The Rio drive

After 10 days of dusting sand off your clothes and shoes, choking the tube of sunscreen to death, grieving over the lost I-pod, wrist watch and other knick-knacks, helplessly peeling the fresh weed of pimples off your face, when you're asked to drive a tiny looking SUV whose tyres read 'Kenda', you wonder if that's what they call the glory of being an auto journo!
But 100metres behind the same Kenda, and I feel I was so wrong.
Yes, this was my second visit to Mumbai and taking the Mumbai-Pune expressway (which as per me is a driver's dream) we were going to Chinchwad. After the GPS lady made us cross the same Mc-Donald's at least thrice, we decided to shun the services of that bimbo (well she did sound like a blonde) and asked for our way to the Premier plant. The minute we reached the plant I thought of that air-hostess in the flight which brought me to the city and how she said, " The closest emergency exit can even be behind you" because while we went circles around the same place, we forgot to take a look on the left where the board read, rather shouted PREMIER LIMITED (previously known as Premier Automobiles Ltd.)
I think they don't have a lot of visitors to the plant, because everyone right from the happy-looking guard on the main gate, to the lady at the reception knew that a girl with a funny name (well that's what the world thinks, not me) would be coming to meet Mr Atul. And if your name in white and red blocks tucked on to a big black notice board, standing tall next to the stair-case and giving you a smoldering welcome doesn't make you shrink in embarrassment then your poster is the next thing on my wall (that means, you share your space with MJ, Oprah, Dylan and Clapton).
Well, to put it short, I felt like Mario in the video game, looking for a mushroom or maybe a sunflower to get my super-powers back.
Mr Atul Akolkar's room was scented with the ah-so-holy music by Rolling Stones (which he later told us that even he doesn't know what plays on his I-pod and made me miss mine even more). A humble room with some sketches (which looked like a spark-plug to me) on the white-board and hundreds of stories about Premier's splendid past. It was difficult to keep ourselves awake when Maruti hijacked the Indian auto industry with it's plant production of over 2 lakh units and poor Premier and Hindustan Motors struggled hard to keep their existence. After pedigree dogs, mine and his own daughter's name, his car and his love for art got mixed with the dal and rice we had for lunch and happily settled down our growling tummies, it was time to meet the young lad.
One step out of the cafeteria and we see a red Rio glistening in the 32 degrees of Pune and flaunting its freshly padicured alloys to us. My first reaction, it looks like a mini Tata Safari from the side and a petite Yeti from the headlamps. I love the way Rio looks. Compact, zippy, comfortably high and cute.
We didn't get a cosmic neighborhood to grow our friendship with the mini SUV, but 25 circles in the Premier plant were enough for me to say that I love the Rio and would like to see it standing in my porch.
1.5 liter turbodiesel engine for as little as Rs 5.25- 6 lakh (ex-showroom Pune), now who wouldn't spare a second thought for this little bully. Traces of Premier's venerated associations shimmer quite clearly when you learn that Rio's engine has been developed with Peugeot's TUD5 technology and it gurgles out 64bhp power and 152 Nm torque. Woho, that was a loud WOW!
You sit in the car, look at the plastic and upholstery, make a face but then you remember that this tiny wookazoogabomber (the Calvin in me came up with this name and Hobbes even gave a thumbs up to it!) gives you a chance to buy a Rio for your wife or daughter and another car for your self and not to miss the punch it gives you when you take it out for a drive, your attention is diverted from the plastic to the road.
You have a humble dash to look at while you drive. For your love for music (and Mr Atul will quite agree), Rio is loaded with a CD player and FM/AM, but you need to make an effort, pull your car to a side and adjust the antenna for clear reception. 32 degrees was quite hot, so you have an A/C which is quite effective to cool the undersized cabin. You even have electrically controlled side mirrors, which quite surprised me. The storage compartments aren't really very fancy, but then COMPROMISE is the word my friend.
