Datsun GO Preview
The Datsun Go compact hatchback has been revealed by parent company Nissan. It is roughly based on the Nissan V platform that underpins the Micra but is a completely new vehicle and is the first one from a brand that has been revived after three decades. The car is aimed at emerging markets like India, Russia, Brazil and Indonesia and will be joined by an MPV as well as a compact sedan that will be unveiled later.
The Datsun Go looks quite snazzy for the price. It gets a hexagonal honeycomb grille with chrome surround, no fog lamps, unpainted mirrors, lift type door handles and a single wiper like the Toyota Etios. The hatchback sits on 13-inch steel wheels and the show car was shod with Apollo Acelere 3G tyres.
From the front three-quarter angle, the relation to the Nissan Micra can be seen in the overall shape and the headlamps. From the side, the silhouette is surprisingly like the Skoda Fabia – which means that the boot space will be good as well. You can see as many as four horizontal creases from this angle, but it doesn’t look busy. The 13-inch wheels look a little too small for the size of the car, though. The rear three-quarter angle reminds us of the Maruti Alto 800, and not just because of the choice of colour for the paint. There are more bodywork creases at the back, especially in the space between the tail-lamps.
The interior, while remaining bare essential, looks like it is from a car that is more expensive. Datsun has chosen beige as the predominant colour, something that should appeal to the Indian buyer. There is no lid for the glovebox much like the Evalia, which begs the question of where one will keep things like the documentation of the car and manual. Datsun has also chosen to place the gearlever at the base of the centre console much like the Hyundai i10. Where it deviates from the latter is in the placement of the handbrake: unlike a traditional car, it doesn’t sit between the seats; it is to the right of the gearshift lever like the Honda Civic, and the shape of the handle reminds one of the handbrake in the Chevrolet Tavera or Ford Endeavour. What has Datsun done with the space in between the front seats, you ask? Well, they’ve filled it with... seat. No, really. They’ve extended the passenger seat all the way to the driver’s seat, so if you’re someone who’s, er, horizontally ample, this is the seat for you. The seat base extension doesn’t encourage the occupant to sit offset to one side, so this is a puzzling thing for Datsun to do.
There is a depression on the top left of the dashboard – this makes it certain that a passenger airbag is not on offer. There are some bits that have been derived from the Micra, most notably the AC vents, door handles and the instrument cluster. However, it differs from the Micra in some other aspects: a tachometer is absent, the inside mirror doesn’t look like it has an anti-glare option and we’re reasonably certain that the information display will not be showing average or instant fuel consumption. The headlamp beam leveller looks likely to be a cable-operated one like in the erstwhile Mahindra Logan. Surprisingly, the press images hint that the mirrors will be electrically adjustable on the top-spec variant – or if Datsun has gone to the extreme opposite, you’ll have to poke and prod the glass to adjust it like you have to in a base-spec Toyota Innova.
Given that the current generation of the Nissan Micra is roomy despite its diminutive dimensions, the Datsun Go should have an upper hand over its competition when it comes to seating four people comfortably. The accessories for the interiors will be at a minimum in a bid to keep costs down; however on the higher spec variants we can expect features like an audio system with USB and aux, and front power windows.
The Datsun Go is powered by the three cylinder 1.2-litre petrol mill that sits in the larger Micra. This engine produces 76PS and 104Nm of torque. We expect it to have better fuel efficiency than the Micra, either with taller gearing or a slightly lower power figure – maybe both. Power is transmitted to the front wheels via a five speed manual gearbox. It will be lighter than the Micra, because it is not a global model and as such doesn’t need to meet the strictest crash safety norms in places like the European Union and the US market, which the Micra can achieve as is.
During the launch of the Datsun Go, Carlos Ghosn, president of the Renault-Nissan alliance, said that the car, when launched next year, will be priced below Rs four lakh and will join the other nation-specific Datsun models that will be launched over the course of the year in developing markets South Africa, Russia, Indonesia and Brazil.
The Go is Renault-Nissan’s entry into one of the most competitive segments in the Indian market, the A segment which accounts for a significant chunk of the sales in the 45 per cent that constitutes the hatchback market. It will compete with the Tata Nano, Maruti Suzuki Alto 800, Maruti Suzuki Alto K10, Nissan Micra Active (in higher variants), Chevrolet Spark and the Hyundai Eon. It will be officially launched at the 2014 Indian Auto Expo.
