Street racing is definitely illegal now!!!
I’m a typical guy. I love my car ( not as much as I love my wife ), but now with the addition to our family, I’m sure we will have to look at a bigger car. For extra space, for all the extra bags, stroller and of course if we decide to go on holiday with the car we definitely will need more boot space to fit our bags, which just fits in our boot at the moment.
I’m just getting used to this car, it hasn’t even been two years, I’m just starting with the upgrades. From a stock standard Polo Vivo when I got it in 2012 to now, my new street racer. Haha, well not really! No more street racing for me - with a wife, and now a kid on the way, I can just make my car look good. Fitted with 17 inch RS3 replica rims covered with Bridgestone MY-01 tyres, a good start for good grip for any drag racer. The darkest legal tint, so you never reveal your identity like the Stig. HID Xenon headlamps to light up the street for the late night racing and of course the LED fog lamps to give it that extra bright effect. Black tail lamps to finish off the dark yet classy look. As I said just getting started…
Back to reality, the fun and games are over and I have to be more mature and have a car that suits the soon-to-be father image. I love doing research on any product that I buy and this was not going to be different.
I first looked at the budget, which to be honest is not that much considering car prices are so high. Finally decided that the limit will be R300 000 and started to look at cars in that price range. I probably went through all the brands from Alfa to Volkswagen before deciding on my top 5 cars.
In no particular order, the contenders are: the Renault Duster, Kia Cerato Sedan, VW Jetta, Toyota Corolla, and a Pre-Owned Audi A4.
Let’s start with the Pre-Owned A4, well for starters its Pre-Owned, and I’m not a fan of anything owned by someone else. Not that I can afford a new car all the time, it’s just that I can’t afford to repair a pre-owned car should it be out of warranty or not have a motor plan. The Audi A4 is no doubt a lovely car but I think if I were to get one, it would have to be new, and right now it’s way over budget.
The VW Jetta however, has all the similar features of the older model A4 and with all the extras will still be under R300 000. It might not have the badge of the Audi but it has the comfort and most luxuries that you would find in one. Yes, I am a VW fan, and have had the first generation Polo Playa, the second generation Polo Hatch (with the round tail lights) and of course the Polo Vivo which I am now driving. So why not just get a Polo Vivo Sedan?! Personally I don’t like the look, and the Polo Vivo for me, is not as solid as the old Polo hatch was.
The Toyota Corolla was also an option and the maintenance of these cars are not high. The resale value is quite good, and the shape has been pretty standard for the last few years. The price is cheaper than the Jetta, but still quite pricey for that bracket of car. The deciding factor will definitely be the boot space, which the Toyota has but then again the Jetta for just a little more in price, is a bigger car with a lot more boot space.
The Kia Cerato looks good, well the Cerato Koup does, but I’m sure with the Cerato Sedan I could do some tweaking to make it also look good. On closer inspection though, the boot space is not that big, the interior is not quite there and the price is definitely not value for money.
The Renault Duster is a nice little 4 x 4, reasonably priced at just under R200 000, and comes with all the extras. Once again the deciding factor was the boot space as that was mostly what I was looking for and it was not much bigger than that of the Vivo.
Since I was looking in the now R200 000 to R250 000 I thought why not have a look at the Polo Sedan. At first I wasn’t entirely happy with the shape, mainly because it came with these skinny wheels; but I thought if I get it, I would just put on my 17 inch which I already have on the Vivo. The Polo Sedan has the normal luxuries that a family car would need, including ISOFIX. For those who are not familiar with ISOFIX, it connects your car's seat base to the chassis of the car, making it safe and secure. Once again the deciding factor was the boot. In the price range including the Toyota Corolla, the Polo Sedan has a slightly bigger boot area. If I can fit in the boot, which I can, and still save about R50 000, it was definitely worth it.
Here I am today a proud owner of a VW Polo Sedan, Alhamdulillah (All praise to The Almighty). Not forgetting that I added the 17 inch rims 😄.
