Datsun Go 1.2 Lux

You can probably blame rap artist Drake for popularising the term YOLO, an acronym for You Only Live Once. Think of it as ‘seize the day’ (or carpe diem) for the instant gratification generation, the kind of folk Datsun call ‘risers’. Like the yuppie stereotype of old, these are hip, optimistic urbanites that hustle up to four jobs and earn enough to own a new car, often being the first in their family to do so. So it’s ironic that despite the typical buyer’s buzzy lifestyle and newness to the business of driving, the GO is devoid of basic safety equipment. Up until I was made aware of this manufacturer faux pas I was completely sold on the GO.

A decade ago I’d have been more than willing to recommend a vehicle that falls short on vehicle safety as we know it today. Airbags and ABS braking were considered luxury items back then. But this is 2014 and safety is no longer a perk; it’s a non-negotiable on highways and urban crawls which are rife with distractions. The deadliest being the kind caused by smartphones, which are of course mandatory to the riser lifestyle making the absence of these safety measures that much more deadly.

Ironically Datsun hasn't ignored the importance of smartphones: the top-spec “Lux” model comes with a media system that piggy backs off your Android, Apple or other device, attached via a mobile docking station out of line of sight on the head unit. Think of it as a holster for your weapon of mass distraction. Now, I like rap and hip-hop as much as the next guy, but maybe Datsun should have consulted Pharrell instead. He’s the frontman of NERD, which is an acronym for ‘No One Ever Really Dies’. I’m afraid that one major prang is all it is going to take for our optimistic GO driver to test this theory.

Look, I am a champion of Japanese motor cars, and one of the nostalgic ones who missed the Datsun brand, so naturally I wanted the GO to be great. And for the most part it really gets some way there, almost displacing the Renault Sandero on the People’s Car pedestal. It offers a driving experience similar to the R30 000 dearer Mitsubishi Mirage, with fit and finish I can live with. Barring perhaps the seats, whose easily rouched fabric doesn’t really cut it.

However, I feel I have a social and ethical responsibility that prevents me from referring anyone to the GO until ABS and a pair of airbags have been fitted as standard, or at least made an affordable option on the up-spec version instead of the reams of tat on offer such as vinyl graphics, roof rails and boot spoilers, dammit. Maybe now’s the time for a musical reference from my generation. I refer to the sage words of Mister MC Hammer. Sorry dear buyer, ‘You Can’t Touch This’.