Ford

Compact crossover that was discontinued by Ford in 2023. But there’s still a healthy market of pre-owned EcoSports available.

Tidy design and reasonably good cabin, with Ford’s slick Sync3 infotainment and device pairing system. Unlike most other compact crossovers, the EcoSport features a full-size spare wheel mounted on the tailgate. That opens a lot of luggage space, which is impressive at 333-litres.

Like all small Fords, the EcoSport has excellent suspension and steering for an affordable compact car. High-speed stability is better than what’s you’d expect for such a small car, making EcoSport a very confident highway cruiser, despite its size.

Engines are where it gets complicated. The 1-litre EcoBoost turbopetrol engines offer decent performance, even at Highveld altitudes.

But these tiny 1-litre engines are very heavy on fuel and the pre-2018 versions are notorious for long-term durability issues, due to their wetbelt timing design. The post-2018 1.0 EcoBoost engines feature a timing chain for improved durability.

Best buy, if you can find them, are the 1.5 turbodiesel EcoSports. These offer a great blend of overtaking performance and economy.

As a driver and passenger experience, superior to Fortuner and a real rival to Prado.

Huge dimensions can be a bit tricky to master in city traffic or covered parking garages. Everest excels as an all-terrain cruiser, especially with its safe, smart adaptive cruise control.

Third-row seating submerges into the floor, creating a huge luggage storage area. Sync4 rivals the best Chinese infotainment systems, and standard safety spec is comprehensive.

Very capable as an off-road touring vehicle and handles heavy loads with ease. Platinum V6’s huge wheels limit its off-road ability. Wildtrak 2.0 is the one to have

Small Ford with some of the best highway-cruising ability and handling of any compact car.

Ford stopped selling the Fiesta locally in 2018, but it was always the choice alternative for buyers who didn’t want a Polo. And needed a small family car with big-car feel and stability, travelling between provinces at highway speeds.

Steering and suspension setup was unrivalled, and even today, these Fiestas from the 2010s offer a great driving experience. Especially if you can only afford a small car but still drive long highway distances.

Weaknesses are the engines and gearboxes. Ford’s 1-litre EcoBoost turbopetrol engines are notorious for wet timing belt disintegration issues. And the 6-speed PowerShift dual-clutch transmission is air-cooled, not wet-lubricated, and prone to failure.  

The older 1.6-litre naturally aspirated engines are the ones to have. Although the 1.4-litre naturally aspirated engine is even more reliable, it does feel a bit weak on the Highveld. Avoid the PowerShift transmission versions at all costs and only buy a manual gearbox Fiesta.

The ST hot-hatch versions are truly among the best compact performance cars ever sold in South Africa. Specifically, the very rare and collectable Fiesta ST200.

Ford’s budget hatchback and sedan, sold locally until 2022.

An Indian import based on the excellent sixth-gen Fiesta platform. Materials and build quality are average (as you’d expect from an Indian-built Ford). But the driving experience is above average (thanks to its shared Fiesta underpinnings). 

An interesting derivative of South African Figos, was the Freestyle. It has 190mm of ground clearance, giving it a touch of dirt road diving ability.

Most Figos in the used market are the 1.5-litre 3-cylinder petrol. This engine makes decent power (88kW) and, most importantly, it’s not turbocharged and has a timing chain for enhanced reliability.

There’s also the 1.5 TDCi turbodiesel, which doesn’t suffer any performance losses on the Highveld. If driven tidily, the Figo 1.5 TDCi delivers incredibly low diesel consumption.

As with all small Fords, you need to be mindful of gearbox issues. If you’re buying a used Figo, make sure it’s a 5-speed manual. The 6-speed PowerShift dual-clutch transmission is wildly problematic. 

Ford’s most iconic model and the only naturally aspirated V8 two-door you can buy new in South Africa.