Move to the passengers seat and you won't be disappointed with the legroom (well that's if you're not an NBA player and get the shoes of your size easily). Magazine holders to take care of your Feminas and Top Gears. Boot-space matches to its image of being a mini- SUV. To make space for that extra suitcase, just fold down the rear seats and there you have a tiny football ground in the back of your car!
The features that Rio offers in its meager pricing is what makes me fall in love with it. Premier Rio comes in three variants, Ex, Dx and Lx. You normally don't expect the base model to have anything more than a decent dash with a music system, don't keep your hopes too high for an A/c, a glove box and some cubby holes and that's it. But along with this, if you get power steering, electrically operated side-view mirrors, rear window demister, tinted glass window, rear fog lamps, cigarette lighter, door ajar warning lamp, a tiny digital clock, tachometer, reverse gear indication on cluster, front electric windows… the list seems endless!! But seriously, what do you say… I say, they are making me feel like a queen with a broken crown, but still a Queen. If you talk of the top-end variant you feel like you won a lottery with ABS and EBD, key-less entry (just another fancy name for central locking), air conditioning (which was quite effective in 32 degrees of Pune), heater, CD player with AM/FM, 15" alloys, rear wiper and washer, again a deal too tempting to miss.
The only thing you may not like about the car is the quality of plastic and upholstery. Is that a twitched nose I see! But don't forget my friend, buying a Rio leaves you with enough of money to ten of those little black dresses apart from a cute little red car for the evening prom. Now say this with me, "I don't mind"… :)
Another thing that needs to be changed are Kenda Clevar tyres. The best possible alternative can be Michelin, Apollo or Bridgestones.
Rio drives like cutting your 16th birthday cake. 1.5 liter turbo diesel engine, developed using Peugeot's TUD5 technology, which makes it an outdated globally but still "would-do" kind of a technology for India. 64.8 ps power and 152 Nm torque, the figures correctly don't live up the expectation from a 1.5 ltr turbo diesel engine. What impressed me the most throughout the drive was the response of the car while cornering. The car was stable and therefore, I felt safe in my cocoon. Ask Mr Atul and he promises the top speed of 130 km/h as he struggles to push through the flock of cars into his blue Chevy Aveo LT(Yeah, his daughter likes blue cars). Quite responsive engine but I wonder if it will be sufficient to give you that extra power while overtaking. Front disc and Mc Pherson strut and coil spring in front make the drive comfortable and safe. Complying to BS III, Rio thinks about mother nature too.
The car is comfortably high and would be liked by all female drivers who always wanted a high car. The paint quality of the car is top notch and large headlamps and tail lamps make it look really pretty. Black side claddings and black coloured B-pillars lend that macho bit to the looks.
If you can imagine how it feels to see a hospital right next to a restaurant and that feeling that you might need the former after coming out of the latter, something similar happened while I was still driving the Rio. Harsh braking and guess what rolls out from the driver's seat… A fire extinguisher! And my reaction to that, err.. hope we won't need this…
But all in all, driving Rio was quite an experience. Later in the evening when we went to Mr Atul's cabin and I excitedly told him how much I liked the car, that little wookazoogabomber (read Rio, for reference scroll up) looked up and smiled.
And you know what mom, very soon Dad won't be the only one in the family with a high car. We're getting ours very soon.

PREMIER RIO
SPECIFICATIONS:
Engine: 1489 cc
Power: 64.8ps@4000rpm
Torque: 152Nm@2250rpm
Fuel type: Diesel
Dimentions: 3900 x 1555 x 1670 mm
Wheelbase: 2420 mm
Ground Clearance: 195 mm
Kerb Weight: 1145 kg
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Suspension: McPherson strut & coilspring (Front)
5 rods system (Rear)
Brakes: Disc (Front)
Drum (Rear)
Tyre size: 205/70R15
Price: Rs 5.25-6 lakh (ex-showroom Pune)