[hemanth.anand]

Wonderful review bblost and parrys

I test drove the Go last Friday at Surya Datsun on Hosur road, Bangalore. and in short, I was impressed.
My team mate who is still learning driving is buying his first car. He is relying on mnvvishwa and my words to buy his car which has to be around 4 Lakhs on-road Bangalore.

The two Altos and the Eon were the only good options for him. On Friday after having driven the Go, we were really impressed.
He asked me about my opinion and I told him that apart from the service which is an unknown entity, It is a really impressive car (for its pricing of course).

He is now waiting for the Brochure and the variant price list which have not yet reached the showrooms. Based on that, my colleague will decide.

The sales executive told that the Top variant will be 3.4 Lakhs Ex-showroom Bangalore (which comes to around 4.3 Lakhs on-road) and the mid variant will retail at 2.8 ex-showroom (around 3.5 on road)
If these are the final prices, then its a really good VFM product compared to the Altos and the Eon IMO.
But he told that the difference between the two variants would be the music system and the power windows. 80k on-road price difference for only these two is not justified we felt.

Originally Posted by HyperRetard

But this has rendered the Micra useless.

The Sales executive told me that the Micra active will be discontinued which should make better sense.

Yes, the doors were tinny but not too much below par for its its segment IMO.
But the boot was awfully bad. When we closed it it was as though we were hitting two thick steel plates together. I also found that it was not locking at the first attempt.
I tried it in 3 cars but everywhere it was the same. I had not seen the tiny secondary locking lever but may be the sound can be attributed to that.

Other things:

• The boot space took me by surprise! It puts the Swift to shame. The lower loading lip is also good.
• Only 4 colour options was surprising to me. Atleast a bright red and a black must have been included.
• I felt the gear knob position to be too high. the Ritz and i10 gear lever is more ergonomically placed IMO.
• The sales Executive told me that the connected seats were for the Laptop.
• As per the sales guy waiting period will be around 45days.

The dealer also had a special dealer edition accessorised Go inside his showroom.
It was complete with remote key lock, art Leather interiors, illuminated door sils, colour changing ambient lighting, Chrome door handles and body graphics. But there were no details of the pricing.

All and all, I felt that if the Service part is taken care of, then Datsun have a winner for this segment.
Only time will tell how our public will accept this non-Maruti hatchback

Off topic but it is not possible to search for information about this vehicle on TBHP using its name since its only two letters.

[h@r$h@l]

I saw a family drive away in a GO today morning. Did they start deliveries already? I thought they are taking a TD but to me they looked like they had taken delivery of the car.



Regards,

[supremeBaleno]

Good & detailed review, bblost !!!
Space / size seems to be the USP compared to its peers and that is a good thing for the product.
Cost-cutting might not really be a big deal at that segment. Atleast not a major decision factor. But brand-awareness (lack of it) + service outlets could be a deterrent.

Anyway, this gives the customer more options to choose from, which is a good thing.

[aniketi]

I will say good opportunity lost !! Go looks good from outside, that's about it. They have gone too far as far as cost cutting is concerned. No hold handles for all, lack of cover for glove box etc are evident of that. Seats also look very thin & basic, doubtful of how much support they will provide on long run. Handbrake functionality is just like in 1960's. The music system without radio is a good joke. Engine is the only advantage i can see, that's it. But it is also louder.

I don't see this car getting success in India. It will hardly compete with Alto or Eon. Price wise also its just ok. Instead of buying top end Go, anybody will prefer Wagon R or Santro in the same price bracket.

Last but not least, Very good review bblost

[Prafful_Rathod]

Slightly over priced for the base variant is my feeling.

I know its a big car compared to its direct competition, but from the review we get the feeling it is not as neatly built as the Alto or Eon in terms of fits and finish. Plus the whole package now looks mediocre. I mean it may be a nice car overall but apart from boot space there is no USP as such which will bring the Alto or Eon customers to buy this car. May be they should have kept an introductory price of say 2.90 for the base just to draw enough excitement. This will eat into volumes of Micra active.

