[Crank]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

why not see the vehicle 'in the flesh' so to speak and then form an opinion?

I second this. Lets see the thing in flesh, do a road test and then see where it stands. If the same thing had came out of Honda we would be expecting it to be priced some where around 12-14 Lakhs. Lets not be prejudiced.

[Dippy]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Thanks v much Dippy for sharing this feedback. Do let us know how it compares in terms of overall size/ stance/ proportions to say a Wagon R and say a Gypsy. And is there a 4WD version at all? or even planned?

The Rio is a 2wd and when I asked about the 4wd, pat came the reply " We dont intend on getting the 4wd here." The one in China has it though.

Originally Posted by sandeepmdas

Sid, you are asking our beloved GTO to risk his life!



- Kenda tyres: Kenda USA site says they are " a leading bicycle and roofing material manufacturer"
- Premier-branded audio:

Originally Posted by Crank

I second this. Lets see the thing in flesh, do a road test and then see where it stands. If the same thing had came out of Honda we would be expecting it to be priced some where around 12-14 Lakhs. Lets not be prejudiced.

I really don think you can compare the fit and finish of a Honda to this one. Seriously. Exterior wise its not really bad looking. It all goes wrong when you move in closer.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Crank

I second this. Lets see the thing in flesh, do a road test and then see where it stands.

Do go back one page, Dippy has driven the car today.

[nipunkul]

This thing has worse plastic quality than my bathroom mug & balti! And chinese toy cars in national market are designed better...

I am sure it wont be rugged enough for rural or taxi use, and of course no one will buy it in urban areas. We can start a contest, where first member to spot this on the road with white plates gets a prize... probably will last longer than PAL itself!

[HappyWheels]

Originally Posted by sidindica

and then will use it, and do this...

Originally Posted by sandeepmdas

...
@GTO, you want a SINGLE reason to buy this "car"?
- TUD5 engine: gem of an engine launched in EU at a time when our country was under emergency?
- Kenda tyres: Kenda USA site says they are " a leading bicycle and roofing material manufacturer"
- Premier-branded audio:

On a serious note I doubt the very name RiO itself is a typo for RiP.
...

Guys! You are making this to a joke thread!

Thanks! A good laugh is always a good things to have at the end of the day!

But having said that, if these strange bed-mates get to refine and better the quality, at least of the interiors, I am sure, they might (might) sell.

[vkochar]

Dippy seems to be at every launch these days Good going Pal !

The photos look so horrible. The plastic quality seems to be horrible and for a vehicle priced at nearly 7 Lacs OTR why would one buy this ? I fail to understand the business logic of Premier.

Looks like another flop show.

[aby]

First of all 80% Chinese components, Guess I would rather trust a Skoda serviced in India than trust a car with 80% Chinese parts.

Then looking at the width, length and height, I doubt if it will be stable even at slightest turn. Maybe I value my life a bit more.

Thanks to our economic policies PAL got away for quite a while with selling us low quality trash. Today when I have such wide choice I doubt if this will sell even in 3 figures. But then strange things have happened.

[sammyboy]

Thanks Dippy. The car looks ugly and poorly made, I will be surprised if it sells well.
I think Premier needs to take a better product if they want to re enter the market.

[chncar]

This SUV sounds like a good purchase for a suicide bomber. Its the only purpose it would be good for. It would probably explode nicely and provide easy shrapnel fragments.

Are they looking at the Pak/Afghan markets? (Even SL is out now )

[laluks]

Wish the new segment opened by Premier to be consolidated by Maruti with their Gypsy introduced with a diesel and...

It surely opens a lot of market possibilities. a 4x4 like a Gypsy would have raised some interests. Lets watch!!

[ajitsank]

Originally Posted by advaitlele

If I can remember it right, it sells in quite good numbers in Malaysia as Perodua Kembara (1998 to 2008) which is now a bit facelifted and renamed as Nautica. Perodua is the 2nd largest manufacturer in Malaysia after Proton and specialise in small cars based on Daihatsu platform (If I am not mistaken they are a JV with Malaysia government and Daihatsu). They same models as Daihatsu / Suzuki as Kenari - WagonR and Kancil - M800. I have driven another of their car Myvi - its quite good looking car extremely good in performance also.

Same model as Kembara / Nautica / Premier Rio is (or was) also available as Daihatsu Terios. Same specs but a few localised (or Chinese made) parts by Premier it seems.

I have driven Kembara in Malaysia for some time and the Malaysia version with Daihatsu engine was quite nice for 4 people and small luggage for a weekend outing. But as observed by Dippy it seems not same fit and finish and engine as Daihatsu made; so nothing worth cheering for. All the best Premier and I will party for you if you manage to cross 4 digit sales.

-

I used own Perodua-Kembara in Malaysia for 3 years (2001-2004) and it was misery to drive. I had an automatic though. Kembara then had a Mitsubishi engine. The maintenace was extreemly high and for some reason I used to feel very tired driving it. Even a short drive used to feel like I have driven for few hours.

It used guzzle lot of fuel. I never had any fond memory of Kembara and I used to beg my HR department to change the vehicle, but with no vain as I chose the sweet vehicle.

[veyron_head]

From the outside, this car doesn't look all that bad. Well, atleast to me. It seems to have a good stance. But interiors look downright cheap. That glove box looks like an aggressively used dustbin.

[KRf1]

Another day , another JV , another disaster . Premier must be thinking of the golden days of the "license raj " , the days when people had no choice but to buy their cars , okay they had one competitor . Atleast back then they had a car of Italian Origin , now its a Chinese car !
On a lighter note : with 80% chinese parts what would they achieve with localisation ?

[shankar.balan]

@ dippy - do share how it compares in terms of size, proportions, stance etc with a Wagon R / Gypsy/ Scorpio

thanks

[anujmishra]

Some one in this thread reported RIO will be having 98 BHP engine and Dippy said it is 68 BHP. From where 98 BHP came from. There were many discussions regarding 98 BHP Power in this thread.

Now I would say it is like another chinese toys that we find in our market.