Here is a Sedan that Costs Less than a Suzuki Mehran!

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Last month, PakWheels as usual, took the lead in releasing the spy shots of the highly anticipated Datsun Go, a car which is expected to shake the lower end of Pakistani Market, which is currently dominated by prehistoric vehicles. This expectation comes primarily due to Go’s phenomenal performance in India against the Maruti 800, which has helped lead Datsun’s comeback in various markets as an auto manufacturer, after its rebirth as a Nissan owned subsidiary back in 2013.

on-DO VS Mehran Price
Starting price of Datsun on-DO compared with Suzuki Mehran!

Enough said about the upcoming Go in Pakistan; there is another car in Datsun’s arsenal, which comes at an extremely reasonable price; and that is the Datsun on-DO. Currently available in Russia alone, it is a four-door sedan, which at a starting price of 360,000 Russian Ruble (which translates to PKR 595,000) costs less than the cheapest new car of Pakistan, the Suzuki Mehran.

Mehran Suzuki Pakistan
The timeless Suzuki Mehran

While Mehran was, is and will remain the heart-throb of our auto market, there is also a need for us to recognize the cars people around the world can avail inside the budget from which, in Pakistan what we get, is a three decade old Kei car.

Also Read: Pak Suzuki Mehran Vs Maruti Alto 800: But Do We Even Have A Market For Such Comparisons To Hold Value? 

on-DO Russia Rear

Before I move on to what comes inside Datsun‘s on-DO, let’s start off with its exterior dimensions. Regarding the size, on-DO is 4,337-mm long, 1700-mm wide and has a wheelbase of 2476-mm, which, when put into perspective to its price-tag, are all quite decent. Moreover with over 530-liters of trunk space, on-DO certainly doesn’t cease to impress.

on-DO VS Mehran
Exterior Dimensions and Engine of Datsun on-DO and Suzuki Mehran – Compared!

Under the hood, it comes with a 1.6-liter engine, which is capable of producing 87 horsepower and is mated to a 5-speed manual transmission. As far as features stretch, on-DO comes equipped with power windows (take that XLi customers), heated side view mirrors and seats (a must in the harsh Russian climate). Other than that, a rain sensor, keyless entry and two airbags come standard in that sub PKR 600,000 price tag of Datsun on-DO.

Datsun on-DO trunk
530-liter trunk space of the Datsun on-DO

Currently, only available in Russia, Datsun has expressed interest in expanding on-DO’s availability to other regions, where it operates. And when keeping in view, Datsun’s prospects of entering Pakistani market, it would be interesting to see, whether or not, on-DO makes an appearance in our market.

Have a Look: All New Suzuki Mehran Is Here – Welcome to 2050!

Datsun on-DO interior
Interior of the Datsun on-DO

Do you feel that Datsun’s eventual entry into Pakistan will spell an end to the long-lasting dominance of Suzuki Mehran? Or do you think Mehran will sustain the beating? Tell us what you feel by commenting below.

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74 Comments
  1. Guest says

    1. “doesn’t seize to impress”
    cease, not seize. If you seize someone to impress them, you’ll be held accountable by law.
    Always keep a thesaurus with you while writing?

    2. The best thing about Russian women is that they are equally tall to the men, as witnessed from the photograph in the article.

    3. One of the positive points about the car is that it looks like it has good ground clearance, a major requirement for Pakistani roads.
    __________________

    Q: “Do you feel that Datsun’s eventual entry into Pakistan will spell an end to the long-lasting dominance of Suzuki Mehran? Or do you think Mehran will sustain the beating?”

    A: No, the Datsun under discussion is 1600, while the Mehran is 800. Some people buy Mehran because they do not have a big parking space. Some people (sounds sexist but mostly women) find it difficult to reverse a car with a boot, they would prefer a hatchback.

    A car’s success depends upon many many factors. Only the product being good will do no benefit, unless spare parts, mechanic’s understanding, etc. are given proper attention.

  2. Adan Ali says

    My apologies for that word slip probably went with it with the flow of words… thanks for your feedback will be taken care off!

  3. Zuhaib Khan says

    So another one of the useless price comparison articles?! I hope it isn`t. Adan you seem to have the knack of finding cars to compare that seems useless. I can give you a list of 50 cars of all the cars that are priced below 1 Million Pakistani rupees and could be a great addition and you can do one article of comparison per week on that… or maybe you already have one made by the looks of it… :/

  4. Adan Ali says

    How easy it is for you to say someone’s work being useless…. sure you have your taste maybe these sort of articles are something you don’t want/like to read but hey there are so many other people who are reading this… Not everything needs to be “useful” for it to work! Words and content don’t have a limit or scale of usefulness to justify them being written!

