[Hands on Review] Discover the future with Datsun

The baby-boom generation will have many fond memories of the previous generation of Datsuns – even if you did not own one, you might have had a friend who did. These little cars were famous, in my opinion, for excellent fuel consumption, resilience, performance and of course tin. Yes, tap on the body and you will hear that “blik” sound. Well, I just drove the new Datsun Go, and these aforementioned elements are still as valid today as they were then.

The little car, this new Datsun, has also stirred many debates as a result of it not being fitted with either ABS or air bags. But then, there are other products that do not offer these either – someone suggested 28-passenger cars and single-cab bakkies, to be precise.

Some of those not offering ABS do have air bags though and others offer it as an optional extra. Now, I am not a technical person but I will never fit after-market air-bag technology to my car. This is highly technical and if the sensors responsible for triggering these air bags are not 100% aligned, the bags will not deploy as and when necessary.

Although not the scope of this article, it is important to consider these issues. During conversations with various parents at Autodealer Lowveld’s recent Scholar’s Award event, it became clear that safety, fuel consumption and ease of maintenance, in that order, were the key issues that parents consider when they buy cars for students. For the kids, connectivity and fuel consumption were the most important. And yes, I am referring to kids and students because this is the target market. One can broaden it to first-time buyers.

Autodealer Lowveld did share with you the short history of the Datsun in a previous issue so I am not going to dwell on it again.  The little car offers quite a cheeky and modern design and with excellent ground clearance to boot. The test vehicle was fitted with allow wheels, a spoiler atop of the boot lid, rear park sensors and fog lights.

The front end is very focused, courtesy of its dominant grille and broad sculpted bumper. Strong design lines along the edges of the bonnet also add to this focused attention-drawing front end. The three-quarter view is quite attractive too.

The rear end, when I looked at it the first time, reminded me of a previous generation Toyota. The long and the short of it is that it offers a modern design ready and waiting to be individualised to the same extent as we did many years ago with the previous generation Datsuns.

The interior is light and welcoming. The front seat, is comfortable but not with the intention of seating a third person. The fascia design is funky and practical and of course, it is plastic.
The gear lever is positioned in the centre console, part of the dashboard design with the handbrake in tight proximity to it. So close though, that a big hand may have to adopt a different angle to prevent it from being caught in a squeeze.

In my ideal seating position, my left knee also rested against the handbrake handle and it has not been designed to facilitate the latter. However, smaller versions of me might not experience any discomfort.

Rear legroom is adequate and two people should be comfortable. Compared with the Suzuki Splash which I drove the week before, the boot space is huge and although the tailgate does not open as high as that of the Splash, it is good enough to allow for easy access and loading.

The Datsun is fitted with a 1.2-litre engine which produces 50kW and 104Nm@4000r/min and, as is the case with most three-cylinder cars I have driven to date, offers a Porsche-like engine note.

The engine is linked to a five-speed gearbox. On the road, whether in town or open road, steering is light and the engine is alive and willing. Datsun suggests a fuel index of 5.2lt/100km.
I often managed 25km/litre so this new model certainly holds its own to its predecessors of many moons ago.

The general driving experience is pleasant with noise levels being contained and good suspension response even on bumpy roads. The Datsun comes with a unique docking system which allows the owner to sync his/her phone directly, via an aux cable, to the car. This makes the car “future proof” as Datsun calls it.

I have no doubt that the Datsun Go will find favour with many and that it will prove to become a “can’t-be-without” and “love-at-first-sight” for many who simply cannot afford more expensive and feature-filled alternatives. Does it sound like the prodigy is back? What say you?

Photos: www.quickpic.co.za