I am looking at buying a new car, and the three important factors that I'm considering are:

1. Safety in an accident situation

2. Fuel efficiency

3. Low risk in terms of hijacking and theft.

All other factors are irrelevant. I am looking for a medium-sized sedan in the price range of R250k to R300k. Please advise. - Primesh

Taking your third consideration first, Primesh, I'd be inclined to avoid the German Big Three - Audi, BMW and Mercedes.

Even though only the base models from their respective ranges fall within your price range, these will still project the undeniable glamour and luxury image so popular with car thieves.

I suggest you rather go with makes that are perceived as more mundane.

The volume sellers in this price range will probably be the Toyota Corolla, VW Golf and Ford Focus, but these will also be the cars whose anti-theft systems are most familiar to criminals. Furthermore, the fact that there are lots of them on the road, makes them attractive to somebody who wants to avoid drawing attention. So, you are looking for a car that's relatively mundane, but slightly outside the mainstream.

Two cars that fit this description would be a Renault Scénic and the new Hyundai Elantra.

Renault would probably object to their Scénic being labelled "relatively mundane", and you might find that the Elantra will soon join the volume sellers, but at the moment I'd include these two on my short list if I were you. Since being hijacked is far worse than having your car stolen, minimising this risk is something that weighs heavily with any new car buyer.

Unfortunately it's notoriously difficult to safeguard a car against the danger of hijacking.

The best you can do is to fit aftermarket protection from the outset. Safety film to deter smash-and-grab incidents is a good beginning. If you add a top-class tracker system to that, it's even better. The cost shouldn't be astronomical - you can reckon on a monthly fee of roughly R160, which, on a three-year contract, will add about R5800 to the price of the car.

As far as safety goes the Elantra and Scénic both have excellent credentials with the full complement of safety devices, including ABS with EBD, and six airbags.

In the fuel economy stakes the Elantra, with Hyundai's new 1.8-litre engine and six-speed manual gearbox, will probably shade the Scénic 1.6 but the Renault is itself remarkably light on petrol, as Renaults have traditionally been.

The Elantra has recently been named North American Car of the Year for 2012. The 1.8 GLS version sells for R219900. The Scénic 3 comes from a groundbreaking line of Renault MPVs. The 1.6 Expression sells for R249900. There you have the basic facts and figures of the two cars, Primesh. You might want to add other finalists, but I feel neither of these two will disappoint you.