[HappyWheels]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

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

Shankar,

If we do that, then we are giving the Rio too much credit!

All three vehicle are good in their own ways, more so the Gypsy and Scorpio. How can anyone compare the offerings of the Gypsy and the Scorpio with this? It would be an insult to these vehicles!

Originally Posted by sandeepmdas

...
- RIO MUST DIE. If it succeeds, it will create huge problems for the development of the Indian automotive industry....

Unless someone is totally blind to quality, I do not see one would buy this, that too at the said price!!! We have soo many options, I do not see anyone wanting to get this on their hands, and that too 80% Chinese quality!

Our buying public are more aware and pampered with better choices; so if anyone actually gets one of these, I would be very much interested in what point of desperation actually drove him/her to do that!

Originally Posted by canonball

sandeep competition is always good and in our market every type of offering in a crowd is needed to make all the makers SWEAT they need to so conumer will always be king and better pricing, more options, and more features as standard will become the norm as I still see makers trying to bully the consumer, less than before but they still do and more entries in every segement will mean more competition which is good for consumer...

There is a market there, for smaller SUV's. If only Toyota brings in the Rav4!!! But then, the pricing of that might be more than a Endy!!!

[shankar.balan]

@suman - not really no - I dont think a guy who is knowledgeable about vehicles and who had done some research and therefore is keen on a WagonR, Gypsy or Scorpio will deviate - but this does give the average man on the street/ not-so-savvy car buyer an option - regardless of what we guys here may think or feel.
@happywheels - If you notice Im not really comparing the Rio to any of these three vehicles - I only wanted to get Dippy's perspective of how the Rio compares in terms of size, proportions and stance.

[Nilesh5417]

With local contents of only about 20-25%, which translates to 75-80% of chinese manufactured parts, no wonder its such a crappy vehicle. I guess if Premier increases the localization, it can hopefully get better! The only instance when the localization has improved quality over imports/CKD!

[Sudan_NFS]

Originally Posted by Nilesh5417

The only instance when the localization has improved quality over imports/CKD!

+1 to the above.Even the premier target on sale seems to be very low,500 units till march 2010.I am not sure how the premier is going to generate confidence in the buyer, since it has flunked twice before.

[aditya101]

I say Premier has got a winner if they can get the price right. Quality is overlooked by Indian buyers if the price is right - but they should deliver at least Maruti 800 level fit and finish. I dont like the looks but it is a good urban SUV.

[HammerHead]

Looks like its a older version of Daihatsu Terios/ Toyota Cami. Somewhere I read that Zotye Auto (China) copied it!! I don't understand why Premier Auto chose this vehicle over other Chinese vehicles. If I was heading Premier I would have looked for a cost effective MUV for Indian market rather an SUV or a Mini SUV. Premiers move does not make any sense to me. Rural India already has Sumo @ 5.3 Lakh (Sumo 4x4 Economy). It would be interesting to see which 4 wheeler segment they are targeting and which customer segment is interested in buying this Mini SUV.

[Guna]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

@suman - not really no - I dont think a guy who is knowledgeable about vehicles and who had done some research and therefore is keen on a WagonR, Gypsy or Scorpio will deviate - but this does give the average man on the street/ not-so-savvy car buyer an option - regardless of what we guys here may think or feel.
@happywheels - If you notice Im not really comparing the Rio to any of these three vehicles - I only wanted to get Dippy's perspective of how the Rio compares in terms of size, proportions and stance.

Since there is concern about the stability of Rio, it will be interesting to compare it with Maruti Vesra and Mahindra Xylo in terms of the proportions (height to track width).
By the way Rio has been test driven by Adil Darukhanawala for Zagwheels and he seems to think that the vehicle is not all that bad!

[maverickxx2006]

Originally Posted by aditya101

I say Premier has got a winner if they can get the price right. Quality is overlooked by Indian buyers if the price is right - but they should deliver at least Maruti 800 level fit and finish. I dont like the looks but it is a good urban SUV.

It would be height of optimisim to say that Premier has got a winner.

An SUV with such a crappy quality parts & plastic and add to that an engine with @65 bhp (also 80% Chinese components) is akin to making mockery of Indian consumers.

I wonder what would have been this SUV's fate if it had come with a Maruti badge?

[jaysmokesleaves]

Premier has not evolved at all. What a disgrace. The total onroad price for this Chinese TIFFIN BOX should not exceed 3 lakhs. Isnt that a bit too expensive for a TIFFIN BOX??

[shortbread]

Many of us knew from the beginning that this half hearted attempt by Premier to re enter the Auto scene is a doomed one. It just shows the thought process of the company. Maybe the Premier boffins thought that once up and running the company and assets could be sold of to some investor.
The bigger problem I see is the threat of cheap Chinese kits making their way into India and being assembled by people and companies looking to make a fast buck. The lax of copyright laws and safety regulations mean that all these Chinese cos. can just plagarise aldready established designs with no R&D expenditure and therefore minimal expense, make them in huge volumes and sell them dirt cheap. Quality, reputation, after sales support are just alien factors to many of the fly by night manufacturers in China. Even a established Chinese co. like SAIC made a Chevrolet Matiz/Spark rip-off, even when GM was their official partner.
Some companies and individuals in India a see this as a golden opportunity to assemble these cheap kits in India and flog them to unsuspecting customers. All these are lost sales to Indian manufacturers who are spending money and time on R&D, After sales support, investing in production facilities in India and employing thousands.
India is been seen today as a global hub for small cars and we even export more cars than China. Despite being a far far smaller market Indian manufacturers are heavily investing in R&D and are presently undergoing a steep learning curve. In such a scenario the Govt. must take efforts to protect the national and International car makers in India against such part time car makers like Premier.

[Spitfire]

Somebody tell Premier that the license raj is over. People no longer have only 2 options.

[Joe-Ker]

Originally Posted by Sudan_NFS

+1 to the above.Even the premier target on sale seems to be very low,500 units till march 2010.I am not sure how the premier is going to generate confidence in the buyer, since it has flunked twice before.

So has FIAT



The fact that it is an old daihatsu model tends to increase the credibility rather than decrease.
It is japanese designed and chinese manufactured.
So are most cellphones, computers and even some (other) auto components.
(It is too soon to trust chinese to design cars, but manufacture; they have achieved a cetrain level of trust)

And Please stop referring to it as 7 Lak car.The top model costs 5.9Lak or so(With ABS).
no way will the tax+insurace be 1 Lak.
An OTR Price of around 5 Lak would make it a competitive Value deal IMO.

And the car is not bad looking in any way.It does not shock you either with beauty or ugliness (Unlike most recently launched car designs)

and before i am shredded to bits, I am in no way affiliated to Premier or Zotye

I just put my heart aside and thought about it and this is the output.And i welcome more competition in the indian automotive scene.

[pb10gagan]

what is the 5-rod type rear suspension?

is it rear wheel drive?

it is shorter than most hatch back, fall under 4m length, and still so costly??

[advaitlele]

Premier is launching new model with BS III engine . This is when Maruti and others are discontinuing their cars with this engine. How will they be able to sell Rio in Mumbai / Delhi / Pune like cities when BS IV engine norms come into effect next year? Or are these cities not their target market at all?

[Latheesh]

Rio - Good from far and far from good!!!