Datsun redi-GO AMT: Long term drive introduction

The Datsun redi-GO is the most affordable car in Nissan India’s product portfolio. It has been pitted against the highly popular Maruti Alto and its not-so-distant cousin, the Renault Kwid. Akin to its main rivals, the redi-GO offers an optional Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) for its 1.0-litre engine variant. We will be spending more than a month with the fully-loaded redi-GO AMT to find out what’s it like to live with this rather funky-looking budget hatchback. Here’s the first instalment of our Datsun redi-GO AMT long-term test drive review.

• Model: Datsun redi-GO 1.0 S
• Odo at arrival: 525 kms
• Current Odo: 673 kms
• Colour: Ruby
• Date of arrival: 5th June 2018

To some of you, a small hatchback with a 1.0-litre, 67 hp, three-cylinder engine might sound as exciting as a pair of soggy socks but in all honesty, we’re pretty excited to have this li’l hatchback in our long-term fleet. For starters, its Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) offers you the benefit of automatic, clutch-less shifting in the stop-go traffic that the Delhi-NCR region is infamous for. Moreover, its small dimensions make cutting through the slow-moving traffic quite a breeze. So far, we’ve driven this car for only about 150 kilometres but I’m already falling for the high convenience on offer.

Other than this, the redi-GO is pretty spacious for a car of its price and dimensions. There’s plenty of headroom, which makes the cabin feel pretty airy. Also, even the rear passengers will never complain of lack of adequate legroom. The 222-litres of boot space is pretty good, too. Being a top-of-the-line model, it comes with features like front two power windows, remote central locking, single-din audio unit that offers Bluetooth, USB, AUX-in connectivity and a driver’s side airbag. Sadly, however, there’s no ABS and audiophiles won’t exactly love the music system’s sound quality.

That said, it’s worth a mention here that this car’s aircon is sufficiently potent to beat the prevailing hot weather conditions. The air conditioning system is very effective and at full blast, doesn’t require much time to cool the cabin. Thanks to the small dimensions, the aircon can quickly cool the entire cabin. So far, we’ve driven the redi-GO only in moderate-to-high traffic conditions, where it has offered a fuel efficiency of roughly 15 kmpl, even with the aircon running all the time.

On the flip side of things, there’s an unnerving amount of body roll at speeds above, say, 80 kmph. Also, Datsun is yet to start offering ABS on the redi-GO’s top-end trim. These niggles apart, we look forward to spending more time with this stylish entry-level hatchback.