2014 Datsun Go Test Drive Score Sheet

The Go isn’t exactly a track tool – so you’ll have to forgive it for being slightly hilarious at the BIC…

The 240Z is probably that one car which stamped the Datsun brand in the hearts and minds of automotive freaks back in the day. The 240Z became a celebrated name across the world, and was considered to be one of the best sports cars of its era.

That was the kind of stuff Datsun was doing at its peak – and it should have been resurrected with something as exciting. The Go isn’t exactly a machine in the same vein (not even with this striking blue paintjob), but it can be exciting nonetheless – but not in the traditional sense perhaps.

Let me get to the boring bits right away, so that we don’t have to concentrate on them for long. To start with, the Go is quite noticeable on the road compared with its rivals – owing to its larger proportions and that distinct grille. Then there’s the engine – a 3-cylinder 1.2-litre petrol that does a lot of buzzing while producing 67bhp and a shade over 100Nm. On the inside, strangely, it has a handbrake from the discontinued Toyota Qualis, and three seats in the front from a car last seen in the 1980’s. It also has a flimsy smartphone cradle, and a dashboard-mounted gear lever.

The gear lever, though, comes to very good use on the track. You put it in first and dump the clutch and the Go feels surprisingly spritely. You set off in a flurry of wheelspin. Shift to second on the centre console mounted gear lever, and you get more wheelspin. Interesting!

The shifts themselves are actually pretty good, and the gear lever falls perfectly to hand. The initial impression is good, and your expectations build. But then you come to a corner and things start to go pear shaped. You see, the Go drives on 155/70 R13’s – tyres that are great for ride quality, but a tad too inadequate to help matters when being aggressive on the steering and throttle. As you brake hard, again, you’re surprised to find that the brakes feel very strong and responsive – but the tyres lock up quite easily and protest madly at being made to go around a corner.

On the 1.2 kilometre back-straight, as you approach 150km/h, you realize that they forgot to put any insulation in this car whatsoever. The racket is so much that when you brake from that speed, you half expect to be overtaken by scattered bits of blue and grey while you’re left with just a steering in one hand and a gear lever in the other. But, once you complete a full lap, you can’t help but smile. These shortcomings should annoy you, but they just don’t. There’s something about this car that forces you to enjoy the experience, and laugh it off. It has character somehow.

From an engineering point of view, they have been able to carve out a surprising amount of space in a small car. And let’s be clear, testing this at the track meant that it was always going to be on the back foot. The thing is that the Go managed to win over a few hearts despite that – which says something I suppose...

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