New city-hatchbacks: An alternate view on the Datsun Go, Renault Kwid, Hyundai Atos, Nissan Micra

There’s  been a huge swing towards the entry-level segment of the new car market in recent years.

Making big news in the past year or so has been the sales volumes recorded by Renault’s Kwid. It broke the 1000-units a month mark about 12 months ago and has been selling pretty much at this rate ever since! Datsun’s Go has also come on strong, and taking note of this, Hyundai re-introduced an old budget name plate, the Atos.

Related: First Drive: Datsun Go Lux 1.2 CVT – Always in the right gear (launch report)

Four new cars for cash-strapped buyers

This past month I have been exposed to four new models that are on the radar of cash-strapped buyers.   This should be qualified by the fact that only three of them are offered in the sub-R200 000 level of the market. The Nissan Micra remains Nissan’s entry-level model in this market, but in the sub-R200 000 its sole player is the Micra Active,  a car based on the previous-generation Micra.

The latest Micra mode launched  here in mid-November, the new 84 kW version,  represents an entry-level car targeted at a much more sophisticated European market. Consequently, the price reflects that sophistication and superior build-quality.

Related: First Drive: New Renault Kwid – Who’s laughing now (launch report)

Thumbnail sketches of four entry-level players

Huge step forward for the Datsun Go 

The launch of the so-called two-pedal (automatic)  version of the Datsun Go revealed a car that has in fact been radically re-engineered. And this re-engineering applies to the whole Datsun Go range, and is not confined to the new CVT gearbox model that has been introduced to take on Renault’s Kwid two-pedal player, the so-called Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) model.

The biggest change to this late-2019 Datsun Go range is that the body shell has been substantially stiffened. Changes include a new roof, new re-enforced doors, and other structural changes (presumably to the floor pan and door sill areas) that make this Go feel like a completely different car.  No more engine shudder fed through the body shell!

The new Go now tracks much better on the highway, and overall there is a far greater feeling of quality. Oh yes, and the Go now has electronic stability aids, such as traction control and corner-assist.

Related: First Drive: Hyundai Atos - It's back! (launch report)

CVT ‘box better an expected

As for the new CVT version, it was much better than expected.  Many CVT gearboxes are noted for their irritation factor by keeping engine revs at a constant pitch when accelerating hard up an incline. The speed varies but the engines revs stay the same! In the Datsun version it was possible to vary this pitch by a slight lift-off of throttle which dropped the revs by about 2 000 rpm, but still retained a constant speed. Noise intrusion was better than expected.

The engine power in the new Datsun Go CVT has been upped to 57 kW , some  7 kW up from the manual models. Acceleration is still leisurely, but as a modestly powered car for first-time buyers, the speed potential was acceptable, and we found ourselves easily attaining speed limit velocities. The new Datsun Go CVT is priced at R184 200 and includes a 6-year/150 000 km warranty, but no service plan.  The Go range, however kicks off at a much more affordable R159 900. Interestingly,  Datsun has for the past year also offered one year free insurance for Go buyers.

Renault Kwid now looks even better

In my view there are three main reasons why the Renault Kwid has sold so well. The first reason is that Renault has marketed their scheme of offering a year’s free insurance for first-time Kwid buyers brilliantly. The second reason is that from the outside the Kwid looks like a scaled-down SUV. And the third reason is that inside,  the Kwid caters to the “Connected Generation” unashamedly, with a bright and cheerful infotainment system dominating the car so strongly that this becomes possibly the biggest reason for buying a Kwid.

This has all been strengthened now by a bold new face for the Kwid incorporating a chunky new grille, new daytime running lights, a reverse camera, rear park sensors, new trim and upholstery materials, 14-inch wheels and in the case of the top Climber model, with extremely attractive hubcap trims that do a brilliant job of mimicking alloy wheels. And now the Kwid has two airbags to go with the ABS braking Renault added earlier this year.

Importantly,  along with the increase in wheel size, the handling has been improved further with a new rear axle to solve some of the straight-line stability problems that have plagued the Kwid.

