If you’re in the market for a new vehicle these days, you may find the prices staggering. And that means the market for pre-owned is growing.
Requirement: Carburettors, manual door locks and and steel wheels. This is what you get when all you want is an honest sedan for your daily commute. After all, as the old saying goes, they don’t make them like they used to. We browsed Gumtree to find these five clean (and unmodified) retro sedans that were popular in the ’80s.
The Jetta doesn’t sell quite like it used to. Many of these classics were built in Uitenhage back in the ’80s, which is part of the reason they were so popular here. This model’s 1,8-litre four-cylinder engine was good for a healthy 70 kW and 150 N.m, with a claimed fuel consumption of 6,7 L/100 km.
In the fifth and final generation of the Cortina, the GL was one of the mid-specced models. This came equipped with a 1,6-litre engine which produced 64 kW and 125 N.m, which meant it could accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 13,7 seconds while providing a claimed fuel consumption of 9,2 L/100 km. Probably the biggest car on this list, too.
This Mazda is probably as basic as it gets. Followed up by the current Mazda3 sedan, the 323 is a car that has proved rather popular in South Africa. Its comparatively diminutive 1,3-litre four-cylinder engine was able to squeeze out 50 kW and 96 N.m, while returning a claimed consumption of 8,0 L/100 km.
Probably the most successful on this list in terms of overall sales, the Corolla moniker certainly helped make Toyota the giant it is today. The GL was the lower-specced model but its 1,6-litre engine was able to deliver 63 kW and 133 N.m, with a claimed economy of 8,4 L/100 km.
The advert says this is a 1,6-litre, but as far as we know, this particular model came with a 1,3-litre engine, which produced 52 kW and 102 N.m (along with a claimed economy of 8,2 L/100 km). The images suggest it is in fairly good condition, but it’s worth noting that this vehicle was by far the hardest example to find on this list.
