Premier Rio – the most fuel-efficient Indian SUV

Premier Automobiles Limited (PAL) now known as Premier Limited is an Indian auto manufacturer established in 1941. Fiat 1100 D was the first vehicle to come out of their factory. Premier Padmini, Premier 118 NE and the Sigma followed. After lying low for a few years, they reentered the Indian car market with a compact SUV Premier Rio in 2009. A face lifted version of the same was introduced in April 2012.

Premier Rio was launched when the Indian SUV market was in its early years. Being a copy of the Terios of Daihatsu, the Rio is presently available in five diesel and three petrol versions. The new Rio has a pleasing look from the front with a grille having chrome strips, adjustable headlights, speed adjustable wipers and fog lamps integrated with the bumper. The electrically adjustable ORVMs, tinted glasses and black colored ‘D’ pillars are the features on the sides. At the rear a pair of large thin tail lamps, high-mounted stop lamps, a pair of fog lamps, a rear spoiler, rear wiper/washer and defogger give a classy look to the car.

The cabin of this five-seater is done with medium luxury and hence it offers fabric upholstery. There are day/night rear view mirrors, a tilt able steering column, a manual AC, a CD player

with AM/FM radio (only for the higher versions) and 4 speakers inside. As far as safety is concerned, an ABS and EBD, power steering, power windows and central locking and child lockfacilities are provided.

A 1173 cc volume, 75 bhp, 109 NM maximum torque engine giving a mileage of around 16 kmpl is used for petrol versions. A 1248 cc, 71 bhp, 183 NM torque BSIVFiat engine giving amileage of 23.75 kmpl is used for the flagship model Rio-CRDi4. A turbocharged 1498 cc, 64 bhp, 152 NM torque diesel engine with a fuel economy of 16 kmpl is used on other diesel versions.

The physical dimensions of the Premier Rio are 3970 mm length, 1570 mm width, 1730 mm height, 2420 mm wheelbase and 200 mm ground clearance. The boot volume is 454 liters and 1158 liters when the rear seats are folded. The Rio comes in four colors; the sterling silver, the cherry red, the mystic black and the paradise white. The suspension is a McPherson strut type with coil springs at the front and the 5-link type at the rear. The wheels are R15 type with disc type brakes at the front and drum type at the rear.

The Premier Rio is priced at Rupees 6.07 lakh onwards. The competition comes from other SUVs like Mahindra Quanto, Renault Duster and Tata Sumo Gold.