First Impressions: Datsun Go CVT

Datsun was first brought into South Africa in 1960 by brothers, Thys and Andries Bekker by bringing in the 1000 bakkie to our shores. Five years later Datsun automobiles began the assembling of its cars at Motor Assemblies. 1966 Datsun became the first Japanese passenger car to be imported in South Africa.

Fast forward to 2014, Datsun releases the GO and notably so the car manufacture has grown progressively to currently having a 27% market share in South Africa. It is evident that Datsun’s numbers show that consumers in South Africa are responding positively to the car brand. This could also be due to Datsun having cheaper replacement parts making it more affordable to maintain the car over a long period.

CVT stands for Continuously Variable Transmission, this transmission changes gears seamlessly without noticeable change trying to find the most optimal gear for the most efficiency. This technology has been put to good use in the Datsun GO CVT as it is responsible for the noticeable change in reducing fuel consumption. With that said Datsun claim that the Datsun Go CVT has a fuel economy of 5.0l/100km. The 1.2-litre naturally aspirated engine producing 57kW and 104Nm of torque. Compared to the Manual transmission the CVT produces more power and is more efficient when it comes to petrol consumption.

The overall drive of the Datsun Go CVT is very smooth and makes navigating through the hustle and bustle of the city and traffic a breeze. The transmission in this model Is not my favourite but after modifying the way I accelerated there was a positive change with my overall drive. I found that on the highway it did lag a bit with higher speeds but in urban and city area’s this little car does a pretty good job.

The Datsun Go CVT comes with dual airbags, a 7” touchscreen, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, daytime running lights, ABS and rear parking sensors, USB port and both front and rear electric windows. With all of these features the Datsun Go CVT is priced at R184 200 and comes with a 6-year/150 000km warranty and not forgetting that Datsun will be subsidizing your insurance for a year.