Datsun GO action front

New Datsun GO+ Review: Extended Aspirations

Ride, Handling and Brakes

Datsun GO+side profile in water 3

Similar to the hatchback, the Datsun Go+ employs a McPherson Strut double pivoted lower arm front suspension and an H-type torsion beam rear setup. The system uses a longer stroke rear damper which responds to uneven surfaces in a quicker manner. It ensures more suspension travel which is supposed to result in a more comfortable ride for the occupants. The manufacturer says this piece of tech has trickled down from their more premium Infiniti brand of cars. Over the broken patches of tarmac around Rishikesh, that piece of technology worked rather well. Where the GO+ neither felt overtly soft or stiffly sprung and struck the right balance to achieve a ride quality that belongs to cars a segment above. Even when we encountered deep craters at decent speeds, the suspension on the GO+ felt only slightly stiff. Which is a good thing, as you don’t really want the car to bottom out whilst carrying additional load.

At speeds, the GO+ remains composed in a straight line without allowing any nervousness creeping into the chassis, even when the surface below gets uneven. The ride quality remains comfortable for back seat occupants too, where one feels as if being ferried in a car that must be rather expensive, until they notice the environment around them.

Datsun GO+left corner

Around the winding roads where we sampled the GO+, the only fly-in-the-ointment was the 13” Strada rubber. It would squeal and cry for grip even when the car was thrown into a corner at only slightly higher than normal speeds. However, thanks to the suspension setup that finds level ground, the GO+ wouldn’t swing from side to side like a typical MPV when we threw it around bends. It remained comparatively composed, only the backpack on the rear seat swinging happily from left to right and back. The steering is light at lower speeds and builds up some weight as speeds build up, typical of most modern day units. The only problem though, power steering only comes standard with the top most variant of the GO+. When questioned about the logic behind this move, Datsun officials replied that the variants that come without a power steering feel similar to drive as the one that comes with it. The difference only felt at speeds below 8kph, which we feel is when you actually need a power assisted steering.

However, one thing that would make potential owners of this MPV happy is the ridiculously short turning radius of just 4.6mm. Where on a similar turn an Innova required a three pointer, we went only slightly wide and managed to turn the nose around in one go. On the braking front, the GO+ came to a standstill without any drama from speeds of around 80kph. The chassis pointed straight, the wheels locked only slightly and the brake pedal sent back a reassuring feel.

Next page for Equipment, Interiors & Safety

6 thoughts on “New Datsun GO+ Review: Extended Aspirations”

  1. No Airbags & ABS and zero points in crash test, makes GO / GO+ a very dangerous car on the highway… even after the crash test report came out, datsun is not bothered to implement any safety feature… really bad…

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