One of the staffer's in our office bought a Sonalika Rhino to use as an office cab. I was quite intrigued by this Qualis looking vehicle, which I had seen earlier at the Expo and a couple of them on the road as well, so I took a spin in it.
I'm attaching a couple of pics, but since it was dark and pics taken from the phone cam - I apologise for the quality.
Designwise, there's nothing very spectacular and one can mistake it for a Qualis when viewed from the side.
From the front - it has a lower bonnet than the Qualis and dual headlamps and integrated fogs in the bumper. Light quality is good - especially on high beam.
From the rear - it's all the more Qualis-looking except for kind of pleasant looking tail lamps (separate brake & tail lights with clear lens reverse and indicators).
The top spec model that this is (S2 I think) has integrated indicators in the ORVMs and they are manually adjustable from inside.
On the inside it's a beige/tan affair. Quality was surprisingly good for the upholstery but some plastic bits are not that great, but very passable.
Seating - The drivers seat doesn't have very good thigh support and the floor is high, lifting your knees. Middle-row has OK leg room but again high floor and not much thigh support. Third row - not much leg room. Access is through flip down second row left side seat. With the third row folded, there is very decent luggage space.
The steering has an upward slant (a tad more than the Qualis, a bit less than the Omni) and is not adjustable. It's a neat looking 3-spoke affair.
Instrumentation is jazzy with a blue backlighting which is really bright. There are tacho, speedo, digital trip meter, fuel & temp guages.
Five speed gearbox - with a 4.23 first, 2.63 second, 1.5xx third, 1.0 4th and 0.823 overdrive 5th ratios.
The pedals are kind of truck like and upward facing, not very ergonomical for the low-mounted driver's seat, but I guess one can get used to this.
This model comes with power-windows (wood finish panels on the door switches) and central locking.
It has a roof mounted AC over the middle row and the AC is really good.
Fog lamp switch, hazard light and demister switch located in the centre console.
The engine is a 2-litre, 100bhp power and 220Nm torque turbocharged DI unit according to the manual and neatly packaged with a tight plastic covering over it.
When I got in and started it up, it sounded distinctly tractor-like (remember Sonalika also makes tractors).
The gears slot in quite nicely and have a bit of a long throw (yeah, right - I'm one to complain!).
The clutch is hydraulic and quite soft. Turning radius wasn't anything much. It's not much and even the driver of this car was complaining about it. Didn't get time to see the specs in the manual for that.
Anyway, went for a spin around the block. It does pull very well. Pickup is good, and thankfully they've provided a nice and loud factory fitted audio system from Nippon, that attempts to drown out the growl from the engine. Sonalika needs to do more for NVH here.
Very tractable (tractor-able

) engine I must say. Gearing is also good (though first is a little tall) . Great for city driving as the torque appeared to be delivered linearly and no turbo lag as such to speak off.
Braking - I don't know if there was a fault with this particular car, but the brake pedal was very soft - didn't spring back also on release, but kind of gradually let up. Braking was OK, though it did kind of dive a bit, but not as much as the Qualis did.
Mileage - the Ghaziabad (and probably the only dealer in the NCR) dealer has said is about 18kmpl. I would be more inclined to believe it's around 12-13 in the city, but I'll wait for this staffer to report that.
Top speed is a claimed 155kmph - which again I think could be true (but God help anybody standing in the path of a Rhino flying at 155kph!). This car only had 80km on the odo when I drove it and sounded like it really needed to be run in. I didn't go over 60kph on the short drive I took.
Price: Rs 8.9 all inclusive for this spec model. Dual AC, power windows, power steering, central locking, fog lamps, body coloured bumpers, beige upholstery, 3-forward rows (8-seater).
At that price, I asked why this staffer chose a Rhino, over a Sumo, Tavera, Bolero, Scorpio & Innova. His answer: 1. To be different.
2. The claimed mileage (therefore running cost).
3. The engine power (100hp unit / 1.6 ton body weight)
Pics:
1. Front & engine
2. Interior
P.S -> software restrictions prevent me from modifying (rotating images). Could one of the mods do it please?
Cheers,