We were in Addo and the Garden Route to Cape Town this past June and did not need a SUV for Addo, but I don't know anything about Prince Albert. We rented from Hertz, a Category "U", Corolla or similiar (had a Polo) was 408€ for 15 days, all insurance included, including a drop-off charge (we rented PE to CT).

When I was pricing cars, I found the SUVs to be about twice the price of the Corolla type car.

An SUV is not needed for your trip. Also have a look at Aroundabout Cars & compare.

That's what we were thinking. I've been looking at Autoeurope, and wish everyone provided the detail they do in their quotes...some have all insurance with no deductibles, some show no deductibles except for theft, it is helpful in determining the final cost. I'm still getting good rates from Thrifty on Expedia, but don't know the deductibles as there is mandatory LDW (CDW) in SA, and they don't accept Master Card or Visa Gold or Platinum coverage. It may be worth $80 more going with Autoeurope just to be sure of the cost.

We are South African and whether I'm booking a car locally or for overseas travel I generally book through traveljigsaw.co.za as they offer an ALL inclusive NO excess insurance on some (please note some not all) of their cars and I find that this generally works out much better than taking a car where you could land up paying excess and you are not always sure what is or isn't included in the insurance. Also, given that you are travelling in SA, it's probably not a bad idea to have All Incl insurance. The line 'Price includes insurance with No Excess' is in yellow with a little * next to it.
I agree with braaiseason - you do not need a SUV - a lockable boot (trunk) is probably more relevant and important when travelling here. Please don't leave valuables lying around / visible in your car - lock them in the trunk. As Kellyee21 says - a Corolla or similar would be absolutely fine.
Enjoy the trip - the Garden Route from CTwn to PE is beautiful and Addo a delight.

Thatnk...will check this out!

Before you make up your mind to ditch the SUV, can I make a counter-argument from someone who's clocked up over 5000 miles driving around South Africa?

1. SUV's are tougher vehicles, with better all round protection than the average car. Having seen first hand the standard of driving on South African roads (and the associated RTA statistics), we always feel much safer driving around in an SUV.

2. An SUV offers a higher seating position, which is very useful for improving your visibility of animals hiding behind bushes while in Addo Elephant Park.

3. If you are heading to Prince Albert (and are up for an adventurous drive), you'll want to take the Swartberg Pass north from Oudtshoorn. This is a dirt track high up over the mountains with incredible views. You can do it in a non-SUV but the better off-road handling of an SUV is well worth the extra money.

Gordon_R makes very good points. Many of todays sub-compacts and compacts have radically designed windshields/windscreens and windows. From my experience with such cars in South Africa, this very much limited our viewing enjoyment.

regards - tom

Great food for thought. We'll want to pin this down shortly...good points about visibility. We drive a Toyota RAV4 at home, and are kind of used to good visability...and we were planning to take the Swartberg Pass.

Thankyou @Kaapie, for the suggeston of traveljigsaw.co.za! We have arranged for a wonderful car, with ALL inclusive NO excess insurance coverage, at an excellent price. I'll report back how we fared when we are back from our trip, at the end of October

Glad that I could help. What car did you decide to go with in the end?

I've learned not to expect exactly what we get...I'll report back after we've actually gotten it
but it should be comfortable, automatic, and have good visibility

It was a fantastic deal - totally covered insurance-wise, picked up and dropped off at CPT, extra driver included - for a Mercedes C180. Fantastic Navi system, compatible with iPod/iPad for music and charging, really comfortable for driver and passenger, decent mileage, excellent visibility, and handled wonderfully in some nasty weather.

traveljigsaw.co.za was an excellent tip, Kaapie!