Holiday road trip: what the family car really costs per kilometre

Why "how much is petrol?" is the wrong question

Ask most people what a holiday drive will cost and they work out the fuel: distance, a guess at consumption, today's pump price. That number is real, and it is the one that leaves your account at the garage. But it is only part of what the trip costs.

Every kilometre also wears the tyres, brings the next service closer and uses up a little of the car's value. Those costs do not arrive on the day. They arrive months later as a service bill, a set of tyres, or a lower trade-in price. If you are deciding between driving and flying, splitting costs with another family, or whether to take the second car, the fuel-only number makes driving look cheaper than it is.

This post builds the full picture in three layers, using the most official per-kilometre numbers South Africa has: the cost scale SARS publishes every year for travel allowances. It is not a perfect model of your car, but it is a consistent, published starting point - and you can swap in your own figures at every step.

The three layers of what a kilometre costs

SARS's Rate per Kilometre Schedule for the 2027 tax year (effective 1 March 2026) splits the cost of a car into the same three parts this post uses:

• Fuel cost, in cents per kilometre - what you burn.
• Maintenance cost, in cents per kilometre - repairs, servicing, lubrication and tyres, in SARS's own wording.
• Fixed cost, in rand per year - the cost of having the car at all. SARS divides it by the total kilometres you drive in the year, so the more you drive, the less fixed cost lands on each kilometre.

The schedule exists so that employers and SARS can agree on what business travel in a private car costs. We are borrowing it for a different purpose: to give a family a sense of scale. Treat the figures as a published benchmark rather than a measurement of your own car.

The SARS cost scale for 2026/27

These are the figures from the schedule, for years of assessment starting on or after 1 March 2026. The vehicle value is broadly what the car cost when you got it, including VAT and excluding finance charges.

Vehicle value	Fixed cost (R a year)	Fuel (c/km)	Maintenance (c/km)
Up to R115 000	38 344	132.9	49.1
R115 001 - R230 000	68 487	148.4	61.4
R230 001 - R345 000	98 689	161.2	67.8
R345 001 - R460 000	125 393	173.4	74.0
R460 001 - R575 000	152 097	185.5	86.9
R575 001 - R690 000	180 078	212.8	102.0
R690 001 - R805 000	208 106	216.5	114.5
R805 001 - R920 000	237 679	220.1	126.1
Over R920 000	237 679	220.1	126.9

Two things stand out. The fixed cost is by far the biggest number for every band. And the maintenance figure roughly doubles between a small car and a premium one, which matches the everyday experience that larger cars cost more to keep on the road even when they are standing still less often.

SARS also publishes a single simplified rate - R4.95 per kilometre from 1 March 2026 - that employers can pay as a reimbursement without it being taxed, within the rules. It is a useful sanity check on the numbers below, but it is a single rate for every car, so it hides the differences that matter for a family decision.

Our example family car

To keep the numbers concrete, the rest of this post uses one example. Change any of these to match your own car.

• Car value: R300 000, which puts it in the R230 001 - R345 000 band: fixed cost R98 689 a year, fuel 161.2c/km, maintenance 67.8c/km.
• Distance driven in a year: 20 000 km, including the holiday.
• Fuel use: 7.5 litres per 100 km on the open road with a loaded car. This is an assumption, not a measurement - check your own trip computer or fill-up records.
• Fuel price: R30.24 a litre for 95 unleaded inland in November 2026, as reported after the government's monthly adjustment (see the note below).
• The trip: 1 200 km return - roughly a 600 km drive to the coast or the in-laws and back.

The R30.24 pump price is the inland 95 figure published in press reporting of the November 2026 adjustment; we could not load the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources' own price page to confirm it. The government announcement we could confirm gives the change (a 1c/l decrease for 93 and 95 petrol), not the pump price. Coastal prices are lower than inland. Check the price at your own garage before you rely on it.

Layer 1: fuel - what you pay at the pump

The fuel cost per kilometre is simple arithmetic: litres per 100 km, divided by 100, times the price per litre.

• 7.5 litres per 100 km x R30.24 = about R2.27 per km.
• Over 1 200 km that is R2 721.60 - about 90 litres of fuel.

Notice that this is higher than SARS's 161.2c/km fuel figure for the same car band, which would give R1 934.40 for the trip. That is expected. SARS sets the fuel figure once a year for a broad band of vehicles, while pump prices move every month and your car's consumption depends on how and where you drive. For a holiday budget, your own consumption and the current pump price beat the table.

