Every petrolhead wants a car that can smash lap records and rocket from light to light, but unfortunately most of us cant afford these sorts of thrills on our budget. If your budget for a new car is in the R200k region then theres no reason you shouldnt be able to zip around town and get a few kicks from acceleration G-forces. If you’re not a petrolhead then take this advice as vehicles which have excellent acceleration and overtaking ability.
Weve compiled a list thats a bit more price relevant than our fastest accelerating cars under R550k and sorted them by 0-100kph times. The list favours manufacturers that offer bigger capacity engines at a more reasonable price and in particular smaller, lighter cars.
Top 5 Fastest Accelerating Cars under R200k
1. Mazda2 1.5 8.7 Seconds
The Mazda2 with its 1.5-Litre engine is not the most powerful car (82 kW) on this list, but makes use of natural aspiration and high revs to get to 100kph in just 8.7 seconds. It thumps everything else on this list by quite a margin and shows that Mazda certainly places high value on sporty behaviour from its pocket rocket.
See our drive of the Mazda2 here
2. Opel Corsa 1.0T 10.3 Seconds
The new Opel Corsa uses a high-tech three-cylinder one-litre turbo to pump out 85 kW and that gets it to 100kph in 10.3 seconds from a standstill. The turbo isnt as quick as the Mazdas natural aspiration in flat-foot acceleration, but in gear acceleration is likely to be better thanks to the increased torque.
Read our review of the Opel Corsa here
3. Proton Satria Neo 10.5 Seconds
The Malaysian Proton Satria Neo has been around a long time and its 1.6-Litre engine develops 96 kW. This pushes it to 100kph in 10.5 seconds. Proton also did this CPS version that made it look like a rally car.
3. Toyota Corolla Quest 1.6 10.5 Seconds
The Corolla Quest is essentially a previous generation Corolla that Toyota sells as a new car. You do get a naturally aspirated 1.6-Litre motor with 90 kW and thatll get the sedan to 100kph in 10.5 seconds. Thats pretty decent for family sedan under R200k.
Check out our video on the Corolla Quest here
5. Volkswagen Polo Vivo 1.6 10.6 Seconds
The VW Polo Vivo is the best-selling passenger car in South Africa and when powered by the 1.6-Litre petrol engine is reasonably quick. Despite having just 77 kW the least here it still gets to 100kph in 10.6 seconds.
Check our review of the new Polo Vivo here
