Team-BHP - Sonalika Rhino - Prospects. EDIT : First drive on pg.3!

Dear Friends,

My name is RAM and I am a very new member to this good forum which is so knowledgeable.

Off recently one of my relative was offered with dealership of SONALIKA groups RHINO cars, though this company is in a Technicakl collabratopn with the UK based MG-Rover group, I need to understand if this vehicle meet the standard of a Qualis or a Tavera segment.

What makes me jittered is that if I was offered a Rhino though at a low cost I would not had bought it without confidence.

Can the gurus throw som light & advice in this query-
Ram

It should do decent business. The vehicle looked nice (last year's delhi trade fair had some standing) like a qualis.

new version is a sureshot winner. at some 7L, its a 100bhp 220Nm beast!
ICML Rhino RX DLX Details, ICML Rhino RX DLX Specifications, ICML Rhino RX DLX Price , Comparison - Automotive at MaxAbout.com

surely good competition to the taveras et al. in current scenario, company would offer attractive terms for dealerships, so your relativeis surely covered. rest depends on his skill and ability to influence local taxi/traevl operators

Dear SIr,

Apart from taxi and tour operators why is this company not keen to have individual family people as prospective its owners.

Will this company compete with TOYOTA or a Chevrolet who have done research in car designing for generations, please dont tke this as a criticisim but If I was to buy a car in that range I would still go for a tavera because I still trust some where on the Chevrlet or an Innova.

The link that you gave has clearly criticised it about the looks and poor stylish appearance.

Thank you so much-
RAM

See ultimately looks are subjective. I know of enough people in/around Delhi who (although a small number) bought Qualis/Sumo for business/joint family use. Better ask locals in your area than us. That link was just about specs.

Even people criticized the boxy WagonR, the boring Logan, blah blah. Logan and WagonR are best sellers. Apni akal lagao, dikhawe pe mat jao :)

A facelifted (and engine lifted) version of the Rhino is now available (has been covered on the latest issue of the CAR magazine: Aug 2007).

From the specs, it does look quite promising.. a 100 BHP/2L engine with a price tag on the road of abt 6.5 lacs (this is what I recall) . Does seem reasonably well priced and well specced.

Not sure why it cannot not be a practical option for private owners.

Hi Ram

Anyone who looks at the Rhino from the side will know what its purpose is = To fill the void left by the Qualis. It looks almost identical in the side profile!! But why really did the Qualis succeed? It was, and looked, outdated. People picked up the Qualis purely for function......powerful brand, indisputed reliability, long-term service and practicality. It had none of the niggling problems of its Indian competitors (overheating etc.) and nor their nasty surprises (bad brakes, unpredictable handling etc.).

I dont know how Sonalika intends to fill in the Qualis gap since it cant really boast of Toyota's brand value, reliability or practicality. The only press coverage I have seen so far of the Rhino has been "paid and special-feature" test-drives in the Autocars and Overdrives of the world. And at Rs. 7 lac prices, we already have proven and well-engineered products like the Tavera.

Do your research carefully. Understand the pro's and con's of the product versus its competition. And the manufacturers strategy (short & long-term). IMHO, the Rhino can sell only on price.....and even there, it has the Sumo & Bolero to contend with.

Ram,

I had seen this vehicle sometime back. This was the older version of this vehicle with an HM petrol engine. The car was intially sold only in Punjab/Himachal/Haryana. The vehicle did not do well. Probably the reason was the thirsty petrol engine. The vehicle fit and finish quality seemed something similar to Tata Sumo and as other members have pointed out looks very similar to a Qualis.

However the newer Rhino looks promising especially with new engine developed in coloboration with MG rover. Rover makes some of the best diesel engines. (anybody remmbers Rover Montego ) Also Lotus of UK seems to have worked on the suspension. But still nobody seems to have tested the new Rhino...i guess you may want to wait and watch for some more time. Sonalika has a good reuptation as a tractor manufacturer...if this helps.

dear friends,

I have no words to thank you guys the way each one has paid attention for my thread...its very nice to get the infomation from people as you because though without knowing any one by face or name...they have given so much precious time of theirs to my query.

Thank you guys-

Ram