Premier Rio - First look

[JammyD]

Never believed in Pheonix, raising from the ashes, but looks like Premier are desperate to prove it true. When the whole country had forgotten the long ago car maker, they spring back with a surprise but may be (?) in haste.
My office happens to be very close to their only showroom in Bangalore (Kormangala). Took advantage of this opportunity and visited their showroom. Nothing worth mentioning about the showroom yet since there is nothing in it except a Rio for display.

To start of, Rio is a kind of assembled with all its parts from different sources, lot of them imported.

Some technical specs:

Dimensions:

Overall Length - 3900 mm
Overall Width - 1555 mm
Overall Height - 1670 mm
Wheelbase - 2420 mm
Turning Radious - 4.7 m
Ground Clearance - 195 mm​

Engine:

No of Cylinders 4
Engine CC 1489 cc
Max Power 68.8 ps @ 4000 rpm
Max Torque 152 Nm @2250 to 3000 rpm
Emission BSIII (Not BS IV!!)
Air charging system Fixed geometry turbo charger​

Capacity:
Seating 5 (but really it is only 4)

Fuel Tank Capacity 46 ltrs.

Weight:

Kerb Weight 1145 Kgs.
GVW 1530 Kgs.​

Transmission: 5 Speed manual

Brakes:

Front Disc
Read Drum​

Tyres 205 / 70 R15 (Tubeless Radial)

Suspension:

Front McPherson strut & coil spring
Rear 5 rods system​

Price:
3 variants ranging from 5.6 to 6.4 Ex-showroom. For Bangalore it comes to around 7.8 L OTR. This is definitely overly priced for the looks and features it provides.

• The looks are not impressive and look dated
• Build quality is poor both inside and outside.
• The front seat is cramped to such an extent that apart from the leg space, the door is too close to the driver. This means that you end up hitting your elbow to the door more often. I could touch the passenger side door with my stretched left hand without having to tilt myself.
• Rear seat is said to be for 3 people but with a 50:50 split in between, not the best place for somebody to sit in the middle. Besides, there is not enough room to fit three, may be three kids.
• Ingress at the rear was not good.
• The dash looks really bad with cheap quality plastic used all over.
• The seats are not bucket type which is kind of a standard now (atleast the front ones).
• Very few storage places. We cannot expect anything in the door because it is already so thin.
  
• The doors do not close smoothly and gives a bad feedback when it really does.
  
• The 5th Tyre is fitted on the back of the vehicle hence sparing some space in the boot. The boot is big enough with 320L capacity and the rear seats' back rest is adjustable upto 120 degrees.
  
• Engine is a 1.5 Peugeot engine whcih is not proven in Indian conditions, please correct me if I am wrong.
  
• Higher end has ABS and Alloys
  
• OEM CD player is just a CD player and not MP3. Also, its not the current trend of DIN types but is more the old style face place removable.
  
• Seat belt at the front comes with pretensioners on all variants.
  
• Not BS IV complaint which could be an issue for registration.

While having a look at the Engine bay, I noticed a part that displayed the name "Padmini". Looks like they are re-using some parts that was used for their old Padmini car. Scary!!

Attaching a few pics that I could take at the showroom. Please excuse the bad quality of the snaps since it was taken with my mobile.

 

[RSM]

Well done Jammy.

 

[sriharsha]

where is this showroom in bangy? and no power windows even on the top end variant? the exterior looks seem quite ok to me. but this can be renamed as a cramped SUV(remember ford fusion). the turning radius caught me by surprise. 4.7m? my alto's turning radius is 4.6m. quite impressive. boot space is also good. but what appeals me the most , is the rear looks. i really liked the rear design.

 

[JammyD]

where is this showroom in bangy? and no power windows even on the top end variant? the exterior looks seem quite ok to me. but this can be renamed as a cramped SUV(remember ford fusion). the turning radius caught me by surprise. 4.7m? my alto's turning radius is 4.6m. quite impressive. boot space is also good. but what appeals me the most , is the rear looks. i really liked the rear design.

You should see in flesh. Photos are always deceptive.
If you wish to visit, the showroom is in Koramangala 5th Block. The road that goes beside Sukh Sagar towards Jyothi Nivas College, goes past it. It is just before the Infosys buildings.

It can definitely be called a cramped SUV. It is too expensive for it should be.
+1 on the rear look.

Well done Jammy.

Thanks RSM! Waiting to take a test drive too. Seems they have only one car for that and they still need to fit it with more accessories.

Will update the post once I take the TD.

 

[raj_5004]

i experienced this vehicle in the mumbai auto show. i can drive this car only if i sit in the rear seat!

