[Guna]

Originally Posted by FourWheelDrift

Ford makes a small SUV called the EcoSport. It is extremely successful in Latin America, and is also exported to some middle east markets.

Interesting small SUV. Thanks for shaing.
This seems to share some traits of Fusion but looks a little bigger in size.

[ampere]

I agree. Nice small SUV. Perfectly satisfies the needs I am looking for. 1.6L petrol, high GC and good looks as well. Hope the engine would be good too!! Anyway does it matter? It wont come to India

[shankar.balan]

yes my wish looks like it is getting fulfilled - but am not sure of the quality aspects till I see the vehicle myself. anyway, without 4x4 it is only part of the wish that seems to be getting fulfilled.

I think this venture by Premier will open up and indeed shake up this segment completely - there is undoubtedly a complete vaccuum at the moment. Finally - 7-8 years after my friends and I had this discussion, things look like they are moving on this segment.

Lets wait - Im sure there are many better things in store for the consumer in this particular segment.

Originally Posted by raj_5004

shankar's wish is fulfilled. would i see a premier rio on your garage buddy? Lol...

[grules]

Could Ford's B515 be a solution here though it falls in 5-6 lakh range?

[shankar.balan]

yes correct - I read this in one of the auto magazines recently
but the pricing may not come true for this Ford. Surely they will say 5-6 lacs is too little OR they will simply chop and change everything and give us a vehicle with no trimmings in it!

as Raul says here - the old RAV4 would be just perfect for this segment if priced around 7 -8 lacs.

Methinks somehow that the new Skoda Yeti is going to be expensive as also the new Mahindra world SUV planned for next year.

I think the Fiat Adventure, the Ford Fusion etc (only mentioning them because they were more like utilitaraian station wagons) and the Chevy Forester were frankly a bit ahead of their time and expensive to buy too- because it looks like this particular need segment is only now beginning to mature.

Originally Posted by grules

Could Ford's B515 be a solution here though it falls in 5-6 lakh range?

Attachment 222289

[adc]

Anyone has news/scoop on Jimny launch before/around mid 2010?

[Ramp]

Hope this suits for the topic getting analysed here...

Source - Car Trade India

After years of quiet, Premier Auto has made its foray into the Indian auto market once again with its entry-level SUV Rio. The company earlier had a joint venture with Italian auto manufacturer Fiat Auto and the combination assembled the Fiat Premier Padmini in India, well known as the ubiquitous taxi – at least in aamchi Mumbai.

After the gradual phase-out of Padmini and a long quiet, Premier is now again back in the market with a model which is not only the cheapest SUV in Indian auto market but also the first Chinese four-wheeler in India. The SUV, which is called the Rio, has been priced very attractively. In this review, we take a look at the new Rio, which was introduced to India recently.

Technical Details

The Premier Rio has been manufactured in association with Chinese auto manufacturer Zotye automobiles. All parts for Premier Rio will be brought from China and the car will be assembled at Premier’s manufacturing plant near Pune.

The Premier Rio will be powered by a four-cylinder, 65 bhp, 1.5 diesel engine developed with Peugeot’s TUD5 technology. The car’s peak performance is a maximum power of 65bhp@4000rpm and 152Nm@2250-3000rpm. Being an SUV, the car gives a comfortable ride with its high ground clearance, making it pretty suitable for Indian roads. Premier claims a fuel efficiency of 16kmpl on highways with urban driving conditions yielding a mileage of 12kmpl. The engine is fully compliant with the new BS IV norms.

We also expect Premier to launch another powerful version of Premier Rio which will be packed with a turbo diesel engine that delivers 98PS of maximum power. Such a model will compete with Mahindra Bolero, Maruti Gypsy and Mahindra Xylo.

Design and Style

The Premier Rio is a compact SUV and can comfortably accommodate four adults along with a small child. All variants of Rio feature side claddings which give it a muscular look with rugged appearance and outside rear view mirrors that can be electrically operated. Other features include power steering and front electric windows, central door locking, manual air-conditioning, remote fuel lid opener, cup holder in console, rear wiper, rear windows demister with washer, rear fog lamps and day/night rear view mirror. The top model includes 15 inch alloy wheels, CD player with AM/FM radio, 4 speakers, keyless entry, ABS and EBD.

When we look at the car – well, it’s a small SUV to be sure. But somehow, the car breathes an amount of cheapness. The Chinese air unfortunately can’t be removed. While the Gypsy is of a similar size, it exudes character and paradoxically, is quite masculine. The Rio just doesn’t make that much of an impact, though the features are definitely up to the mark

Pricing

The Premier Rio is priced between Rs. 5.25 lakh and Rs. 5.95 lakh, which makes the base model at least Rs. 1.25 lakh cheaper than Mahindra’s cheapest SUV Scorpio. However, we can clearly state these are cars of a very different stature.

It is available in three variants Rio EX, Rio DX and Rio LX. The models are available in four different colours: Red, Black, White and Silver. Premier initially intends to launch the car in South and West India. There will be 30 dealers initially and the bookings for the car will begin from December 2009. The dealership network will be expanded to 100 dealers by next year.

Conclusion

The new Premier Rio bridges a big gap that was vacant for the want of a good entry level SUV. The Rio fits in this gap as a new super-mini SUV. If the price of the model is cheaper than Scorpio, so is the size of the car as well. In other words, the Premier Rio might just be an SUV for the people who want an SUV, but can’t afford the real thing.

