Datsun Redigo review, test drive

What’s it like to drive?

The mechanicals will be familiar if you’ve driven a Renault Kwid. A 799cc, three-cylinder petrol engine drives the front wheels through a five-speed manual gearbox. The power output is 54hp, while the torque is rated at 72Nm, both of which are par for the class. The experience might not be exactly the same as the Kwid, however, because while the gear ratios and final drive have come over unchanged, the motor is said to be ‘improved’, likely for even better fuel economy. A kerb weight that’s about 25kg lighter than the Kwid’s will also play a part here.

On start-up and idle, it comes with an acceptable three-cylinder thrum that’s not too bad, but what might irk you a bit is the vibration you’ll feel through the steering wheel, which only gets stronger as you move up to about 1,100rpm. The other thing that will annoy you is that it stutters a lot getting off the line, forcing you to feed in a little throttle to move away smoothly. Once you’ve picked up speed, however, it will potter about quite smoothly, which is what you want in town, where the Redigo will be most at home. Here, the vibrations settle down and progress is pretty smooth, and this is the zone you’ll want to keep the car in at all times.

The motor will rev to just over 5,000rpm, but we wouldn’t bother taking it much past 4,500, because that’s where it becomes unbearably noisy and thrashy, and moreover, there’s not much more power to be had either. Flex your foot harder and you’ll find the mid-range has a flat power delivery. When it comes to overtaking, you’ll need to shift down to make sufficiently rapid progress. Overall, the engine sounds and feels a bit too crude compared to the competition, including the Kwid, where the same motor feels a lot smoother and quieter. In fact, Datsun engineers hinted that the engine is ‘still a work in progress’ and the calibration is likely to be tweaked before launch for a smoother power delivery.

The five-speed manual uses a dog-leg reverse gear, which might be a little unusual for first-time drivers, but is also a great safety feature to prevent accidentally slotting in reverse for novices. The gear-shift action is not the lightest but allied to a light and progressive clutch, driving in stop-go traffic is quite easy.

The Redigo’s ride is acceptable by class standards, if a little on the firm side. You’ll find that it can rumble over most rough sections, but go a little faster and you will feel quite a bit of up and down movement inside the cabin. The Kwid, with the same mechanical setup, is just a whole lot more compliant. High-speed stability is not too bad either, and though there’s a fair bit of roll from the tall body, it’s decently contained. The steering is quite light but lacks feel and doesn’t self-centre easily. It’s fine for city driving but the steering is a bit too lifeless to inspire driving at high speeds.
The Redigo does have a tight turning circle of just 9.46m, and although it perhaps takes a few too many turns to go from lock to lock, the short overhangs and compact dimensions make it one of the easiest cars to park.