2011 Suzuki SX4

Suzuki SX4

Suzuki’s SX4 always felt like it was caught between worlds. It never quite captured the hatchback crowd in the way the Honda Jazz did, nor did it tempt buyers away from crossovers like the Toyota Auris or Nissan Tiida. You don’t need to look far to see why: just six cars listed right now, running on old-school petrol engines with your pick of manual, semi-auto, or CVT boxes. Prices swing wildly from R84,500 to R178,500, with a median at R121,900. That spread says it all — this isn’t a segment, it’s a curiosity. Most buyers will scroll past, but if you’re after something left-field, you’ll find it here. The 2.0-litre dominates, five out of the six listings, mostly 2010 to 2015 models hovering around 138,000 km. That leaves one 1.6 GLX CVT at R178,500, which is ambitious, because you’d need to really want that badge at this price point. You can see the appeal, though: higher ride height means you won’t wince at every Bedfordview pothole, and early AWD models gave it an edge over city hatches the Jazz and Tiida couldn’t match. Supply is strictly second-hand — new stock doesn’t exist. On paper at least, a tidy example under R110,000 is worth a look if you pack smart and want something different, but you’d have to really want it. That’s the point.