Sneak peek at Datsun's new hatchback

This is the face of the soon to be unveiled new small car from the new Japanese brand Datsun.

The final prototype of the new small car from Datsun is due to be unveiled in Gurgaon on the 15th of this month by Carlos Ghosn, the Chairman and CEO of the Renault-Nissan alliance. But until then, feast your eyes on these the official sketches of the new Datsun hatch brought to you by Smartbuy all the way from the company’s design centre in Yokohama, Japan.

The revival of the Datsun brand will hinge on the new hatchback that is being readied specifically for the Indian market. Nissan, which is the parent company of the Datsun brand, has put together a crack team handpicking from its senior management and designing and engineering departments to ensure that the new product gets a good start.

We have passed on bits and pieces of information that Datsun officials had shared with us. We had also created a rendering of the new car based on some of the design information that we had gleaned after our interactions with company officials and of course, based on the design of the radiator grille.

Designed for India

But, this is finally the official sketch and there are quite a few new pointers that can be observed. First observation clearly can be that the sub-4-metre Datsun small car will be dimensionally almost as big the Nissan Micra, though the bonnet seems to be shorter and more sloping.

Internally code named the K2, the new hatch is clearly a looker, at least from the front. Features like the large wraparound headlamps, the simple, but shapely front bumper and the honey-comb grille should give the new Datsun quite an appealing front design. The prominent ridges on the bonnet and the merging lines from the A-pillar will accentuate the car’s aerodynamic design. Headlamps could feature twin barrel reflectors and lamps.

A strong, but raised shoulder line and the flared wheel arches at the sides lend the car more character when you view its side profile. Also evident is the raised roof that only slopes very gradually towards the rear. This feature will ensure that there is considerable head room even at the rear bench.

From the shape of the B-pillar, and the mild curvatures of the front windscreen and rear glass, it looks like Datsun designers have opted for fairly straight glass with minimal bending at the edges to save on production costs and ensure that replacements are relatively inexpensive. The amount of glass area also seems to be higher than the average in the segment, ensuring high visibility and possibly an airy cabin.

From the sketch it looks like the car will not have any quarter glasses, which also might have been built into the design to ensure lower costs and easier maintenance. The other pointers from the sketch about the exterior design are the flip-up type door handles, the 13 or 14-inch wheels sporting possibly 140/ 70 R13-R14 tyres. The character line at the bottom of the door panels will visually accentuate the length of the car and the sketch also seems to indicate that the rear will have a fairly Micra like design with variations to enhance the vertical orientation of the various elements. The design has created high-set haunches at the rear. The door mirrors have been designed to prevent getting damaged in crowded driving conditions.

Inside out

Overall, the exterior design seems to be oriented towards not only ensuring aesthetics and appeal, but also to ensure that the space inside the cabin is maximised. The nearly flat door panels, tall roof and the bulging rear will ensure that there is considerable leg, head and shoulder room in the cabin.

More details about the interior features are awaited. But you can be sure that it will be focused on practicality and there may also be a few, small familiar parts from the Micra. Cabin material quality will be on a par with other cars in the sub-Rs 4 lakh category. Though the five-door small car that is making it to India may not be launched in any of the other four countries that Datsun has identified as its target markets, it has possibly been developed in both right-hand drive and left-hand drive versions. It will be right-hand drive by default, which means that the controls will all be in the right places.

The K2’s chassis is a lighter unit and the weight of the car has been consciously kept low, so that the best performance and fuel efficiencies can be ensured. The engine is likely to be the same 1.2-litre, 3-cylinder petrol engine that is currently being offered in the Micra. However, the engine is likely to feature a different, lower state of tune in the new Datsun small car. Generating a lower peak power than the Micra’s 75 bhp, the new hatch from Datsun will also sport a five-speed gearbox with ratios that would have been set of maximising in-city mileage.

Target practice

The petrol version will be launched first and a diesel version may follow later. Datsun officials feel that the new hatch will largely be taking on the commuter small cars that are in the 800cc to one-litre class currently. It is another matter that it will also attempt to capture buyers from the higher capacity 1.2-litre class with its more affordable price tag. So, the Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 and the K10, the Chevrolet Spark, the Hyundai Eon and the i10, and the Renault-Nissan small cars will all be targets for the Datsun small car.

Datsun officials say that extensive local research and inputs have gone into the development of the new small car. The car’s focus based on the brand’s time-tested motto of Dream, Access and Trust (DAT) will deliver a completely new car buying experience to the Indian buyer, feel company officials. Work on developing the dealer network is simultaneously being done along with product development. Initially, Nissan dealers will be roped in to ensure quickening the time to market, but in the long run, independent dealers would be in place. The car itself could officially be launched at the Delhi Auto Show in January next year. Datsun officials say that the company is very keen on taking the price-value proposition and redefining it for Indian buyers. We believe that the new Datsun small car could then well be a Rs 3 lakh-plus car rather than a sub-Rs 4 lakh car.

muralidhar.s@thehindu.co.in