Every bakkie range in South Africa runs from a single cab workhorse to a double cab that doubles as the family car. The same engine and chassis can carry two very different prices, depending on how many doors it has. This guide puts the numbers on it, from live listings, September 2026.
The premium, model by model
Median asking prices from the listings BakkiesSA tracks. Body style is read from the listing title, so a small number of vehicles that do not say what they are fall out of the comparison.
| Bakkie | Double cab median | Single cab median | Premium | Listings (DC / SC) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isuzu D-Max | R579,830 | R339,900 | R240,000 | 1,038 / 530 |
| Ford Ranger | R496,900 | R259,850 | R237,000 | 3,465 / 410 |
| Toyota Hilux GD-6 | R589,900 | R389,990 | R200,000 | 2,591 / 872 |
| Mitsubishi Triton | R584,995 | R378,900 | R206,000 | 116 / 35 |
| Nissan Navara | R489,900 | R309,900 | R180,000 | 605 / 65 |
| VW Amarok | R599,900 | R449,950 | R150,000 | 877 / 46 |
| Peugeot Landtrek | R439,900 | R294,900 | R145,000 | 104 / 58 |
| GWM P-Series | R428,900 | R325,900 | R103,000 | 591 / 69 |
| Toyota Hilux D-4D | R269,000 | R209,900 | R59,000 | 306 / 97 |
| Mahindra Pik Up | R339,900 | R279,999 | R60,000 | 235 / 293 |
Two things jump out. The premium is biggest on the volume brands with a big fleet market (D-Max, Ranger, Hilux), because that is where the single cab pool is oldest and most worn. It is smallest on the Pik Up and the D-4D Hilux, where single cabs are a large share of the pool and buyers treat both bodies as work vehicles.
Note also the listing counts. Double cabs outnumber single cabs eight to one on the Ranger and three to one on the Hilux. The Pik Up is the only major model where single cabs outnumber double cabs, which tells you exactly who buys them.
Why the gap is so big
The second row of doors is not R240,000 of metal. Three things stack up.
Age and mileage. Single cabs are bought by fleets, farms and builders, driven hard, and sold at 200,000 km or more. Double cabs are bought by families and kept in better condition. On the D-4D Hilux, where the whole pool is old, the premium collapses to R59,000 because both bodies have done their kilometres.
Trim. Single cabs are sold in base spec: steel wheels, vinyl seats, no infotainment. Double cabs are where the Wildtrak, Legend, V-Cross and LT trims live, and those carry their own premium on top of the body. A Ranger single cab is almost always an XL 2.2; a Ranger double cab might be a Raptor.
Demand. The private buyer wants a double cab. That is the vehicle that does the school run and the trip to the coast as well as the work, and it is the one that sells quickly at asking. Single cabs sell to a smaller pool of trade and fleet buyers who negotiate harder.
When the single cab is the better buy
If the bakkie is for work and you are not carrying passengers, the single cab is one of the best value propositions in the whole vehicle market. Consider what R260,000 buys on the Ranger. The same chassis, the same 2.2 engine, a longer load bin than the double cab, and usually a higher payload, because the body is lighter. The double cab buyer paid R237,000 more for two extra seats and a shorter bed.
The things to be honest with yourself about:
- Mileage. The single cab pool averages much higher mileage. Buy on history, not the odometer; a 250,000 km fleet vehicle with a full service record is a known quantity.
- Condition of the bed. Fleet single cabs have carried loads. Check the bed floor under any liner, the tailgate, and the rear chassis rails.
- Resale. You will most likely sell to a dealer or a trade buyer, not a private one. Price the exit before you buy.
- Two seats. If there is any chance of needing to carry more than one passenger, you have bought the wrong bakkie.
When to pay for the double cab
If the bakkie is also the family vehicle, the double cab is not a luxury and there is no point pretending otherwise. It is also the body that holds its value best in the private market and sells fastest. On a Hilux GD-6, the double cab market is deep enough that a well-priced one sells in about three weeks on our delisting data.
What to watch is the trim stacking. On a Ranger the jump from XLT double cab to Wildtrak is another R200,000 at the median, and the Raptor is another R220,000 above that. The double cab premium and the trim premium are separate decisions, and the market will let you pay both.
The extended cab middle ground
Ranger SuperCab, Hilux Xtra Cab, D-Max Extended Cab. Two doors, a small rear bench or storage space behind the front seats, and a bed between the single and double cab in length. They are rare in the used market and priced close to the double cab because most were sold in higher trims. If you need the occasional third seat and a longer bin, they are worth a look. If you are buying on value, the single cab is cheaper and the double cab is easier to sell.
Checking the price in front of you
The premiums above are medians across every year and trim. The vehicle you are looking at should be compared with its own year and body. The Ranger, Hilux, D-Max and other model pages on this site let you filter by cab and see every listing against the going rate for its year. That is a quicker way to answer “is this a fair price” than any table.
Questions people ask
How much more does a double cab cost than a single cab in South Africa?
On live listings in September 2026 the median gap is R237,000 on the Ford Ranger (R496,900 against R259,850), R200,000 on the Hilux GD-6 (R589,900 against R389,990), R240,000 on the Isuzu D-Max (R579,830 against R339,900), R180,000 on the Navara and R103,000 on the GWM P-Series. The Mahindra Pik Up has the smallest gap at R60,000. Part of the gap is the body; most of it is that single cabs are older, higher-mileage, ex-fleet vehicles.
Is a single cab bakkie a good buy?
For work, yes, and it is the best value in the market. You get the same engine, chassis and load capacity as the double cab for R100,000 to R240,000 less, and a longer load bed. The trade-offs are that most single cabs are ex-fleet with high mileage, they carry only two people, and they are harder to sell privately because most private buyers want the double cab.
Do single cabs hold their value?
They hold it in rand terms because they start so much lower, but they are slower to sell privately. Fleet and trade buyers are the main market for single cabs, so a private seller often ends up selling to a dealer or a bakkie buyer rather than another private owner. Double cabs have a deeper private market and sell faster at asking.
Figures are seller asking prices aggregated from South African listing platforms and dealers, not final selling prices. Most vehicles transact below asking. Updated continuously.
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