[Irish]

Premier Rio 2012 facelift is due to be launched. Here are the spied pictures:







There are slight changes in Interiors as well exteriors. It is expected to be launched at around 6 Lakhs.

Source: MotorBeam website (http://networkedblogs.com/rfpJP)

Cheers!
Irish

[mac187]

There was talks of it having the Fiat engine. I feel a reliable engine is the only way Rio can claim its contention in the current market.

Considering it is the first launch in the mini-SUV segment where Mahindra and Ford are expected to enter soon, they need to grab some market share before the competition walks in. If the pricing of XUV 5OO is to go by, Baby Xylo may deal a death blow to Rio.

[suhaas307]

The Rio isn't doing too well despite being around for a while, and with the competition likely to get hotter (Ford EcoSport, Renault Duster, Mahindra mini-Xylo) in the coming months, I don't see the Rio sustaining itself unless Premier takes drastic steps.

What can they do though? How can they make it appealing and desirable? The key is to price it a notch below these three cars, and provide the same sort of equipment and comfort that the competition provides.

[W.A.G.7]

Looks nice, going by the pics, but they will have to price it dirt cheap (at-least to get some foothold in the market), if they have to make any recognizable sales. And throw in a lot of equipment at that price as Suhas has said. The blue car seems to be the lower spec version, while the red one seems to be the top end. At least Premier is trying to make some effort to get up and get noticed.

O.T: Why bother covering up the car? Even if they drive it uncovered, no one would notice it on road!

[rameshnanda]

I would be very much interested to know on the number of units sold by Premier for the first generation Rio. Personally, I haven't seen a single car till this date.
Do they really have a need to camouflage this car?

[arvi86]

Atleast, Premier is taking some steps to gain a foothold in the market even though the Rio has been rejected outright in the Indian market. Compare this to HM, which not only is killing the legendary Ambassador by not improving it, but is also tarnishing the image of Mitsubishi and the iconic Lancer series.

I, for one, would like the Rio atleast to be moderately successful. Being the first entrant in the affordable mini-SUV segment, all it needs is a great engine (Fiat's MJD would be brilliant) and better quality inside and out (like, say, what is available in the Force One).

[LongDrive]

Originally Posted by W.A.G.7

Looks nice, going by the pics, but they will have to price it dirt cheap (at-least to get some foothold in the market), if they have to make any recognizable sales. And throw in a lot of equipment at that price as Suhas has said. The blue car seems to be the lower spec version, while the red one seems to be the top end. At least Premier is trying to make some effort to get up and get noticed.

O.T: Why bother covering up the car? Even if they drive it uncovered, no one would notice it on road!

In fact if they UnCover no body will notice, now some people have spotted it.

[shankar.balan]

Quite true. This seems to be the only option open to them, should they wish to make an appreciable dent in the marketplace!

Originally Posted by suhaas307

The Rio isn't doing too well despite being around for a while, and with the competition likely to get hotter (Ford EcoSport, Renault Duster, Mahindra mini-Xylo) in the coming months, I don't see the Rio sustaining itself unless Premier takes drastic steps.

What can they do though? How can they make it appealing and desirable? The key is to price it a notch below these three cars, and provide the same sort of equipment and comfort that the competition provides.

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Quite true. This seems to be the only option open to them, should they wish to make an appreciable dent in the marketplace!

I've spotted a few Rios in Bangalore. They don't look very inspiring. It reminds me of the late '90s Suzuki Jimny. But it can't quite match the Jimny's AWD abilities.

Unfortunately, the way I see it, the Rio is merely testing the waters before the EcoSport and the Duster splash into the scene.

[scopriobharath]

The vehicle looks good in flesh. I am only skeptical about the Service and spares.

Also premier is not a "premium" or well known brand. I hope it contains EBD and Airbags also.

[SDP]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

The Rio isn't doing too well despite being around for a while, and with the competition likely to get hotter (Ford EcoSport, Renault Duster, Mahindra mini-Xylo) in the coming months, I don't see the Rio sustaining itself unless Premier takes drastic steps.

What can they do though? How can they make it appealing and desirable? The key is to price it a notch below these three cars, and provide the same sort of equipment and comfort that the competition provides.

In my opinion, unless they price it significantly lower than comparable competition, they would struggle even to get footfalls.

[chennai-indian]

I would have loved to own a vehicle like this - but not from Premier and therein lies the rub. As already pointed out, competition is coming and unless Premier prices this SIGNIFICANTLY lower than others, even the face-lifted version will not stand a chance.

[MAS]

The car looks good with meaty looking alloys, projector headlights, ABS.

If this is being considered as the First low-priced SUV, then IMHO, i think the actual credit goes to Maruti Suzuki for launching the "Gypsy".

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by chennai-indian

I would have loved to own a vehicle like this - but not from Premier and therein lies the rub. As already pointed out, competition is coming and unless Premier prices this SIGNIFICANTLY lower than others, even the face-lifted version will not stand a chance.

This is the problem with Premier. The brand doesn't hold strong value at all, and people will walk away from a Premier product, however good it is, if there is a car that offers the same. Even if it's more expensive than the Rio.

Premier will need to price this very well. Anything more than 6 lakhs OTR, and it will fail miserably.

[scopriobharath]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

Premier will need to price this very well. Anything more than 6 lakhs OTR, and it will fail miserably.

At the Auto Expo in Mumbai, It was priced at 6+ OTR for the current version. Keeping a conservative statement, they will launch it at the same price. Manufacturers, whose vehicles sell in bulk, do not reduce prices (mass production=less prices) os Premier selling pathetic numbers of the rio would not be in a position to reduce prices.

I am looking forward to the pricing of the Rio.