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-   -   Rhino = Qualis? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/28321-rhino-qualis.html)

Mods - if this specific topic has been discussed before, please merge.

Saw a Rhino up close today as I was wandering around while my Beast was getting fresh alloys.

What struck me was that panel for panel the damn thing is an EXACT copy of the Qualis except for the front and the rear.

Is this why Toyota stopped the Qualis altogether - because they'd sold the dies of the erstwhile Kijang (our Qualis) to ICML?

If you recall, the Sonalika chap had talked about exports at the launch of the new 100 bhp Rhino. The markets he mentioned (Indonesia, etc) are the Kijang's home markets earlier.

Did they buy an old engine off Rover and an old body off Qualis to start their passenger vehicle business?

Well I don't know if the above is true, but there is a lot of similaraties between the Qualis and the Rihno, infact they almost look the same. Do we have any Rihno owners on the forum, if yes, please share your experiences.

It's quiet a well known fact that Rhino is a mimic version of Qualis. The profile of the vehicle was very similar and from day one, there have been a lot of effort to hide it's similarities by tweaking here and there. But, it still remains very identical.
There were some initial refusals from the management about it being a Qualis clone. Then there was not many questions raised nor answered. It was mooted a lot by the automotive media of it being the first indigenous vehicle. They were repeating the fact that Tata vehicles were designed by foreign companies whereas, Sonalika built this vehicle from scratch. As time revealed, it happened to be like something what Toyota, Mahindra and Rover ate last night.

If chinese can make cars by importing engines and body dies from various companies, can't we too?

ICML RHINO S2:

Engine:2000cc, 4-cylinder, inline four turbocharged intercooled
Bore x Stroke: 84 x 90 mm
Compression Ratio: 21:01
Max Power: 75 PS @ 4200rpm
Max Torque: 152Nm @ 2500rpm
Transmission: Five-speed manual
Suspension:Independent double wishbone (Front), Semi Elliptical Leaf Spring (Rear)
Tyres: 205/65 R15
LxWxH: 4440x1645x1885mm
Ground Clearance: 170mm
Min Turning Radius: 5.6m
Kerb Weight: 1603 kgs
Fuel Tank Capacity: 50 litres
Price (as tested, OTR Punjab): Rs 5,90,000

the power has gone up to 100bhp now.

If they did then ICML would be TOm TOmming this in their ads to sell their product. This seems more like how Cherry copied the Daewoo Matiz

as far as i know its not a copy but the matiz itself.

Mpower was talking about Chery, not Chevy. The Chery QQ is a copy, the Chevy Spark is the original Matiz.

oh sorry Mpower. i read it as chevy.stupid:

@steeroid, u saw a rhino in cochin?? or somewhere else??

Yes I saw it in Cochin. The same MH registered one I've seen before - high-end version with leather and stuff like that.

The profile, especially the hood line and how it merges with the windscreen, looks very similar to the qualis. And the doors and the tailgate everything has that Qualis watermark on it.

I believe that the Toyota had sold the Qualis dies to the ICML, Toyota wouldnt want to stop the production of a well selling product like Qualis and waste the dies used for it's production. They must've sold it to ICML to cover some of the costs incurred in developing/procuring them. It makes sense that way. Even the fit and finish of the Rhino looks good. And that could be attributed to the high quality Toyota dies.

Has a similarity with a metrocab as well.

Saw one in trivandrum. first thought it was a qualis. Same car travelling around kerala?
:confused:

Ah well looks like a metrocab to me, with a few of the sharp corners smoothed. The metrocab is also low and they both have a similar boxy shape.