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Premier Rio: First Drive
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If there was a space vacant in the Indian automotive sphere, here is a vehicle that will fit it like a glove. Adil Jal Darukhanawala grabs a first drive of the new mini-SUV from Premier Automobiles on its comeback trail
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Yes that's right, Rio is the name of the new mini-SUV which many car makers plain dumb ignored and it is here that an old venerable name from the motor manufacturing business hopes to reinvent itself. Let's avoid the riddles and cut straight to the chase which in this case is of Premier Limited announcing its advent back as a speciality car maker in India.
Better known eons ago for its Premier Padminis and Fiat Unos plus the eminently forgettable Peugeot 304 which pulled the company down (or was it the other way around! - the jury is out on this count), Premier under the stewardship of Maitreya Doshi, grandson of Walchand Hirachand, has embarked on a whole new way to get back into a segment of industry which his family helped pioneer in this country.
First the method behind the madness and here it seems that Maitreya Doshi after the highly publicized spat with long time partner Fiat used all his business acumen to monetize his real estate holdings in Mumbai and then re-invest this into his firm's machine tool division at Chinchwad in Pune. This purely engineering-driven arm of the company began to specialize in cutting edge applications for heavy industry and has made not just a name for itself in its sphere of operation but has also managed to make the firm financially very sound. Apart from being shielded from the economical turmoil, the new business orientation also taught Premier to make do with less and this mantra has been put into place for a very lean automobile manufacturing unit at Chinchwad.
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Readers' opinions ( 8 )
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Devendra Dembla
I was looking for a powerful car with good mileage and drivability so to use it as a daily commuter. After a lot of research I decided to go for Premier Rio with the new Multi-Jet engine. I have bought this car and has already driven it around 500km. The car is powerful and fuel efficient as I wished, it features a 1.3 multijet engine which is finely tuned and gives ample performance, gear shift is also very smooth. The Car also looks very good and powerful, its masculine looks attracts everyone. The twin barrel headlamps look good, whereas neatly furbished fog lamps adds charm to it personality. The roof rails, side cladding, alloy wheels and body colored ORVM make its side profile impressive. The interior quality is also good, the material like plastic and fabric are good in quality. The cabin space is very good and car can accommodate five adults easily, so it becomes a perfect family car for us as we are only four members in our family. The fuel efficiency is what attracts me the most, I have a top-end diesel model which gives a mileage of around 19 km/l which is pretty good for a SUV. Its SUV like looks and off road qualities makes it an ideal tourer too, in addition the boot space is pretty good. I usually go on weekends so its a perfect car for me and my family. I am enjoying the feel of driving a SUV and mileage of a hatch or a entry level sedan, it is just a awesome feeling. I will just say if you are thinking of buying a compact SUV go for RiO.
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VIRENDRASINH
this car is very beautiful and so many spaces in this car, this car is for made by all bigger family.
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Rakesh rathaur
Rio is awesome suv i never seen before any vehicle like this great and cool mate i m driving for last 5 months without any problem
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shyam
primier should bring morepowerful diesel engine with 4x4
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