The Kwid still lacks body shell rigidity

So what’s the verdict? The Kwid still lacks an overall quality feel, with engine vibration felt through the car. Straight-line stability has indeed been improved, but the car is still twitchy at highway speeds. The Kwid needs a front suspension re-design and increased body shell rigidity to make it a more pleasurable driving experience. The interior finishes look bright and cheerful but are not of a very high standard in terms of quality.

As for the AMT (automatic) version, we didn’t get to drive it on the facelift introduction, but it remains one of the most “challenging” gearboxes I have ever experienced in a new car.

But as Renault says, it gets first-time buyers into a car they wouldn’t have been able to afford without that first-time buyer’s insurance assistance. And now this all-in-one  “affordable ownership experience”  has been bolstered  further with a 2-year/30 000 service plan. The Kwid is a triumph of marketing over engineering in so many respects, and hats off to Renault for that! Price-wise, the Renault Kwid ranges from R144 900 to R174 900 for the Climber AMT model.

Hyundai Atos – a class act that now even looks good!

The Hyundai Atos nameplate had a presence here between 2005 and 2013 and in that time some 45 000 Atos models were sold. Those aren’t huge numbers (representing sales of around 300 a month) by Kwid and Go standards today but in a way the original Atos was ahead of its time. It pre-empted the huge buy-down trend that has been a feature of our market since 2013.

The previous-gen Atos was a forerunner  of cars like the Kwid and the Go, but counting against it was the fact it looked like it was designed by a cartoonist. If you tune into the Boomerang channel on DSTV, you will see a number of box-on-wheels renditions of cars that could have been modelled on the Atos.

Cartoon-like styling a thing of the past

Happily this new late-2019 rendition of the Atos now looks like a proper little car, styled by a graduate of one of the better global automotive design houses. And, at the top of its “reasons-for-buying” list in the media release, Hyundai cites low NVH (Noise, Vibration, Harshness) as a key reason for selecting the Atos. Clearly Hyundai and the writer are on the same page when it comes to prioritising  the essentials of a good and a not-so-good car!

The interior of the Atos is arguably the least funky of the three cars we’ve covered to date, being conservative, as is the Korean way of things. However, it does list a 7-inch touch screen, Apple CarPlay connectivity, 2 airbags and reasonable interior space amongst its assets.

Conservative it may be, but the Atos’s interior has a quality feel that outguns both the Kwid and the Go in terms of its material quality.

One the road with the Atos, it is possible to maintain speeds in the 120 to 140 km/h rage with relative ease. And that ease, primarily, is due to the Atos’ stability at high speeds. It also has well-chosen gear ratios.

In the power stakes it weighs in at 50 kW, which is essentially the same  power level as the Kwid and the Go, although the Go CVT now gets a boost to 57 kW.

Price-wise the Atos is right in the ball-park. There’s just one model, complete with air-con, electric windows (front), a 7-year 200 00 km warranty and a 1-year service plan, for R159 900.

Nissan Micra – More premium than entry-level, really...

The upmarket Nissan Micra 84 kW range was introduced in early November, supplementing the 66 kW range introduced some 18 months ago. The new car adds very useable power to its list of attribute. The 1,0-litre turbocharged petrol motor delivers 84 kW and 185 N of torque from its three-cylinder configuration. And it’s a very smooth useable package now, although at the bottom end of the rev range there is still sometimes a touch of off-boost throttle lag.

This car has one of the most refined interiors in its class, exceptional road manners thanks to a very rigid body shell and a substantial rubber foot print on the road. Tyre sizings are 205/45 R17. The new 84 kW Micra range starts at R305 900 and tops out at R335 900.  

The cabin is exceptionally  well-trimmed and overall the 84 kW Micra is a class act. But admission price to this range of substance in a small car is not cheap!

Verdict

This is not a straight shoot-out as we didn’t assemble these cars back-to-back on the same day. But driving them all within a couple of weeks of one another, all impressions were still fresh in the old memory banks.

If we were opting for an entry-level car right now, we would pick the Hyundai Atos, then the Datsun Go, then the Renault Kwid. It will be interesting to see what level of sales inroads the Atos newcomer makes on this already-competitive entry market. As for the Nissan Micra, it is in a different league, price-wise. You pay an extra R120 000 or so more  for the kind of sophistication this car offers in what is, space-wise, not too different from the three entry-level cars under discussion.

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