The Sunday News
Lovert Mafukure
Of all the icons of yesteryear, Datsun definitely takes the cup. The 120Y, the 160Y, the 1200 you name them.
These are strong and rigid die-hard cars from the 70s. Decades later, a lot of these Datsuns are still running Whoever thought of reviving the icon definitely had the African stage set in mind.
The history, the love, the passion, the memories, it is just too nostalgic. The Datsun Go is bringing back memories.
Datsun is well-known for reliability and easy maintenance. For decades the people of Africa have enjoyed it and now it’s back! It’s been rebranded, modernised and recently launched into the Zimbabwean market. The question that is on our minds is, “is it still as good as the old Datsun?” Only time will tell.
This car reminds me of the Renault Kwid, I do not know what it is about it but there is quite a resemblance. Come to think of it, these cars (Renaults & Datsuns) are all coming from India hence the Bollywood type styling.
It is the type of car you would call “cute” for lack of a better word to describe its unique features. Upfront a big and bold chrome grill houses the Datsun badge.
From afar you might mistake it for a Jaguar. They managed to steal some styling cues from the legends. A big bumper also holds up the crystal lights upfront and comes with some sporty air vents at the bottom.
This car is purposefully built for the developing country in mind. Since it originates from India, the designers knew from the beginning that, even though it’s an entry level car, it needs to be functional.
Functional in the sense that African roads are not all that good and there’s a definite need to have that SUV inspiration even in small designs. Thumbs up!
The Go is quite tall and sits some 170mm off the ground. The 155/70 r13 tyres make it look like it was built for the bush. It should handle the African terrain quite well. It’s like the Citroen Diane reincarnate, with tall and skinny and suspension good enough for the farm!
You will get a new Datsun Go for just about $14 000,00. Don’t expect exceptional Mercedes benz quality but for that price you sure get your money’s worth.
Electronic power steering comes standard. It makes for that feather like steering. Driver gets the pecks with a side airbag in case of that side impact.
This car has interesting features for the price, I mean you get luxury features like “follow me home lights” on the Go.
These are features found on high-end cars like the Ford ranger XLT for example. This is what the lights do, if for one reason or the other you need illumination without having to go back to switch off the lights then can just lock up your car and the lights will be on for a predetermined period of time, say 30 seconds or a minute.
I did mention earlier that the Go reminded me of the KWID, I couldn’t help but notice the single wiper on the front windscreen. When I saw it on the KWID I just thought to myself, “kwidnificent!” It must be the new Indian theme because these cars seem to have many similar features. These single wipers were popular on yesteryear’s Mercedes Benz models. They still exude some level of luxury and sophistication that is unparalleled.
Our older folk enjoyed the older Datsuns with 1200 motors and rear wheel drive set up.
The Go is powered by a 1,2 litre 3 cylinder engine which delivers 50kw at peak. It’s a double overhead cam engine with 4 valves per cylinder. It’s not all that but for an entry level car it’s agile and cruises through the city streets with ease.
It was developed with fuel economy in mind and consumes a claimed 5,2l per a 100km.
That is just a little shy of more than impressive. It comes with a 5-speed manual gearbox. We have not heard if there will be an automatic option thus far
So the Datsun Go has been launched in Zim and it is an entry level car which comes on a budget. Soon enough we will start getting some reviews on durability. Are they as tough as their older cousins? Only time will tell! -@lovert116
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