Summarize

Let’s face it, SA’s cheapest car, Datsun’s R144K Go! never quite covered itself in glory. Dodgy finishes, obscure safety highlighted by that shocking zero-star African NCAP rating and several other concerns left it with more of a brown coating. And that was not chocolate.

Still, Go!’s bargain basement pricing and a pretty impressive specification level saw it sell like hot cakes, no matter what the cognoscenti concerned themselves about. There are far more risky second hand cars out there and Go! also enjoyed a most compelling package – better than any dodgy used car who knows comes from where?

So we quite anticipated testing this all new Go! and to be honest, we were quite impressed. A styling evolution rather than a revolution, you need consider them together to tell old and new apart, but there is a  redesigned grille and bumpers, 14” wheels. SA’s cheapest car is pretty well kitted out too – it gets power mirrors, reverse parking sensors, intermittent wipers, central locking and an immobiliser too.

But open the door and its night and day. Those sleaze lounge seat covers on the old sofa make way for contemporary individual pews in a quite attractive trim solution. Add that colourful cool 7” Android Auto and Apple Car Play, Bluetooth and USB infotainment on the dash, , electric power steering and power windows and  mirrors, while this R166K Lux model adds daytime headlights and a rear wiper washer, so you actually get quite a cool little car for very little money.

Still powered by a 50kW 104Nm 1.2-litre petrol, Go! Lux trundled to a respectable 13-second 0-100 on our test strip and they say it returns sips 5.2l/100km. Go! comes with a  3-year/100 000km warranty, an optional service plan and one-year’s free insurance too. 

Of course they still need to crash test this thing, but the rest of it represents a night and day step ahead and that should go some way to appease all those critics…

QUICK TEST: Datsun GO Lux

Engine:     50kW 104Nm 1198cc petrol I4

Drive: 5-speed manual FWD

TESTED: 

0-60km/h: 4.99 sec

0-100km/h: 13.11 sec   

400m: 18.5 sec @ 120km/h

80-120km/h:          9.93 sec       

CLAIMED:       

VMax: 161km/h 

Fuel: 5.2 l/100km

CO2: 123 g/km

Warranty/Service 3y 100K/Optional

LIST PRICE: R166K

RATED:                   77%