The Rio is the first time a Chinese four-wheeler has been launched in India. India is known to be a very price sensitive market and the buyers make a purchase an automobile as a long term investment. With Indian buyers being very skeptical about Chinese products, it remains to be seen how Premier Rio will be adopted by the Indian customers.

Source - Car Trade India.
Link - Premier Rio – Premier makes its way back in India! | CarTradeIndia.com

[Guna]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

as Raul says here - the old RAV4 would be just perfect for this segment if priced around 7 -8 lacs.

RAV4 is a CRV sized vehicle and there is no way they can sell it at 7-8 lacs.

[pjbiju]

From what I heard, Mahindra is working on one such vehicle. Hope the rumour turns out to be true.

[shankar.balan]

I wonder why Toyota never seriously considered bringing the RAV4 to us in India. And the same with Suzuki with their nice little baby Vitara.

Considering that there is clearly a penchant amongst us car buying Indians for SUV's of different types, sizes and to fit different budgets, it seems to me that a little RAV4 or Vitara like the pictured ones, would be just right to create and fuel a whole new segment of 4x4 urban utility and leisure vehicles which are diesel powered given our preference for Diesel over petrol.

Both Suzuki and Toyota have achieved fantastic critical mass in terms of manufacturing, ancillary suppliers, servicing and sales networks, superb brand image in their respective segments, clear undisputable reputation for reliability - all hard earned I may say.

Additionally there is a certain desirability factor as well in their respective target segments of the buying public.
They can very easily assemble these vehicles here in India, significantly reducing the costs and to be competitive in the pricing.
And they can certainly break the monopoly of Mahindra and Tata in the affordable SUV market with products which are tried, tested and proven all over the world added to the imported/ foreign engineered badge value as well.
And they can squash wannabes like the Premier Rio etc out of hand.

So why dont they simply bring in little cash cows like these and milk them for what they are worth?

Of course, the RAV4 shall need to have a similar Diesel like the one currently being used in their Corolla D and the Suzuki Vitara would need one of those nice little VW TDi/CRDI Diesels to power it.

Since the have access to the requisite technology, it seems to me to be a bit of a no brainer to offer this kind of vehicle as options for us the great Indian vehicle buying public!!

So why not?
Could there be anything at all against such vehicles being introduced?
Or is it just plain laziness, slowness and disinterested-ness or what?

I am 100% percent sure that they will experience one more super successful sell out scenario if they bring these in!!

What say guys? the Floor is open for comment!!

MODS: please move to appropriate space - sorry for the trouble.

[Bottom Torque]

Hi Shankar Balan, I agree with you. People want to be different and would love to explore new cars because the trend as of now is this. 'I want to own one and it MUST NOT be a common car on road'. And as you said, the launch of small 4x4 SUV diesels would attract large customers, if they promote the products with mileage such as 21 kmpl (Corolla Altis Diesel) and price them competitively similar to a premium hatchback. Our people now are too much prestige conscious.

[tsk1979]

What came first, chicken or the egg?
this is the problem in India.
To offer something cheap, you have to set up a plant. To set up a plant you have to have guaranteed volumes.
Hyundai made India a small car hub, so they can basically bring any model to India, as long as they can export it.
for Ford or suzuki to offer SUVs at low price, they have to build them in India, and then get volumes of 4000-5000 a month.
This will recover cost in 4-5 years.

Look at the alternative. toyota can bring in a CBU and sell 1000 units a month. Much better profits!
In the end its profit and loss which decides everything.

So they can import an RAV4, and price it at 14L. How many will buy.
They can build a plant and sell them for 8-9L. Again how many will buy.

Until the economy grows so much that out of the 100+ crores, a lot more people can start to afford a 10 lakh vehicle, this will not happen.

[Amrik Singh]

Toyota Rav4 shown in Picture is discontinued by Toyota 4-5 Years ago. I wanted a small 2-Door SUV for my wife to drive to school here in Dubai. That is the time I came to know that this model is discontinued. I had to go for a pre-owned one which I have sold last month as I bid departure to Dubai.

The present day Rav4 has grown to a size nearly matching Fortuner. To produce and market newer model in India would cost a fortune to manufacturer and buyer, both.

The older version would not suit Indian condition as being 2-Door, it is always inconvenient to occupy rear seats and considering Indian petrol prices, all seats must be occupied for economy. 4WD capabilities of Rav4 are limited as it is AWD and you have no choice of selection of Gears. Ground clearance is not too good either. I have driven it over the sand where it performed exceedingly well.

Likewise, Suzuki Vitara newer models have overgrown to a size that if not checked may be able to carry the earliest model of SJ410 (mid 80's) within it. It was very successful as being the smallest 4WD and offering value for money to the user. I drove one for years in Bahrain.
The Gypsy is a variant of the same, designed to offer more passengers capabilities. However as the popularity grew, Vitara and later Grand Vitara was introduced which has grown immensely in size and price tag. Marketing of Vitara again would be a costly affair in India.

The high cost of such models would deter their off road use and hence they would lose their utility. How many of Land Cruiser, Pajeros or Nissan Patrol are used for Off-road in India whereas it is difficult to find any of these which has not tasted Sand in middle east.

[GTO]

Here's a similar thread started by, well, the same thread starter

[shankar.balan]

thanks i forgot i started that a year ago or so
would you merge the two please?
cheerio

Originally Posted by GTO

Here's a similar thread started by, well, the same thread starter