I bought the 2007 Toyota Ractis shortly after the second Covid-19 induced lockdown was lifted. I originally planned to buy a Toyota Spacio, but opted for the Ractis because it offers more interior space than the Spacio. The other consideration was its small size. My particular model is powered by a 1300cc petrol engine which I find affordable and cheap to maintain.
When I had just bought the car, I was using Shs60,000 worth of fuel to drive from my home in Kira, Wakiso District to my workplace in central Kampala for four to five days. At first I thought the fuel gauge was giving false readings until my mechanic assured me it was fine. Since then, I haven’t even considered changing to a car with any engine size other than the 1300cc Ractis.
On the highway, it offers better fuel economy compared to when driving in city traffic.
When I fill up its 42 liter tank, I drive to Fort Portal City in western Uganda and don’t refuel until somewhere in the middle of the return trip.
One of the features I like about the Toyota Ractis 1500cc engine is its low fuel consumption. I use it for business purposes in central Kampala and never spend much on fuel. With the nature of my work, it’s about knowing which routes have the least traffic jams, because it’s complicated.
On average, I spend Shs80,000 on fuel to make six trips and that gives me roughly Shs200,000 depending on where I drive the clients. The challenge is when I’m forced to drive in rush hour, which means I have to burn more fuel. Unfortunately, that means I get less profit.
Since I drive it daily, I service my car after covering 5,000 km, a distance I cover in two months. I mainly replace the engine oil, coolant, transmission fluid, brake pads and a few other useful parts as recommended by the mechanic. On average, I spend Shs100,000 per garage visit. I’ve had the car for three years and have only changed them once.
The main purpose of buying my Toyota Ractis was to use it to drop off and pick up kids from school. It is user-friendly not only with service and maintenance, but also with fuel consumption.
A full tank runs for 10 days because kids are usually dropped off early in the morning when there’s no traffic and picked up before a rush hour traffic jam builds up.
I spend Shs300,000 for a major service and I do it once every five months. Also, it rarely breaks.
Even so, when a mechanical failure occurs, it can be repaired at any garage, as it is not that complicated to require a special mechanic.
The only downside I’ve noticed is that it has a slightly low ground clearance, which makes it undriveable on certain roads.
The other challenge is that it has become so popular that it is often vandalized, especially when parked on the street or stuck in traffic.
I replaced the side mirror three times until I discovered a permanent solution to having them locked with hooks. At speeds above 80 km/h, it is not very stable and limits you to lower speeds. Other than that, the Ractis is a car I recommend to first time drivers.
Fuel capacity: 1,296 – 1,496 cc