  5. Muhammad Aamer says

    In my opinion the comparison should me made with those cars/vehicles which are available in the country not with those which are in the dreams of Pakistanis. Adnan Bhai, you are making comparisons of prehistoric cars with the dream cars. Please be realistic and write your article keeping in mind that can it be possible in Pakistan? I think it is never to happen here, every department of our country is corrupt. Thanks

  6. Bitter_truth says

    Agreed with you that you hurt badly by his comment but the truth is you are comparing Mehru with a car (Datsun On-Do) which is not in Pakistani market. You can compare it with some local market cars. This is the issue with PW bloggers. “Bas chaap day”

  7. Bitter_truth says

    Correction is, department is run by people so Pakistani people are corrupt. Better for us to get Purify our self from this corruption.

  8. Adan Ali says

    Mehran is incomparable with cars in the local market since we still have no options in 600k price point which is the hard reality of our industry other countries like India, China, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and now Russia have options from the 21st century. I agree local comparisons should be done and I and we at Pakwheels every now and then have done (I recently did Audi A3 VS Civic, before it came my FAW Carrier VS Ravi we did X1 VS Vezel and the list goes on and on) but there is also a need to show the sort of cars that are available across the globe in the similar price bracket in which we in Pakistan get pre historic cars like Mehran

  9. Adan Ali says

    Aamer Bhai I completely understand your sentiments regarding the industry and departments of our country. But the thing is we have to show these monopolized auto companies of our country what we want! A couple of months back I did a piece on how BR-V would have been a much better option for Pakistani market than HR-V, the brands of our industry due to the lack of competition are so far deep into their comfort zones that they don’t even bother the outcome of their decisions (Kizashi+HR-V+Prius being prime examples all coming from the big three of our country). Plus the reason why it makes sense to talk about on-DO is Datsun’s eventual launch in our country (remember the spy shots of Datsun GO and GO+ in Lahore that Fazal Bhai posted here a while back) Months before these images or a chance of Datsun’s launch in Pakistan was even expected, Baber Bhai did some posts regarding Datsun GO and its price and how it could be a suitable option for our market, those dreams at that stage are now taking ship in reality. And yes like I mentioned in my reply to @bitter_truth me and my fellow bloggers have been doing comparisons on the cars that our currently being sold in our market but with that there is also a need to show what good options we currently don’t have in our market and if they come to Pakistan how they could become serious deal makers. P.s My dream is to see this big three monopoly of Suzuki-Honda-Toyota to come to an end in our country! Happy Friday!

  10. Asad says

    These kind of blogs made me unsubscribe from pakwheels. Its totally waste of time and the titles are totally misleading just to attract more visitors so they can earn some money. The quality of blogs clearly show that these are written by non-professionals as a part part time hobby. However, I do beleive that their quality is somehow improving and in 10 12 years they may be able to write something that would be worth reading.

  11. Saad says

    I don’t have anything against the article or the author, its just that every time i read an article here regarding the budget cars available to the rest of the world and the crap we are getting, i keep getting more depressed. I need a new car for my family and the max price i can go to is 7-8 lakhs, that too on installments only but in this price category, we only have mehran as option which i am not willing to spend my hard earned cash on.
    The only ray of light currently i see is the FAW v2 1000cc local assembled to be launched in the future, which i’m hoping will be in my budget upon release.

  12. Adan Ali says

    Exactly my point…. it is seriously depressing but don’t loose hope my friend V2’s local launch and Datsun’s launch can shake things up for good

  13. Zulfiqar Ali Soomro says

    It costs 595,000 after straight conversion from Ruble but will it cost the same after it is sold here or even manufactured? Taxes would decide everything, no

  14. SajjadK says

    I would simply say too hillarious to read what the comparison offer! A 1600cc with an 800CC. buhhahahahahaha:))

  15. Syed Nadeem says

    Thank you very much dear Adnan Ali, you have really done a great job, the comparison is excellent, believe me if this Datsun ON-DO is launced in Pakistan as the price remains so competitive, i would surely buy it, but how long will take to launch, hope soon.