[volkman10]

Originally Posted by Prafful_Rathod

This will eat into volumes of Micra active.

Base Micra Active variant is already withdrawn from the market considering the release of the GO!

Cheers!

[Deep Blue]

Doesnt the music system play off a pen drive ? It would be a pain to dock the mobile each time and connect the aux cable.

The car looks ugly except may be the back. Alto is the ugliest. Eon is better but overdone. I prefer the old school Alto K10 and Santro.

Rear seat would be hot with the connect seats blocking AC air flow.
Good package though for a first time buyer with a tight budget.

[puchoo]

bblost and parrys , thanks so much for that fantastic review. As far as the car goes it has problems , a really nice looking exterior - atleast in some angles- but the interior quality and design is not upto the mark for me . Was actually considering this for purchase for my mom at some point but no chance.

The seatbelt is simply hideous and i am actually a bit offended that they put something like that in the car- Tyres really needed to be bigger , the space in the rear wheel area is an eyesore , simply too much.

At over 3 Lacs across in terms of ex showroom a lever to adjust atleast the driver side mirror would have been welcome.

[jessie007]

There is even a D1 variant between the D & A variants, which adds passenger outside rear-view mirror, front door map pocket and front door bottle holder - basically a different interior door card. http://www.datsun.co.in/models/go.aspx

[kapursaket]

Decisive review of Go, will surly help prospective buyers. DATSUN I remember from my trip to Kathmandu Nepal in 80's when most of the Taxi's were of this brand and the Drivers would not tire out praising the Car performance and Quality.

[W.A.G.7]

Nice review! The fit & finish look great, and the bright colours make it look real nice at the offset. But step into the interior or have a close look, and you start to see the cost cutting measures. Still I will give it 6 out of 10 marks overall, mainly for the interior space. The car in the pictures seem to be the top end version, did you guys get access to the bottom versions which I think most of the masses will buy? How different are they from this one? Do they come in all black interiors?

Overall I like it, but I think the Hyundai EON is much much better. Also I don't know how much they will mess it up with after sales service and the price. Only the monthly sales figures and time will tell. What I absolutely hated is the seat belts at the rear. Based on the price list and the features, (in the post above), I think they have got it all wrong again!

[Bhatt]

Very good review for a highly anticipated vehicle. I think this car is going to do great in Urban areas -

1. Greater presence of Nissan distribution channel
2. Good brand recall for Nissan in Major cities as compared to almost nil in rural areas. Datsun brand will surely have extremely low recall in rural India, unless marketing does a scintillating job.
3. Urban consumers more likely to experiment, would surely weigh the best in segment dimensions and bigger 1.2l engine as decisive factors, while in rural areas customers are more likely to go in for the trusted and risk free Alto 800 or even the K10

[gops2009]

Bblost and Parrys,thanks for the detailed review. While Datsun brand may have been resurrected for the BRIC nations , I'm shocked that manufacturers still have the gal to offer us such substandard stuff with no safety features what so ever.
Are we as Indian's a population that can be taken for granted? ; Are we the kind who just go and order by the right hand side of the menu card and buy whatever is offered as long as it is cheap??.
I hope not , and if this is true, Datson Go will be a flop.

Wonder why manufacturers cannot see the writing on the wall and come up with something that is value for money

[Prafful_Rathod]

I wonder why Left ORVM is not considered for standard equipment on some of the entry level hatches!! How much do they save by not offering one. It should ideally form a part of basic safety requirement like seat belts.

[autonarr]

Good review, bblost and parrys.

Not too shabby for a car that starts at 3.12L!

The pluses outweigh the perceived negatives IMO.

Pros: Looks, interior space, boot size, GC & engine.
Cons: NVH, lack of airbags & ABS.