Datsun Go NXT : Even disasters are brilliant

Since invention of money and economy people are differentiated between wealthy and not so wealthy. Wealthy got all things good and no-so-wealthy got some things good. There wasn't much gap in the beginning but as years roll on, it widen considerably. Bigger than the America's grand canyon if you ask. Wealth became symbol of success, power and goodness regardless of the way of achieving all that. Eventually wealthy got more and more wealthy and were looking for ways to spend all that wealth. After houses they chose Cars. 

Carmakers along with coach-builders responded with magnificent automotive creations and then imagination was the only limit. But on the other side not-so-wealthy people also needed transportation but couldn't spend more. That is exactly when men like Henry and Ford came to rescue and affordable Cars are born. At this time everybody was happy in there respective sphere of wealth. Years roll on, silently. One fine day economy being economy, decided to collapse. Like the one global cash meltdown happened a few years back. 

If you have studied economics, you full well know that to keep the economy running you have to make things. To keep you making things, someone else have to keep making things and somewhere else someone else also have to keep making things so you can continue your keep making things. But all this keep-making-things works only if it is connected by some means of transportation. Some responsible people went to fix collapsed economy but to build it again they had to connect the keep-making-things thing by not-so-expensive means of transportation.

Once again, this job went to Carmakers. Designers and Engineers came up with brilliant designs but Carmakers being businesses run by accountants, they all wanted to make a few bucks out of everything they do. So beautiful concepts ended up being ruined ones. Sheet metal got replaced by something less thicker than aluminium foil in which mothers pack tiffin, interior got manufactured using recycled dustbins and tyres made out of wasted cement and rocks. This is where everything went terribly wrong. 

In India, we have examples of such shameless, senseless, irresponsible, make-a-few-paisas cost cutting in the sweet name of affordable or entry level cars. Examples? There are many, straight out of children's toy cupboard MS Alto 800, MS Alto K10, MS WagonR; result of a toddler's origami project Hyundai Eon and Tata Nano; disastrous Datsun Go; and latest feather light kid on the block Renault Kwid. 

So if you happen to be a not-so-wealthy and want a not-so-expensive means to move about what you do? If you are in India, you do 3 things. First, you acknowledge your life is worthless; Second, you tell yourself that your hard earned money is valueless and Third, you pop into a Datsun dealership. Why? Because out of all that shameless rubbish Datsun's Go is at least less terrible. 

I took one brand new, just delivered, blue Datsun Go NXT on a roadtrip to Hubli and found it to be surprisingly brilliant. Even its on road assistance works well, if you have patience. For a entry level car the Datsun is really very spacious. Partly because Nissan's accountants were sleeping at the time this car had its dimensions finalised but mostly because it is based on the same platform that Nissan uses to build its so-called-premium hatchback Micra. And Micra is based on Nissan's version of 2BHK house, the Sunny. So all in all when you buy a Datsun you buy a bootless Sunny. 

Go's sunnyness is fairly evident in the way this car handles. It is neither accurate nor steering is precise but it lunges around exactly like the Sunny. It is extremely comfortable for a entry level car and if you put your foot down this disastrously unsafe Datsun Go NXT can induce same spine tingling, slightly out of control feeling of a Lamborghini Gallardo Valentino Balboni. The most brilliant feature of them all is the front connected seat. There are numerous uses of this, I wonder why the hell nobody else thought of that? You can shift to co-driver seat without getting out of the car, you can have your toddler helping you with gearshifts but most important, your wife can sit very close to you and be romantic while you drive. And if you are a StarTrek fan, getting in the car and setting off is exactly same as it would feel on a spaceship. 

Performance wise Go shares its 1.2L engine with Micra which is very good and if you drive sensibly it can even return upto 25Kmpl. The ride is so comfortable that even you drive where roads have pimples, your co-driver can still sleep besides you. A few days back this Datsun had sparked a fury about being disastrously unsafe in crash tests. Datsun has improved upon it and the changes are really there. But don't worry though even Polo, Swift and i20 failed to be safe. And being in India, you have already acknowledged your life and money are worthless. 

Summing up then, Alto's seats are not comfortable, Eon looses breath if you ask it to climb a bridge with 5 people on board, Kwid has less space and I don't even want to talk about smart people's WagonR. So if you are a not-so-wealthy person and want to move about in a not-so-expensive way; a brand new, just delivered, blue Datsun Go NXT is worth considered. At least your romantic wife get to sit sticking with you.