Datsun Redigo hatchback revealed

Nissan today pulled the covers off its entry-level hatchback under the Datsun brand, the Redigo, at a global unveiling in Delhi. The Redigo is expected to be priced below Rs 2.5 lakh for the base variant. Bookings will start on May 1 and deliveries from June 1.

Showcased in a near production guise, it is noteworthy that the Redigo shares much of its styling with the concept car which made its debut at the Auto Expo 2014. Just like the bold-looking concept, the vehicle stands tall, features pulled-back headlamps placed higher up with the Datsun hexagonal grille placed prominently in front, kinked rear windows and a prominently pinched rear end. 

The Redigo is based on the Renault-Nissan alliance’s same flexible Common Module Family (CMF) engineering architecture as is the Kwid. In fact, it is the first Datsun product to be underpinned on the CMF-A platform.

However, it doesn’t share its styling with its sibling. While the Kwid features an aggressive SUV-inspired styling with cues from the Duster, the Redigo on the other hand is styled as a more urban and slick hatchback. Datsun is calling the Redigo an “urban cross” and in a nod to the SUV is the stylised faux skid plate at the front.

When viewed from the side, the nose looks nicely tapered and the kinked rear windows stand out along with the creased line that runs from the lower edge of the front doors all the way upward to the high set rear tail-lights, which are also sharply kinked along with the back of profile of the car.

The inside of the car – given its tall-boy design – is quite generous with the headroom, however, the legroom is a bit tight especially at the rear. Also, the rear seat hip point is higher than front seat's hip point.

The dash misses the touchscreen system that does duty in the Kwid, and instead, gets a simpler single DIN entertainment unit.

The Redigo is very stylish, but the fact that this car is built to a price is quite obvious in some areas. On the inside, there are a lot of exposed metal areas, the door pads are simple, slim and don’t feature any sculpting for bottleholders or decent-sized pockets. The windscreen makes do with one wiper, and the glovebox and other plastics like the rear parcel shelf are quite cheap in the look and feel. The glovebox itself is very small and would not be of too much use.