  16. Chaudhry Motors says

    What do you think , Datsun’s Pakistan Chapter if introduce this Car in Pakistan will sale it at low price ? No, They will surely sell this car for atleast 15 lacs , because Pakistani Customers happily buy VITZ 1000cc for 14 lacs , which is even used with No auction sheets.. Our people spend money on popular brands, If FAW lauch their best car say B-50 for 18 LACS , Hardly people will prefer that… If Suzuki lauch their BALENO 2016 model for 19 lacs , people will surely go for Baleno… Even if Suzuki wants to sell MEHRAN at 9 lacs , people will happily buy it , as compared to FAW V2 1000CC for 8 lacs which is launching by FEB 2017

  17. Hameed says

    I would suggest that next time in your article add custom duty in the price of a foreign car you are comparing, with a local manufactured car. That will give your viewers a better understanding of the price.
    We all know that local manufacturers are very far from offering us good budget cars as offered in other countries. I want to know about new budget cars that I can import for less then 1 million pkr right now not 3,4 or 5 years in future.

  18. Muhammad Yasir says

    automatic transmission is a MUST !

  19. Muhammad Yasir says

    i;ll be happy with cheap cars from abroad !

  20. Adan Ali says

    Yes sure but the issue is importing a car from Russia won’t make sense since those cars are left handed…. All we can hope is that Datsun launches itself soon and give us on-DO in addition to GO and GO+

  21. Zuhaib Khan says

    It might be “WORKING” for you bro, but it sure isn`t for the majority of the informed readership. Sorry, writing such articles only puts you in the category of Susuki and Co, i.e folks who don`t care what others say as long as they are getting their piece of pie. Yes some might get kicks thinking, oh wow, this car for less than Mehran?! but then what!? But lets hope the companies are guilt ridden by your repetitive writing up of vehicles that aren`t even first line for the companies themselves and they launch one of these cars for the price you mentioned at. Don`t hold your breath though.

  22. H__3 says

    How can you compare a car’s price in Russia to Pakistani market? Is the tax and duty structure in Russia exactly the same? If not, then the comparison makes no sense. Instead of goggling pictures, specs and unconfirmed news reports please try to contact Gandhara Nissan or a responsible person in Ministry of Industries who should have the accurate information. As of now this “article” is a collection of hearsay news, googles specs and pictures.

  23. mar222184 says

    Are you sure Faw v2 locally assembled will be launched in Pakistan in feb. 2017 or is it just a speculation??

  24. Usman Haider Sheikh says

    Let me show you a scale that’d show the usefulness of your words. You are as much an automotive enthusiast as someone who read “ek din ma doctor banyie Price: Only Rs. 40” a doctor. That is the quality of your work. But pakwheel writers are consistent (dheet) in being shameless (begairat) as well for justifying their work. I won’t deny you the credit for that.

  25. Ehs says

    Mehran is an obsolete junk car from the 1980s and so are Bolan, Ravi and Cultus. Paksuzuki is nothing but a mark of shame for Pakistan.

    Yes FAW v2 is expected to launch soon in 1000cc (basic) and 1300cc variants. There is also news that automatic transmission will launch too.

  26. Adan Ali says

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a251582d9db280b01684223b68c4a596e01bfbd2dba91ce7fe8cc655262e12bf.png
    Just to remind well this is you five months back trying to be yourself…..

  27. Adan Ali says
  28. Adan Ali says

    Just to remind well this is you five months back trying to be yourself….. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3f07c65a0eff5647c9944f56b9531e74651b6e512e82e877c9369d1d604ff6e6.png

  29. Guest's guest says

    please do a Suzuki Ravi vs BMW X1 review… hope it will be posted in 2/3 days

  30. Imran Baloch says

    i wonder aisy articles approve kon krta hy for publication.
    seems, PW ki policy yeh hy k bas article hona chaheay….whatever the stuff 🙁

  31. Adan Ali says

    I did a Suzuki Ravi VS FAW Carrier a while back look for it in my archive, I guess that would be more helpful 🙂

  32. ali sohail says

    and what exactly is the policy?

  33. Usman Haider Sheikh says

    What about plagiarism when most of your articles are copied from carspirit???

  34. Usman Haider Sheikh says

    I asked you the reason for copy paste articles and you kept denying that any article is copied from INTERNET.

  35. Usman Haider Sheikh says
  36. Usman Haider Sheikh says

    A charba by pakwheels of original article by carspirit dot pk removed due to plaigrism https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0a805bd8ce14b7ed54b843431d85750b90879588cc0d2616c9971856b32e61a9.jpg

  37. Usman Haider Sheikh says

    Clapping that one piece of news was valid out of dozens of articles, rest are either plagiarized or incomplete pieces delivering nothing.

