Ten locally-built cars South Africans loved

• Author: Denis Droppa and Brenwin Naidu
• Published date: 23 September 2022
• Publication title: TimesLIVE (Johannesburg, South Africa)

In celebration of Heritage Month we take a nostalgic look at 10 locallyproduced successes

BMW 3 Series

A German sedan renowned for its driving pleasure, the 3 Series is the brand's bestselling model internationally and has spawned seven generations. Five of those iterations were built at BMW's Rosslyn plant in Pretoria with 1,191,604 units leaving the production line over 35 years.

It started with the E30 generation model from 1983 to 1992, which was locally nicknamed the "Gusheshe", and included unique to SA limited edition models such as the 333i and 325iS.

The next generation, the E36, was affectionately dubbed the "Dolphin" because of its streamlined shape. This model spawned the first high performance M3 version to come to SA, which was powered by a naturally aspirated 3.0l sixcylinder engine.

The E46, nicknamed the "Gstring", was followed by the E90 which featured a V8powered M3. The F30 arrived in 2011 with new turbocharged engines across the range, including the first turbo M3, and was the first generation to have a hybrid model. The F30 was the last 3 Series to be built locally and was replaced in 2019 by the imported G20.

VW Citi Golf

With 377,484 units built during its 25year lifespan, the Citi Golf is SA's most successful hatchback to date.

It was born when the mkII "Jumbo" Golf was launched in 1984 and the first generation car was retained in SA as a budgetfriendly offering. With its attractive pricing and excellent advertising campaign, the car continued to notch up great sales as successions of newer generation Golfs were introduced over the years.

The budget hatchback was kept up to date with interior revamps, cosmetic tweaks and special editions over the years, but the iconic Giugiarodesigned body never strayed from its boxy origins.

It became the longest running car in SA history and eventually bowed out in 2010, 31 years after its birth as the mk1 Golf.

Its replacement, the Volkswagen Polo Vivo, is notching up great success of its own and has sold more than 367,000 units since production started in 2010.

Ford Ranger

The onetonne bakkie has been a major success for the blue oval and at one point sparred with the Toyota Hilux for the title of SA's bestselling vehicle.

More than 740,000 current generation Rangers have been produced in SA for domestic and export customers since it was launched in 2011 as replacement to the first generation Ranger. More than 540,000 second generation Rangers have been exported to more than 100 markets...