[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by dadu

... its a poroven 1.3 Multi-jet for diesel. So am wondering what can go wrong !!

Everything else?

Seriously, the 1.3 is shared by a host of other cars - Punto, Swift, Ritz, Ertiga, Vista, SX4 etc. and all have very 'different' reliability ratings. I believe the possibility of something going wrong with a vehicle rests on the manufacturer's qc processes. Not really sure if Premier can be compared to the mainstream players.

About it being better than the Quanto, absolutely! It is a nice proportional clean looking car with nothing 'quirky' about it.

[dadu]

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

Everything else?

Seriously, the 1.3 is shared by a host of other cars - Punto, Swift, Ritz, Ertiga, Vista, SX4 etc. and all have very 'different' reliability ratings. I believe the possibility of something going wrong with a vehicle rests on the manufacturer's qc processes. Not really sure if Premier can be compared to the mainstream players.

About it being better than the Quanto, absolutely! It is a nice proportional clean looking car with nothing 'quirky' about it.

Yes, who knew Hyundai when it was launched in late 90's with Maruti being the leader in small cars, even their service network was limited to big cities. But with a strong marketing and a good car they have caught up well.

Thats what Premier needs to catch upto, but dont know if they would be able to, needs a good amount of finances, strong leadership.

[apachelongbow]

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

Everything else?

Seriously, the 1.3 is shared by a host of other cars - Punto, Swift, Ritz, Ertiga, Vista, SX4 etc. and all have very 'different' reliability ratings. I believe the possibility of something going wrong with a vehicle rests on the manufacturer's qc processes. Not really sure if Premier can be compared to the mainstream players.

About it being better than the Quanto, absolutely! It is a nice proportional clean looking car with nothing 'quirky' about it.

As far as I know, the RiO comes fully built to the Premier plant. Body panels also come fully painted. What Premier does is to merely assemble the parts and produce a car, something like a superbike importer.
So if anything has to go wrong, it has to be at time of assembly, not at time of manufacture.
That apart, what I feel hits the RiO hard, is the overall Premier commitment to provide after sales support and regular service. Its the case of once bitten twice shy, no one trusts Premier anymore.

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by dadu

Yes, who knew Hyundai when it was launched in late 90's with Maruti being the leader in small cars, even their service network was limited to big cities. But with a strong marketing and a good car they have caught up well.

Thats what Premier needs to catch upto, but dont know if they would be able to, needs a good amount of finances, strong leadership.

But the times are not the same! When Hyundai came to India, how was the hatchback scene, remember? Its a much more matured and fiercely competitive market now. Even I am skeptical if they would ever be able to catch up!

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

As far as I know, the RiO comes fully built to the Premier plant. Body panels also come fully painted. What Premier does is to merely assemble the parts and produce a car, something like a superbike importer.
So if anything has to go wrong, it has to be at time of assembly, not at time of manufacture.
That apart, what I feel hits the RiO hard, is the overall Premier commitment to provide after sales support and regular service. Its the case of once bitten twice shy, no one trusts Premier anymore.

That's exactly the problem. We haven't seen even a single ownership review of this car on our forum!

[ant_vas]

Have been seeing quite a few of the Rio's on ORR (peenya to BSK). Looks well built and is much better to look at compared to Quanto.

Not sure about the service network and anything else, but assuming that the car is well built and with the 1.3L multijet national engine, should perform reasonably well IMHO.

Let's wait and watch how it sells in the next 2-3 quarters.

[dadu]

Originally Posted by ant_vas

Have been seeing quite a few of the Rio's on ORR (peenya to BSK). Looks well built and is much better to look at compared to Quanto.

Not sure about the service network and anything else, but assuming that the car is well built and with the 1.3L multijet national engine, should perform reasonably well IMHO.

Let's wait and watch how it sells in the next 2-3 quarters.

They need to provide more visibility to Rio and increase their A.S.S without which they will go nowhere from where they are now.

[cool_dube]

Any more feedback on how Rio is doing in the market? Given the facts that it now has an excellent heart in the 1.3L Fiat MJD and does not look as "quirky" as the Quanto, it should have some more market presence than it currently seems to have (haven't seen a single specimen on road in Bangalore yet as opposed to a few Quanto's). Is wafer-thin A.S.S. to blame?

Incidentally, my FIL is looking for a compact UV that can ferry him to his farm and back (about 70 km one way) in reasonable comfort and Rio seems to fit the bill, at least on paper. Duster is out of his budget, Thar is too bare-bones (moreover he does not need 4WD), and he does not like the looks of the Quanto.

Mods - can we please plan for an official TBHP report on the Rio sometime?

[KnightRider77]

Saw a Rio on the BETL flyover on Friday, and since I hadn't seen this thread (or the ads) before, I was caught off guard. Certainly wasn't expecting a Premier logo on a SUV for sure.

Seems to have "soft" looks compared to the out and out macho and "hard" styling of the Mahindras and Pajero's. But then I only caught a glimpse of the back and not the front. Also seemed be a touch smaller than the regular SUV/MUV's like the Fortuner or Qualis for that matter, but I could be wrong.

Must say it's one of the few SUV's that actually look good in bright red!

[drpudhi]

Originally Posted by KnightRider77

Also seemed be a touch smaller than the regular SUV/MUV's like the Fortuner or Qualis for that matter, but I could be wrong.

Must say it's one of the few SUV's that actually look good in bright red!

Of course it is smaller. It is a sub-four meter compact SUV for that matter.

Agreed that it do look better. But not even a single ownership thread in whole of T-BHP even after 6 months of launch?

That tells the story for itself.

[antariksh]

Now it is October 2013
How many Rio's have been sold till date any idea?
I can not see Premier in Monthly sales analysis anywhere.
Just curious how they are doing.

[pyrodrive]

Well, reviving an old thread. I just got myself a very sparingly used premier rio 1.5 last week. Inspite of all the odds and knowing all its shortcomings.
Got it at a superb bargain. Thinking of penning down a little ownership review. Waiting to clock some miles in it. Actually, I did drive this model for some 2000kms and know how it performs (drove to the north bengal hills all the way and back).
I wonder what sales it is managing these days? The premier dealer is just a couple of miles from my home and is still going ok, it seems.

(Mods please move this post if it is not the appropriate thread.)

[akshay4587]

Originally Posted by pyrodrive

Well, reviving an old thread. I just got myself a very sparingly used premier rio 1.5 last week. Inspite of all the odds and knowing all its shortcomings.
Got it at a superb bargain. Thinking of penning down a little ownership review. Waiting to clock some miles in it. Actually, I did drive this model for some 2000kms and know how it performs (drove to the north bengal hills all the way and back).
I wonder what sales it is managing these days? The premier dealer is just a couple of miles from my home and is still going ok, it seems.

(Mods please move this post if it is not the appropriate thread.)

I clicked on the thread,hoping for an ownership review and here it is.
Mind sharing a few pictures,and price(if possible)you got it for?

[pyrodrive]

Originally Posted by akshay4587

I clicked on the thread,hoping for an ownership review and here it is.
Mind sharing a few pictures,and price(if possible)you got it for?

Sure. Will take some pics and start writing over the weekend.
The car was just 4700kms run. No odo tempering. Can say that I picked it up at a little less than half the on road price !

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by pyrodrive

Sure. Will take some pics and start writing over the weekend.
The car was just 4700kms run. No odo tempering. Can say that I picked it up at a little less than half the on road price !

Wow ! That's a steal! Along with pics, you could let us know a snippet of the experience so far as well please!