2017 Toyota Corolla Quest

Toyota Corolla Quest

Corolla Quest buyers aren't chasing flash—they want a car that starts every morning, shrugs off taxi-ravaged potholes, and won’t give them a heart attack at service time. That’s the Quest’s whole appeal: straightforward 1.6 or 1.8-litre petrol engines, no turbo headaches, and transmissions that cater for old-school stick-shifters and folks who just want to put it in D and go. On paper at least, it’s a better real-world fit for Joburg commutes or a Cape Town Uber gig than most of its rivals. You’re not getting anything new here—every one of the 39 listings is used, with prices from R129,950 to R289,950 and the median hovering at R239,900. That’s real choice, whether you want a lightly-used 2024 or a budget-friendly 2015. Most stock is the 1.8 Plus, straddling R212,500 to R269,950, and that’s the Quest you’ll actually see wearing bolt-on mags in a Midrand parking lot. The 1.6 manuals, clustered around R159,900 to R169,900, are the way in if you pack smart and don’t mind winding your own gears. Average mileage is 94,000 km, so check if that timing service is done—Toyota’s parts network will keep you rolling, but you don’t want to skimp here. Against the Nissan Almera and Suzuki Ciaz, the Quest just makes more sense for South Africans who care about resale and not getting stranded on the N12. That’s the point.