Consumption matters more than the price

Pump prices are announced monthly and usually move by cents. Consumption can differ by a third or more between two family cars, or between the same car driven gently and driven fast with a full roof box. Here is the fuel bill for the same 1 200 km at R30.24 a litre:

Fuel use (l/100 km)	Cost per km	Fuel for 1 200 km
6.0	R1.81	R2 177.28
7.5	R2.27	R2 721.60
9.0	R2.72	R3 265.92

The gap between 6 and 9 litres per 100 km is R1 088.64 on one trip. A one-rand change in the price per litre, by comparison, moves the 7.5-litre bill by R90. If you want to spend less on fuel, how you load and drive the car usually matters more than which week you fill up.

What changes consumption on a holiday drive

• Weight. A full family, luggage and a cooler box add load, and load costs fuel, especially on hills.
• Drag. A roof box or bicycle rack sitting in the wind costs more at highway speed than around town.
• Speed. Air resistance rises steeply with speed, so the last few km/h on the highway are the most expensive ones.
• Air conditioning and stop-start traffic. Both add a little; a long queue at a toll plaza or a town on the way adds more.

We have not put numbers on each of these because the effect depends heavily on the car; we found no South African primary source that publishes a single figure for them. Your own trip computer on the first leg is the best guide.

The fuel levy relief and December prices

Pump prices are adjusted on the first Wednesday of each month. Press reports of the November 2026 adjustment said a temporary reduction of R1.50 a litre in the general fuel levy on petrol was offsetting higher basic fuel prices, and that it was due to run until early December.

We could not confirm the levy relief or its end date from a government source; the official announcement we read does not mention it. If it does end, at 7.5 litres per 100 km a R1.50 rise would add about 11c per km, or roughly R135 on a 1 200 km trip. Check the December adjustment before you leave.

Layer 2: wear - the cost that arrives later

Tyres, services, brake pads and the occasional repair all scale with distance. SARS puts this at 67.8c per km for our example band.

• 67.8c x 1 200 km = R813.60 of maintenance used up by the trip.

You will not pay R813.60 on the day you get home. You will pay it as part of a service that comes due a few weeks earlier than it would have, or tyres that need replacing sooner. That is why it belongs in the trip budget: if you only count fuel, the holiday borrows from next year's car budget without telling you.

Put fuel and wear together and you have the running cost of the trip:

• R2.27 fuel + R0.68 wear = about R2.95 per km.
• Over 1 200 km: R2 721.60 + R813.60 = R3 535.20.

This is the number to use when you are deciding whether to drive at all, because these are the costs the trip itself creates. If you stayed at home, you would not spend them.

Layer 3: fixed costs - the cost of owning the car

The biggest line in the SARS table is the fixed cost: R98 689 a year for our example car. It covers the cost of having the car whether it moves or not. The schedule gives one number, not a breakdown; the usual reading is that it reflects things like the car's loss of value over time, finance, insurance and licensing.

SARS spreads it over all the kilometres you drive in the year:

• R98 689 / 20 000 km = about R4.93 per km.
• Added to running costs: R4.93 + R2.95 = about R7.88 per km.
• For the 1 200 km trip: R5 921.34 fixed + R3 535.20 running = R9 456.54.

Should a family count the fixed part? It depends on the question you are asking.

• "Should we drive or fly?" You own the car either way, and most fixed costs do not change because of one trip. Compare the running cost (R3 535.20) with the alternatives. Add any extra you would pay, such as tolls, parking at the destination, or a night on the road.
• "What does our car really cost us each year?" Count everything. At 20 000 km, our example car costs about R157 600 a year on SARS's scale (R98 689 fixed plus R2.95 a km on 20 000 km, using the pump-price fuel figure) - a number that belongs in the household budget.
• "How should two families split a shared trip?" Running costs are the fair minimum. Some families also add part of the fixed cost, because extra kilometres do reduce the car's value a little.

How the cost per km changes with distance driven

Because the fixed cost is spread over the year's kilometres, a car driven a little costs a lot per kilometre, and a car driven a lot costs less per kilometre - even though the total bill is higher. For our R300 000 example, using SARS's own fuel and maintenance figures (161.2c + 67.8c = R2.29 per km):

Kilometres a year	Fixed cost per km	Total per km
10 000	R9.87	R12.16
20 000	R4.93	R7.22
30 000	R3.29	R5.58

This is why a second car that mostly stands in the driveway is often the most expensive car per kilometre in the household. The fixed costs keep running whether the car moves or not.

How the car itself changes the answer

Using only SARS's figures, at 20 000 km a year, here is the full cost per km for the first five value bands:

Vehicle value	Fixed per km	Fuel + maintenance per km	Total per km
Up to R115 000	R1.92	R1.82	R3.74
R115 001 - R230 000	R3.42	R2.10	R5.52
R230 001 - R345 000	R4.93	R2.29	R7.22
R345 001 - R460 000	R6.27	R2.47	R8.74
R460 001 - R575 000	R7.60	R2.72	R10.33

On the 1 200 km trip, the difference between the first and fifth band is about R7 900 in full cost (R4 484 versus R12 395). Most of that gap is fixed cost, not fuel. A pricier car does use more fuel and costs more to maintain, but the bigger difference is the cost of owning it at all.