 

[Akash]

Very well written JammyD. I too had this car in the autoexpo this year. I dont hate the exteriors of this car but pricing doesnt look attractive at all. I thought it costed somewhere around 5lacs and hence sounded a good suv, but 7lacs for this outdated product! It seems like Premier has no serious plans to remain in the auto market.

 

[cooldhaya]

Good report JammyD! How is this car selling in Bangalore?? The rules permit only BS-IV compliant cars right??

IMO the car is looking really bad and very cramped( I get a feeling even a Nano is more spacious on looking at the photos)! The only plus point is the big boot space! I think they are targeting the wrong segment with this car , i guess it could have served well for commercial purposes!

Waiting to know whether the engine is good after your TD!

 

[mukeshus]

Jammy I have never heard the tyre name called klever .
By the way which brand is that.

 

[350Z]

The experience with majority of members at TAI while dealing with Premier Points that they are evidently not showing a keen interest in market in spite of the fact that they have got a really good product in hands which could totally change their fortune if worked upon. In my personal point of view, first of all they should considering changing the dull and dated “P” logo. Speaking about the features, Even a much cheaper hatchback can put Rio on shame. In Delhi, I think its cost starts from somewhere around Rs.6 Lakhs, the price for which you can get a “proper” Mahindra Bolero.

Drive Safe,
350Z

 

[JammyD]

The experience with majority of members at TAI while dealing with Premier Points that they are evidently not showing a keen interest in market in spite of the fact that they have got a really good product in hands which could totally change their fortune if worked upon. In my personal point of view, first of all they should considering changing the dull and dated “P” logo. Speaking about the features, Even a much cheaper hatchback can put Rio on shame. In Delhi, I think its cost starts from somewhere around Rs.6 Lakhs, the price for which you can get a “proper” Mahindra Bolero.

Drive Safe,
350Z

Jammy I have never heard the tyre name called klever .
By the way which brand is that.

Neither have I heard. That was the reason for me to take that snap because I knew I would forget the name
May be Premier are trying to say they are clever in what they are doing but in practice they are making a mockery of themselves.

Good report JammyD! How is this car selling in Bangalore?? The rules permit only BS-IV compliant cars right??

I too thought the same. As a matter of fact, it is not selling in Bangalore. . When I had been at their showroom, there a few more people coming in to have a look. A common comment heard - It is over priced and I share that view.

The car is a 4 seater and It would be wrong to call it an SUV. One more shocking fact - "Premier do not even have their own servicing for Rio." They have a tie up woth Robert bosch for now and later they might come up with one of their own. Come on, who would they expect to believe that. Shelling 8 Lakhs on something and not knowing what will happen to it after 3 months (1st service)??

If I can really shell out this much, I would rather go for a i20 Diesel !!! Its got european looks, fundu performance and wonderful comfort OR even Mahindra Bolero if it should not be a car.

After looking at the way Fiat, Ford, etc, have ramped up their efforts to make their cars more preferred by people, Premier has something else in their minds and it does not sound good at all.

I mean, you got to give it to Fiat for making such wonderful cars like Punto and Linea. Even though they had palio, these cars are selling with preferrence. Same goes to Ford with Figo and to some extent Fiesta.

 

[Sudhir]

Very good review Jammy.

At such a high price vis a vis the specs, it does not seem very "Klever" ?

 

[JammyD]

Very good review Jammy.

At such a high price vis a vis the specs, it does not seem very "Klever" ?

+1 on that. . They have got it totally wrong unless they are not serious about competing in the market in which case it is not even worth taking a test drive. But I am still waiting to take a test drive and see the performace of the engine. Alas, Premier does not seem to interested in that too hence no calls till now.

 

[Umang]

I too thought the same. As a matter of fact, it is not selling in Bangalore. . When I had been at their showroom, there a few more people coming in to have a look. A common comment heard - It is over priced and I share that view.

i read in news that pal has opened thier new showroom in bangalore. but if they are not selling it in banglore because of non BS 4 then may be they have opened it just for attraction of public and if you buy you will have to register it from some other small town where BS 3 still works. am i correct?

Alas, Premier does not seem to interested in that too hence no calls till now.

will you go for TD? please post its full review.

 

[JammyD]

I have a big doubt over their BS3 engine SUV getting registered. Everything looks misty about their business.

I will go for TD but PAL does not seem interested in that. No call for TD till date. May be I will stop by their showroom and ask them again.

 

[Akash]

I will go for TD but PAL does not seem interested in that. No call for TD till date. May be I will stop by their showroom and ask them again.

This attitude is really not good for their future. They should appreciate that atleast someone is interested in td of their outdated car. Buddy dont bother to visit them, let them call you up.