kitted out cabin. 

It’s also quick off the mark, strong enough throughout the rev range and economical too, while road holding is excellent — even with the well-damped ride, and noise, vibration and harshness are at a minimum. The CVT box works well once you get over the drone, but overall, everything quite clearly keeps going right!

On the face of it, all five of these mainstream sedans had an excellent shot at this crown, but while each of the others all stole their own headlines, our score sheets however suggested differently. Those four were each had a few skeletons in their comparative cupboards and that balanced their plus points out, leaving the almost secret new-spec Corolla to best impress once the scores were totted up.

And it seems all of our esteemed peers on the Gumtree Approved Used Car Awards Jury concurred as the Toyota Corolla 1.6 XS Prestige lifted the Award for the best two-year old pre-owned sedan for sale in SA this side of R250K – Michele Lupini