Premier LTD which now may not even be recognized was not long back ago one of just two carmakers in India. It was quite famous for its Padmini model back in the day. Since the glory Padmini days Premier has had a rough ride and it is trying to make a comeback with a new niche, a mini SUV for 5-6Lakhs.
The Completely Knocked Down (CKD) parts are shipped in from china to Premier’s assembly plant in Pune which has an assembling capacity of 500 Rios every month. The car will hit the 30 Premier showrooms by the end of the year and the Premier dealership network is aiming to increase the number to a 100 by next April.
The Rio has a 1.5 litre Peugeot engine, Premiers ex-partner. Premier claims to have fiddled with the engine to update it. Maximum power output is 65bhp with a torque of 140Nm both just quite enough to move the car. The engine is mated to a 5-speed gearbox. The suspension on the front is a Macpherson strut with coil springs on the rear no bouncy leaf spring non-sense. The top end LX variants get Alloys and ABS
Rio comes in three variants:
EX – Rs. 5.25 Lakh
DX – Rs. 5.5 Lakh
LX – Rs. 5.9 Lakh
All prices ex-showroom Pune.
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Photo courtesy: Team-BHP
