Spied: Facelifted Premier Rio

09/12/2011 - 12:22 Premier Rio, Premier Rio facelift, Spy pictures, PAL-Zotye Kaustubh Shinde

When Premier launched the Rio in late 2009, they had the idea bang on - A small cheap SUV to tackle potholes and provide good cargo space for daily commutes.

Unfortunately, they failed to capitalize on the idea because the product was not-so bang on. They basically rebadged the Zotye Nomad and brought it to India. This did not go very well with the Indian customers. So Premier has gone back to drawing board to rethink their strategy.

Our good buddies at Motorbeam have snapped a few pictures of the Facelifted Rio in Pune. They report that there were a few changes to the Rio such as:

Beige interiors
Crystal clear headlamps
ABS
Better Interior quality
New alloy wheels

Keen eyed viewers will notice that this test mule is actually a Nomad II – the successor to Nomad from Zotye.

The new Nomad II comes in two engine options:

1.3L petrol engine with 68.5 PS @ 6000rpm and 113.5NM of torque @ 4500rpm
1.5L petrol engine 78 PS @ 6000 and 134NM of torque @ 4500

Premier is reported to have finalized a deal with Fiat for their Multi-jet diesel engines which will be used in the new Rio. The new Rio will debut in 2012 as soon as Premier completes its testing.

Are you excited about the new Rio?

Source: MotorBeam.com