Cabin quality isn’t amazing, but the performance-to-price ratio is. Linear acceleration and throttle response from that 5-litre V8 is unrivalled at the price. Very liveable in daily traffic, too, thanks to the smart and slick-shifting 10-speed automatic transmission.

Ford’s extensive dealer network and distribution make it one of the easiest performance cars to own and keep running, if you aren’t in a major city. Naturally aspirated engine is less vulnerable to local fuel quality issues than any comparable turbocharged V8.

Successor to the Fiesta, in crossover form, with a very distinctive design.

Built on one of the best compact vehicle platforms, engineered by Ford’s European division. Puma is one of the best-handling and most agile compact crossovers you can buy, and it's very confident at high cruising speeds.  

Ford’s Sync3 infotainment system is good, but it’s a generation behind the Sync4 available on locally built Fords like Everest and Ranger. Puma is expensive, especially when considering the optional extras.  

Only one engine option and Puma’s 1-litre turbocharged triple isn’t light on fuel, because it’s always high on boost.

Australian engineered and locally built, this is South Africa’s most popular double cab range.

Tough frame, terrific cabin and excellent Sync4 infotainment make Ranger excellent at long distance highway cruising. And off road adventuring. Better driving experience than Hilux or any Chinese bakkie.

Lots of factory accessories and prewired aux switches make Ranger an amazing overlanding platform.

The 2-litre BiTurbo engines can have temperamental cambelt lubrication issues, so strict maintenance intervals and OEM lubricants are a must. 

Huge engine line-up changes for Ranger from Q2 2026. The 2.0 Bi-turbodiesel engines are being phased out and replaced with lower-output single-turbodiesel versions. These have chain-driven timing chains, too, which should improve durability. But the highway and towing performance losses are real.

Raptor version is possible South Africa’s best value family performance car, offering tremendous performance on all terrain types. With utility and pothole strike survivability that no traditional performance car can rival. Best buys are 2.0 Wiltrak or Tremor.

Ford’s mid-size crossover is a rebadged JMC. Specious cabin design and lots of digital tech, as you’d expect from a Chinese platform vehicle.

Curiously the Territory does not use Ford’s proven and excellent Sync infotainment system. Device syncing and digital functions run through a Chinese system, instead. But like everything Chinese and digital, the screens are excellent and the UX is fluid if you are a tech type.

The 1.8-litre EcoBoost engine and 7-speed dual-clutch transmission operate best in Eco mode. Throttle responses can feel a touch overactive in other modes.

Ground clearance is decent at 190mm, but road biased tyres and front-wheel drive mean its not meant for Karoo gravel travel.

Vans aren’t a big market in South Africa. But globally, the Transit is regarded as the best van.

Ford’s invested heavily over many generations of Transit to create a van that is capacious, very easy to drive in traffic, and has all the ergonomic support features to unburden delivery drivers who might be task-saturated.

The latest generation Transit combines a large load area with an excellent cab-forward design. Cargo space volume is 5.8 m3, there’s space for three standard Euro pallets, and the total payload capacity is 1 023kg.

The driving position is brilliant, allowing terrific visibility when you need to edge into narrow delivery or parking spaces.

There’s plenty of clever storage around the cabin, much of it out of view, which is a valuable security consideration for South African delivery van drivers. Device and Smartphone pairing is great, too, with Ford’s SYNC4 system.

The Transit Custom, with its ST-legacy roof graphics and blacked-out wheels, does look great.

Issues? The engines. Transits use Ford’s single-turbo 2.0 diesel, which has a wet timing belt notorious for premature wear and maintenance issues. These are also EcoBlue engines, which means you need to keep the 20-litre AdBlue tank topped up as required. The fuel tank is small, too, at only 55-litres.

There are two output grades for the 2.0 turbodiesel. The Transit Sport is good for 125kW and 390Nm, and the Custom long-wheelbase is downrated to only 100kW and 360Nm.

But all the Transits are front-wheel drive. And that is an issue if your Transit is fully loaded and you need to get up a steep, winding driveway or delivery ramp.