The Datsun GO scored 2 stars each in Adult Occupant and Child Occupant protection but failed in the side impact crash test.
The resurrection of the Datsun brand was both nostalgic and ambitious for parent company Nissan as the automaker planned to tap the entry-level segment’s potential in emerging markets. However, if the plummeting sales weren’t enough, the results of last year’s Global NCAP tests ensured things went further downhill after the Datsun GO received zero stars in the safety tests. Doing a bit better this time, the Datsun GO was recently tested by the ASEAN NCAP and the entry-level hatchback managed to score 2 out of 5 stars. Apart from the GO, the latest round of test cars included the Toyota Hilux, Daihatsu Ayla and Toyota Agya.
In terms of safety features, the Indonesia spec Datsun GO gets a driver side airbag as standard along with seatbelts with pre-tensioners. In the ASEAN NCAP tests, the entry-level hatchback managed to score 2 out 5 stars with 6.82 points of 16 in Adult Occupant Protection and 2 out of 5 stars in Child Occupant Protection scoring 22.51 out of a maximum 49 points with 46 percent compliance. The hatchback failed in the side-impact crash test. The only other vehicle to do worse than the Datsun GO was the Toyota Ayla without airbags that scored one star in Adult Occupant Protection and 47 percent in Child Occupant Protection.
The test model was the 2015 Datsun GO with a 1.2-litre petrol engine under the hood. The hatchback along with the GO+ multi-seater is manufactured at Nissan’s Purwakarta based plant in Indonesia. In India, the Datsun GO was recently introduced with a driver side airbag as optional on the top-end T trim while ABS is still given a miss. After the Global NCAP debacle, there were reports of Nissan re-strengthening the hatchback’s chassis for a re-test after the structural integrity of the car was put up for questioning. The GO and GO+ for India are manufactured at the Renault-Nissan alliance facility near Chennai.
