Two years after the concept was first shown, the wraps are off the production version of the Datsun redi-GO. Nissan has promised to have the car on our roads by this June with a starting price at or below the Rs 2.5-lakh mark; clearly going to war with market leader Maruti. Further confirmation is that Datsun is also saying the ownership costs will be the lowest in its segment, lower than even the Maruti Alto.
Nissan desperately needs to taste success with Datsun. Having marked India as a prime market for the reborn brand, Nissan launched the Datsun Go in India in 2014 as the first global market and followed it up with the Go+ a little over a year later. However, both models failed to make any impact in the market. So, with the redi-GO, Nissan is pulling out all stops and once again, the global launch is in India.
Design direction
The redi-GO is based on the Renault-Nissan alliance’s same flexible Common Module Family (CMF) engineering architecture as the Kwid. It’s the first Datsun product to be underpinned by the CMF-A platform. However, it doesn’t share its SUV-inspired styling and design direction with its sibling, the Kwid. Interestingly, Datsun calls the redi-GO an “urban crossover”, thanks to its 185mm ground clearance but that and a faux skid plate at the front apart, there is little else SUV like. Datsun has ensured that the redi-GO stays very true to the concept shown two years ago at the 2014 Auto Expo. The car is a tall boy hatch with a slick style with prominent kinks and creases defining the overall body shape.
Styling
At the front, the familiar Datsun hexagonal grille is prominent with the pulled-back headlamps set high and with turn indicators placed on the inside. The bumper is nicely tapered to a point with the top and bottom sweeping backward towards the vehicle. When viewed from the side, the nose looks nicely tapered and the kinked rear windows stand out along with the creased line that runs from the lower edge of the front doors all the way upward to the high-set rear tail-lights.
Styling on the inside is quite plain in comparison to the exterior. The dashboard gets three adjustable AC vents and one fixed vent aimed towards the rear. Two largish, open storage spaces are prominent on the dashboard, which also has a small glove box lower down.
Built to a price
Built on the same platform as the Kwid, the Datsun benefits from an already localised vendor base as the two do share a lot of parts, but mostly, parts you can’t see, like the hatch tailgate which is the same on both cars. However, cost cuts are quite visible in some areas like on the inside, there are a lot of exposed metal areas, the door pads are simple, slim and don’t feature decent-sized pockets or any sculpting for bottle holders. The windscreen makes do with one wiper, and the glove box and other plastics like the rear parcel shelf are quite cheap in look and feel. At the expected price though, these are some things potential buyers may be willing to overlook. A big omission though is the touchscreen which proved to be very popular in the Kwid; instead, the redi-GO gets a simple single-DIN CD system. But our sources do indicate that a touchscreen is in the works.
Sizing it up
At 3,430mm in length, the redi-GO is smaller than the Kwid, which is 3,679mm long, the wheelbase too is smaller but to improve roominess, which was the key during designing, the wheels have been pushed to the extremes of the car, also giving it very small overhangs. The redi-GO is also narrower with a width of 1560mm against the 1579mm Kwid. The redi-GO, however, stands taller at 1,540mm as against 1,478mm for the Kwid. With these dimensions, the space in the redi-GO is just about acceptable; the legroom at the rear is tight even for a passenger of average Indian height. The headroom though, is more than adequate.
Under the hood
The redi-GO will be powered by the same 800cc engine as the Kwid, mated to a five-speed gearbox and will make the same amount of power. The 1.0-litre engine and AMT options, which were seen on the Kwid at the 2016 Auto Expo, will come much later on the Datsun. Unlike the Kwid, which features a dial control for the AMT, the redi-GO will have a traditional lever for its AMT 'box. With the redi-GO being narrower and taller than the Kwid, handling was a concern that had to be addressed, so the Datsun has a different and stiffer suspension setup.
Its war
With its intended price, Datsun has already fired the first and biggest shot across established rivals from Maruti, Hyundai and even partner Renault, whose Kwid has quickly established a space for itself in the market. Hyundai’s Eon though is facing falling sales; it is priced comparatively higher with a starting price above Rs 3 lakh for the base model. At a sub-Rs-2.5 lakh starting price, the redi-GO will mainly face off against the Alto and the Kwid, undercutting both.
The Alto is a conventional hatchback with a conservative style but what wins it volumes is the Maruti edge. Renault knew that to break that, it needed more than just an incrementally better product and thus really broke the mould with the Kwid, offering SUV-inspired styling and injecting a good dose of desirability into the segment. The redi-GO is a well-designed hatch but it doesn’t break the mould in a way like the Kwid did. The fact that it is also under a fledgling brand means it really has its work cut out. Whether it manages to ape the success of its sibling, the Kwid, remains to be seen.