    Disqus won’t let me post links without admin approval, that pakwheels doesn’t do because it defames their writers but a search of “how old is suzuki bolan car spirit” would lead straight to the work pakwheels stamped as their own.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/6c7fa6f32f03fdafec3cb7576be5f56858c715f19df00ca3ad9fd2fb0829b0f5.jpg

  38. Usman Haider Sheikh says

    There are two things I hate reading, Plagiarism and a long article with misleading title while actual research conducted / news behind it can be described with context, purpose and conclusion in a paragraph. and Pakwheels writers are dheet in presenting same thing and beghairat in doing plagiarism without even mentioning the sources like they think only they have access to internet and rest read their articles on a newspaper used to wrap Pakory.

  39. Adan Ali says

    I proved my point with plagiarism long before prove that I plagiarised this article and I would accept it…. I am talking about my work over here!! Don’t call my work as an attempted plagiarism this easily….. prove your point….

  40. Adan Ali says

    Did I write it??? No right??

  41. Adan Ali says

    When did I copy from Carspirt??

  42. Usman Haider Sheikh says

    And your point was that we have a small industry, yet from structure of article to sentences everything matches and you don’t even mention the source while the other blog owner (excellent writer he is) does. You have a team of writers yet all suck up to his work.

    here’s the proof and reason why I have to use indecent words because you silence by removing comments, articles. I even complained that why my comments aren’t posted but your answer was it isn’t in our control so how come removal is in your control???

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/05fd78325897c9531014116009bb21ff3492e9ac74161997e67e2bde1668f4bb.jpg

  43. Usman Haider Sheikh says

    do you want a turnitin report? but I know, you will blame that it is to easy to manipulate it.

  44. Usman Haider Sheikh says

    Bravo, a single person can come up with new ideas everyday but a team of writers can’t and copies his work saying the industry is too small. That was your excuse for attempted plagiarism, even immature blog writers would laugh at this.

  45. Adan Ali says

    I respect Usman Ansari for his work and I respect him because I know the hard work that we have to put in…. but here you go is this not plagiarism?? What will you call this in your language… https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/36ba5ff1ef23d5f538d4db87406ae22eb4bdbe43b7490ba8a12cd1a0c04715ac.png

  46. Adan Ali says

    What new ideas…. he takes out stuff from more international resources than we do… because aap jaisay hee kehtay hain “These are useless for Pakistani readers” they make no sense and Pakwheels writer are dheet and beghairat to keep posting these

  47. Adan Ali says

    I seriously am not asked or required to do but Usman their is a limit to your hate….. I don’t know about the content others are publishing but if you baselessly lay claims on my content I will reply….. I regularly stay in active but like I said their is a limit to your hate!!!

  48. Adan Ali says
  49. Adan Ali says

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f00838d945c5900a065cc71bc993b047e64b0104d4acd16f70be624d33d6ce8f.png

    Looks like Usman checked Pakwheels after 2 months to see that leaked images came out (but hey this ain’t plagiarism that’s a term reserved for Pakwheels writers because they don’t defend themselves)

  50. Adan Ali says

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8972445618a09ad4e2756267b29397dd8be0d137fb92d4cedd10e93e62d1f30d.png

    I posted some more above look at them and I guess I did prove my point…. next time don’t call my work plagiarized until and unless you have proofs!!! From the shared snap shots you can see that there have been multiple instances where Usman plagiarized my work but did I go on to call him a “beghairat”? no because I know he is a great writer in himself and I respect the work he is doing and above all I want to show a rational attitude unlike you…. And on that bombshell (oops my apologies I just plagiarized Clarkson’s catch phrase) that’s all from me thank you so much for hating…. Good Night!

  51. Usman Haider Sheikh says

    LOL, Tivoli, Besturn B50, Comeback of Dewan Farooque? you don’t even mention sources and just rephrase / sugar coat his articles just increasing their length without delivering anything exta. Par kya karen, industry ha hi itni “chotti” k Chinese cars ma b koi or model ne mila na aap ko article likhny k leay. agar itna hi original tha to defend karty usi din, comment remove kyun kiye?

  52. Adan Ali says

    Chahta to comment yeh bhi remove kar deta stop being so bullish about what you say…. we knew about the comeback of Dewan way before Usman even made that article… I can show you proof of drafts that I have saved but we were not allowed to publish (because their is a difference between a person run blog and an institution run blog) Tivoli piece was done on the very same day and I guess approximately in and around the same time so it’s baseless to say who copied who the photos came on the social media and people came up with their own analogies…. Usman’s B50 post was based on B50’s launch in China I knew about that in June but I skipped it because whenever we tend to cover international launch news here people like you and you yourself say “No thanks aap beghairat ho jo International baseless news humain bta rahay ho” so I kept it for later when I would get free and leave Pakwheels and the day to day posting to focus on detailed posts that is when I wrote the New FAW B50 – Another Chinese Car We Want to See in Pakistan! and believe me you know that too that it had nothing to do with the piece Usman wrote…. You didn’t see my proofs??

