If there's one thing that gets South African motorists hot under their collars it's our car prices.
There's a widespread perception that we're all getting robbed blind by the car companies and that our overseas counterparts have it so much better.
Last year we did an international price comparison, in which we compared SA prices to those in Germany and the UK and our finding was that local car prices did appear too steep in most cases.
Since then there have been a few fluctuations in the exchange rate and we've also been itching to compare our prices to more countries, particularly in the developing world. So here it is, our second car price comparison, featuring a wider sample of countries - the UK and Germany now joined by India, Australia, USA and even Brazil and Italy in specific cases.
You'll see that each car has a different list of countries and that's because finding the right model, engine and specification match is a hit-and-miss affair, so we've chosen the countries where the closest matches could be found - although finding an exact match is impossible in most cases.
With that in mind, it's best that you view the other countries' prices as a rough guideline rather than an exact indication. We've converted all of the prices to rands using the exchange rates as they were on 25 July (R8.40 per USD, 10.21 EUR, 13.02 GBP, 8.67 AUD, 4.12 BRL, 0.15 INR).
There are a few other little disclaimers to throw in, like the fact that some of the cars are built in the listed countries and others are imported and that taxes and efficiencies of scale vary from country to country. Wages, of course, also make a difference to affordability, although the objective here is purely to see how close our actual prices are to the international norm.
Delving into the list below, it becomes clear that South African cars are for the most part still in the expensive isle of the international supermarket and that some of our car companies are taking more relative pricing liberty than others. That said, some of our international counterparts are also contending with inflated prices.
Now take a deep breath…
INTERNATIONAL CAR PRICE COMPARISON - JULY 2012:
Audi A6 3.0 TFSI quattro
SA - R671 500
Germany - R532 445
India - R731 681
UK - R517 076
BMW 320i Sedan
SA - R363 052
Aus - R552 287
Germany - R291 264
UK - R337 255
Chevrolet Spark 1.2 L
SA - R107 500
India - R78 893
UK - R125 107
Fiat Punto 1.4 Multiair Easy
SA - R172 750
Italy - R164 105
UK - R168 273
Ford Figo 1.4 TDCi Ambiente
SA - R132 620
India - R90 299
Ford Ranger 3.2 DC XLT 4x4
SA - R446 710
Aus - R509 132
UK - R348 595
Honda CR-Z
SA - R310 500
Aus - R338 050
UK - R276 048
USA - R193 929
Hyundai Accent 1.6 GL
SA - R159 900
Aus - R147 374
India - R133 546
Hyundai i30 1.8 GLS
SA - R249 900
Aus - R217 590
USA - R184 381
Infiniti EX37 GT
SA - R626 000
Germany - R553 956
UK - R556 140
USA - R340 248
Jaguar XFR
SA - R1 044 900
Germany - R947 450
UK - R852 720
USA - 689 487
Kia Rio 1.4
SA - R157 995
Aus - R147 373
UK - R149 923
Mercedes C250 Elegance
SA - R482 500
Aus - R614 232
Germany - R405 856
USA - R308 377
Nissan Juke 1.6 Acenta
SA - R205 925
Germany - R160 335
UK - R174 697
Porsche Boxster S
SA - R749 000
Germany - R604 153
USA - R512 070
Renault Sandero 1.6 8v Stepway
SA - R149 900
Brazil - R166 202
Germany - R111 796
Toyota Etios 1.5 Xs sedan
SA - R126 600
India - R100 906
VW Golf GTI
SA - R342 900
Aus - R392 661
Germany - R283 104
USA - R226 786
VW Amarok 2.0 BiTDI DC Highline 4x4
SA - R425 300
Brazil - R513 592
Germany - R397 540