First look at the Datsun RediGO
This car is the most awaited car from Datsun… it is believed that the RediGO will shake up the small car segment.. just like Kwid did for its sister brand Renault.
The Datsun RediGO will compete with the Hyundai Eon, Maruti Alto 800, Renault Kwid and Tata Nano. The car was first unveiled at the 2014 Auto Expo and though the car which has been just launched features many changes it is still true to the essence.
Some interesting facts about Datsun – the brand from Japan, was originally DAT-GO (the DAT-car) , almost a century ago in 1914. The word DAT means ‘lightning fast’ in Japan. But additionally, it also refers to the first letters of the family name of the three financiers who supported the business at the time – Den, Aoyama and Takeuchi. Using the same logic it was promoted as Durable, Attractive and Trustworthy – DAT for short.
In 1933, Nissan’s founding father Yoshisuke Aikawa took over the business with a vision of “mobility for all”. The introduction of a light-weight, economical yet resilient car to meet the aspirations of young Japanese people in the early 1930s was named the ‘son of DAT’ – Datson - which later changed to Datsun. Local engineering and mass-production made the founder’s dream a reality.
OK. Coming back to the RediGO – the car has been slotted as the first compact Cross in India- yes, I know we have more than enough segments and anymore will be too much. Datsun has positioned the car below the GO and the GO+. And a lot of hopes are pined on this car, as Datsun has not had much success with the earlier two versions of GO.
The car will be powered by an 800cc engine and will share the same CMF-A platform as the Kwid. But there are two major talking points about this car – 1. It will have a ground clearance of 185 mm. (165 -175 mm is the norm in this segment) 2. It is supposed to be the most spacious car in the segment.
Looks wise, the car is amazingly refreshing. (Or maybe it is the green colour which is used in the promotional material) The car stance is quite tall, the stacked tail lights also add to the visual height impact. The car looks a lot bigger than the likes of the Eon and the Alto 800 which would be definitely be a positive factor.
Datsun has just unveiled the car and it is expected that the car will be launched in May – June 2016 in the price bracket of Rs.2.5-3.5 lacs.