  53. Usman Haider Sheikh says

    yeah so you copied the article of Jiangnan TT just three days later on 23rd may that you proudly represented in start of this article as your own.

  54. Usman Haider Sheikh says

    yes he takes stuff from international websites, but I haven’t seen him drawing fantasies that imagine a car is launched, gained success, used by our people, assumptions how our people reacted, how it was a success or failure, oh we had that car in every article. It’d be priced this oh wait even typing these fantasies makes me feel absurd. So what if Redi Go is being tested, you were making Faw B50 and many other cars happen in Pakistan too.

  55. Usman Haider Sheikh says

    and writing articles on clones was his idea too, remember clash of clone by him? also his article was more concise yet delivered more news Partnership of Zoyte with Raja Group.

  56. Usman Haider Sheikh says

    yeah because you can cover up by removing comments, editing articles and finally you admitted that you lied about not having admin controls over comments when you previously removed my comments. So we can see that you lie, you remove comments, you manipulate truth, no need to see any other proofs, the person who had the proofs posted in his articles and mentioned their source as well. And since my comments will be deleted, whats the point of this argument??? Good Night! everyone can see the notoriety you and Samiullah Sharif are gaining.

  57. Adan Ali says

    80% of his articles are based on cars that may never come to Pakistan and yet you are taking sides….. you’re a weird cliché

  58. Adan Ali says

    I cannot remove comments by myself I can ask the admin though……. I am neither an admin nor a moderator at Disqus and I didn’t remove your comments… my comments with links themselves too get stuck up and I have to ask the admin to approve… And have you seen the sort of language you use?? You can lay this blame/claim on me in sometime if I become an admin or mod

  59. Usman Haider Sheikh says

    I didn’t get your point? you mean to say he copied these from your blog post and added to his 23rd may article?

  60. Usman Haider Sheikh says

    yes he doesn’t fantasize those coming here either, just delivers the news. While your articles sounds like from a person who lives with imaginary friends.

  61. Usman Haider Sheikh says

    LoL, these renders were on Paultan on 18th may so go to sleep Adan, I see you are trying very hard but you are basing your argument on a weak foundation of lies. You are starting to show your real self, the hypocrite one. At first you were sounding respecting of a person and now you are trying really hard to defame him through your lies.

  62. Adan Ali says

    The photos he added came out in March go check your so called facts first what foundation of lies? I am not trying to defame him I started off by saying that I respect his work…. and even though he took cues from the work I did I will still not go on to call him a beghairat or a hypocrite because that’s how you and me are different just leave it Usman continue hating me that is all I can say because talking to you is useless I show you evidence you throw claims and yet you stay put on what you say… that is hypocrisy and stubbornness my friend…. I said before I don’t need to reply you…. But I have been disturbed to see a reader who is consistently hating complaining about my work… But now I will just remain silent because that is your habit and you will continue to pursue it…. Have a great week and good night

  63. Ali Raza Khan says

    thank you. you just let me know a very interesting car blog (y)

  64. iffi says

    have you ever seen yourself in something called a mirror?

  65. Alpha Bravo says

    Bullshitt comparison.

  66. Alpha Bravo says

    Why don’t you compare Cambodian vehicles with those of Pakistan? And then Nigerian and then Mexican

  67. Usman Haider Sheikh says

    lol you are targeting my comments in other posts trying to make fun of our knowledge, you manipulate this argument in your favor by deleting my comments and posting the comments that are targeted towards all writers in Pak wheels and describe how reader is affected specifically toward yourself. So tell me what should I express here that you’ll not take personally *facepalm* or *sarcastic clap, well done*???? and you completely ignored that my comments are usually replies to other commentators, now are they all wrong??? stubbornness is failing to admit your mistakes, it is you who is addressing public not I so all the feedback whether negative or positive is directed towards you, but your itty bitty ego is too important to admit your mistakes.

  68. Awais Yousaf says

    Hi!
    Adan i must warn you that the person you are arguing with is an example of highly stupid and insignificant human being. He is known to make hate comments on most of the PakWheel’s articles including mine. Upon some discussion i realized that this person has some kind of grudge against Pakwheels as a whole and he only comes here to criticize the bloggers to relieve his frustration. Its a friendly advise to not waste your time because people like these can never respect anyone’s work. They don’t like anyone’s opinion and they will call the work of others useless and pointless. I wonder how much these idiots have ever contributed to something. If they are so “Know it all” then i think they should contribute and prove their point. But lets face it we need to ignore these people. We should never try to prove our points to such retards.

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