Priemier Rio Gets BSIV compliant Diesel Engine

Published: Friday, March 30, 2012, 18:15 [IST]

India’s first and only compact SUV, as it terms itself, Premier Rio has got much more stronger with a new diesel engine. The compact SUV will now come with a Fiat based BSIV compliant 1.3-litre diesel MultiJet engine generating 87bhp. The same engine works under almost 10 cars from different manufactures including the Maruti Swift.

Premier Automobile division Head Rakesh Mehta said that the diesel Rio will be launched shortly. The SUV has already been reported as taking pre-launch trials.
The Rio will have four variants in the market with the arrival of the new variant. Though the petrol variants are BSIV compliant, the current diesel variant with the TUD5 engine only meets the BS III norm. This stops the company from selling the current diesel variants in the BS IV markets. The new diesel variant will be a relief for the company as it will bring a solution to this.

Currently the Rio is powered by The RiO will be powered a 1173cc (1.2 litre) petrol engine based on AVL technology delivering 77BHP and 15 kms/litre of fuel efficiency, a 1489cc turbo diesel engine based on Peugeot technology (TUD5) delivering 65BHP of power, offering 16 kms/litre of fuel efficiency and a 1.3 litre CRDI Multijet diesel engine (currently undergoing integration, testing and homologation).

Premier also intends to launch an ad campaign for the new variant with the tag line ‘India’s first and only compact SUV’, a move from ‘India’s first compact SUV'. The compact SUV market is set to get hotter soon with Ford, Mahindra, Hyundai and Suzuki lining up their models in the race.