If you are taking two cars on the holiday, or choosing which of your two cars to take, the running-cost column is the one that changes with the decision. Taking the cheaper-to-run car saves money on the day; taking only one car instead of two saves the whole running cost of the second.

Comparing with SARS's simplified rate

SARS's simplified rate of R4.95 per km would value our 1 200 km trip at R5 940. That sits between the running cost (R3 535.20) and the full cost (R9 456.54) of our example car. It is a reasonable single figure if you are being reimbursed by an employer, or splitting costs with someone who does not want to see the workings. It is less useful for comparing two cars, because it is the same for all of them.

A note on tax: whether a travel allowance or reimbursement is taxed depends on the rules for business travel and on your records, and holiday driving is private travel. This post uses SARS's table only as a costing benchmark. It does not tell you how your allowance will be taxed.

A worked holiday budget

Here is the example trip laid out the way you might write it down before leaving.

Item	How it is worked out	Amount
Fuel	1 200 km x 7.5 l/100 km x R30.24	R2 721.60
Wear (maintenance)	1 200 km x 67.8c	R813.60
Running cost	Fuel + wear	R3 535.20
Share of fixed costs	R98 689 x 1 200 / 20 000	R5 921.34
Full cost	Running + fixed	R9 456.54

Tolls, parking and food on the road come on top. We have left them out because they depend entirely on your route.

Two practical ways to use the table:

• Put the running cost in the holiday budget, not just the fuel. R2 721.60 goes to the garage; R813.60 should go into the car's maintenance pot when you get back, so the next service is already paid for.
• Use the full cost when you think about the car itself. If R7.88 a kilometre surprises you, that is useful information for the next time you replace the car.

Splitting costs with another family

Sharing a car on a holiday drive is one of the simplest ways to cut the cost. If two households share the example trip:

• Splitting fuel only: R1 360.80 each. The car's owner quietly carries the R813.60 of wear.
• Splitting running costs: R1 767.60 each. Fairer, and still well below either family driving alone.
• Using SARS's simplified rate: R2 970 each on R5 940 - simple to agree on, and it gives the owner some allowance for fixed costs.

None of these is "right". The point is to agree on the method before the trip, so nobody feels short-changed afterwards.

Driving or flying: what to compare

For a family of four, the comparison is rarely close on price alone, but it is worth doing properly:

• Driving: the running cost of the car (R3 535.20 in our example), plus tolls, any overnight stop and meals on the road. The cost barely changes whether one person travels or five.
• Flying: fares multiplied by the number of travellers, plus getting to and from both airports, plus a hire car or transport at the other end - and that hire car has its own fuel bill.

Use running cost, not full cost, for this comparison: you will keep paying the car's fixed costs whether it is parked at home or on the road. And count your time honestly - two days of driving is two days not on holiday, which no table can price for you.

Before you leave: a short checklist

• Measure your consumption on a normal highway drive, or read it from the trip computer. It is the single biggest variable in the fuel bill.
• Check the pump price after the monthly adjustment on the first Wednesday of December, especially if the levy relief is due to end.
• Set aside the wear money - about 68c a kilometre for a mid-range family car on SARS's scale - so the trip does not come back as a surprise service bill.
• Agree on cost-sharing before you leave if you are sharing a car with another household.
• Keep the trip separate from the emergency fund. A breakdown away from home is exactly what that money is for; the holiday fuel should not come out of it.

Sources

• SARS, Rate per Kilometre Schedule (2027 tax year), PAYE-GEN-01-G03-A01, effective 1 March 2026 - cost scale for fixed, fuel and maintenance costs by vehicle value: sars.gov.za.
• SARS, Rates per kilometre - simplified rate of R4.95 per km from 1 March 2026 and the table approved on 25 February 2026: sars.gov.za.
• SAnews (government news agency), "Government announces fuel adjustments", 3 November 2026 - Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources: 1c/l decrease for 93 and 95 petrol: sanews.gov.za.
• Inland 95 unleaded at R30.24 a litre and the temporary R1.50/l fuel levy relief: press reporting of the November 2026 adjustment, not confirmed against a government price list (flagged above).
• Calculations: fuel = km x (l/100 km / 100) x price per litre; wear = km x SARS maintenance rate; fixed share = SARS fixed cost x trip km / annual km (MaxWealth workings; 7.5 l/100 km and 20 000 km a year are illustrative assumptions).

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