Cut back on flash to save cash

POST-COVID APOCALYPSE: THE TOYOTA IS ONE OF THOSE BRANDS THAT WILL SURVIVE

Latch on to a Quest – the previous-model Corolla – and you won’t regret it.

There’s a saying that a cockroach is the creature that will crawl out of the smouldering crater of a nuclear holocaust. Out of the smouldering crater of the post-Covid-19 economic holocaust impact on the car market, it will be a Toyota which wheelspins its way back to the road.

After the financial shocks of lockdowns around the world – and the huge layoffs of workers which resulted – “futurologists” are predicting that people are going to be a lot more cautious, and a lot more frugal, in the way they live.

So, people will spend their money on function, rather than form.

That is understandable: after poverty and death have ravaged the world, displays of conspicuous consumption might well be frowned upon … or worse.

It was not surprising that a Mercedes-Benz dealer in the States was trashed by rioters in the wake of the killing of George Floyd.

So, in the future, people will be cutting back on the flash as they hoard what little cash they have.

This is why Toyota is going to become a brand for the times.

The Japanese company’s cars are not the cheapest around – at least to buy.

However, when you work out the running costs over the life of the vehicle (which exceeds that of most of its competitors), there is little to touch a Toyota.

As the SA motor industry prepares for what I believe will be a big shake-out – we have far too many models to choose from for a Third World country – Toyota will only increase its market share.

If you’re really tight on cash, then get yourself a second-hand Corolla, Etios or an older Camry.

If you have a bit of money now and want to invest for the future (and I am talking about the next 10 years or so that you can hang on to any Toyota, new or used), then I present to you the Toyota Covid … otherwise known as the Corolla Quest.

The car was launched a few months ago and is, effectively, the previous-model Corolla, which has now been replaced by an all-new one.

The Quest, like its predecessor (in turn from the previous generation Corolla), builds on the Toyota formula of comfort and reliability.

With a 1.8-litre petrol engine (the only option) and a six-speed manual gearbox, the Quest is, like most Japanese cars, almost intuitively easy to drive.

All the controls – from the power steering to the gearshift, the clutch and the brakes – are light.

Perhaps the enthusiast driver might complain they don’t offer the sort of racetrack-focused “feel” you get on in sportier cars, but, hey, who knows how long car racing circuits will continue before they are ploughed under for maize fields in the world after the Covid apocalypse?

With 103kW, the engine offers a decent amount of power and the closer ratios in the six-speed box (compared the five of the previous generation Quest) make getaway nippy.

At the same time, the extra ratio helps reduced engine revs at higher speeds and contributes to good fuel economy. You’ll probably get between seven and 8l/100km in the city and in the low-sixes on the open road.

The Quest will take five people – useful, maybe, for the “carpooling” trend of the future – and even if you don’t fill it with your workmates, its 450l boot will happily accommodate family holiday luggage (assuming you can still afford a holiday that is).

Best of all, the current list price is R260 000 for the base model.

And, in a year, if the economy and the rand continue their downward tango, you’re going be glad you bought when you did.