Datsun on-DO sedan debuts in Russia
After its launch in India and South East Asia Datsun will now debut in Russia, the fifth largest car market in the world. Nissan’s low-cost brand will debut with the on-DO sedan (pronounced “on-doe”), the name being multiculuturism with ‘on’ meaning ‘he’ in Russian underlining the car’s masculinity while ‘do’ comes from Japanese signifying the way things are done.
The sedan is based on a completely different platform compared to the GO hatchback launched in India and showcased at the 2014 Auto Expo. It is decidedly more upmarket with grab-type door handles, a more compact honey-comb grille, fog lamps, two wipers (instead of the single one in the GO) and angular, stubby headlamps though the trademark Dastun grille is retained to build on that family identity.
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on-DO looks rather different to the Indian (and South-East Asian) GO with more angular and masculine lines. Trademark Datsun grille is retained[/caption]
Twin creases flanked on either side of the central bonnet bulge and flared wheel arches lend a slightly masculine look to the front. The doors are plain and devoid of any styling cues but makes for a more compact look. The front bumper houses round fog lamps and has sporty air-dams. Though the large ground clearance and exposed wheel wells makes the sedan seem like it is perched on its toes, it is still a good looking car overall before you get to the rear where the massive boot looks like a stuck-on job.
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Large 530 litre boot can be loaded easily due to low boot lid opening. Rear seats also fold down.[/caption]
The highlight of the four-door sedan is the enormous 530 litre boot. The tail end gets an integrated boot spoiler, a chrome strip reminiscent of the Indigo eCS and Swift Dzire, and large wrap-around tail lamps. The boot lid extends further into the bumper making loading luggage quite easy. The interiors look upmarket, definitely better than the GO, and offer more features. From the pictures it is evident that the sedan gets a multi information display in the instrument cluster, an integrated music system with Bluetooth connectivity, electronically adjustable ORVMs, power windows and airbags.
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The interiors look premium even with the single tone grey dashboard. Integrated music system looks nice though there aren’t any audio controls on the steering wheel. Twin airbags are available[/caption]
The on-DO will be built by Autovaz in the massive Togliatti facility which, you might recall, was set up during the Soviet era to churn out Ladas. Now jointly owned by the Renault-Nissan alliance the facility still makes Ladas but with the expected keen pricing of the Datsun this might soon take over the crown of the best-selling car in Russia. It is unclear what platform the 4.3 metre long on-DO is based on (1.7m width, 1.5m height) but we wouldn’t be surprised it if is a re-engineered Lada platform in the interest of keeping costs in check. That will also mean the on-DO will be unique to Russia and neighbouring markets in that region.
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Boot is massive at 530 litres but the design doesn’t gel with the rest of the car[/caption]
Don’t expect the on-DO to make it to India, we will definitely get a GO sedan but it will be a sub-4-metre compact sedan as that’s where the market and volumes are.
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The chrome band connecting the tail lamps looks upmarket. Tail lamp graphics reminiscent of the Duster[/caption]
Parent company Nissan and its subsidiary Infiniti are already present in Russia giving Nissan Motor Corporation the opportunity to market cars in every segment. The Japanese motor giant has yet to bring their premium brand to India but there is an opportunity for them as the market sees a fair bit of action but is quite unsaturated.
