We have always felt that the Premier Rio deserves a better fate in Indian market. Like we have been telling our readers, the Premier Rio is a re-badged Zoyte 5008, CKD kits of which are being imported from China.
Now, the car also has a Japanese connection as the Zoyte 5008 is alleged to being a blatant copy of the last gen Daihatsu Terios..
In India, the Premier Rio is being sold with three engine options- a 1.2 litre petrol with enough power for in-city driving, a 1.5 TUD5 Peugeot IDI diesel engine that is old enough to be kept in a museum and a 1.3 litre Fiat direct injection motor that powers enough diesel cars in the country to be known as the ‘national diesel engine’.
These patent drawings here show that Zoyte is all set to give the 5008 a minor facelift.
The new front facia would include revised headlamps, new shape for fog lamps, new front grill and a new front bumper.
Back at the rear, the car would get a wider roof spoiler, revised bumper and larger tail lamps. It can be expected that the insides would get new colour tones.
Premier sells both Rio and the Rio+, latter being the facelift of the original Rio. It is being expected that the upcoming facelift from Zoyte would replace the current Premier Rio+ in Indian market.
Click for Premier Rio CRDI4 Review
PREMIER RIO CRDI4 PUNE PRICE LIST
MODEL Ex-showroom Price On Road
DX INR 672340 INR 769698
LX INR 699850 INR 800911
Patent Drawings- Autosohu