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ADVERTORIAL
Built like a
FORT! THE PREMIER RIO TAKES US ON A TRIP TO REDISCOVER OUR RICH HERITAGE
orts. For centuries, these silent sentinels have been functioning as nerve centers and hubs of activity – be it for administration or for defense. Today, they are mute witnesses to a rapidly changing landscape. Scattered around the state of Maharashtra are some awe-inspiring forts, which we thought shouldn’t be left just to the history books. We needed to get closer to them and pay our respects. And so began the Premier RiO Great Indian Historical drive. The intention was to cover four forts in two days, and the distances involved meant that we needed a set of wheels capable of tackling high speeds on the highways and robust enough to handle broken roads. We set out from the state-of-the-art Premier plant in Chinchwad, Pune. Spread over 27 acres, this plant now serves as the centralised research, development and manufacturing base for all activities. Our scheduled night halt was at the foot of the first fort in Devgad, nearly 500 km away. Past the hustle and bustle of Pune, the RiO began to stretch its legs on the wide NH4, heading towards Bangalore. The heart of the Premier Rio diesel is the award winning FIAT motor, the 1.3-litre diesel CRDi 4 engine, which kept the road beneath us whooshing past at 120 kph without even breaking a
F
The RiO makes even the toughest trails seem like a cakewalk
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venture is the All you need for an ad a roadbook keys to your RiO and
sweat, all thanks to the fixed geometry turbocharger and intercooler. This compact SUV has a remarkable ground clearance of 200 mm, which is more than ample for tackling whatever Indian roads might throw at it. Tinted glass windows, front and rear fog lamps, black coloured B pillars, side foot steps and the rear spoiler are just a few of the many amazing features that go on to complete the RiO. Overtaking required a mere jab of the throttle, and the Rio swiftly showed the slower moving traffic its neat set of tail-lights without sending any jolts to our spines, while the Antilock brake system (ABS) helped keep things safe. Within no time, we were at the turn-off at Nipani, where a healthy mix of potholes, faultless tarmac and dirt roads beckoned. Where other cars would almost come to a standstill in a bid to negotiate bad patches on the road, the RiO simply blasted past. The suspension soaked in the bumps like they never existed, and within the cabin, we were spoiled silly with the comfortable air-conditioning
The RiO’s compact dimensions make it possible to negotiate it into the Devgad fort
and tunes emanating from the 2 DIN 4 speaker MP3 CD player. The RiO has everything from HVAC and power steering to powered windows up front, central locking with remote built into the key, electric ORVMs and a wash wiper for the rear windshield. Talk about being pampered ! We reached Devgad town at 9 at night. Every hotel worth its while was filled up. Apparently a film crew had descended on the town, and had booked every room they could find. The next day was going to be a long one, and a good night's sleep was the want of the hour. Driving around the sleeping town of Devgad in search of a room, we drove
straight to a dead end. We were lost! And then, like a guardian angel, a motorcycle headlight pierced through the darkness. The rider, ferrying around his wife and kid in the typical Indian way, loudly proclaimed that he had been chasing the RiO for 5 km. He wanted to take a closer look at it! After sitting in the car, taking in the well laid out interiors and sizing up the comfortable seats, he emerged from it with a smile on his face. After inquiring about the cost and specs of the car, he declared with a smile that the RiO would certainly be his choice as the car for his family! Helpfully, he pointed us to a place he knew where we could spend the night.
A quaint fishing village now surrounds the Vijaydurg fort
Dirt roads? No problem when you’re driving a RiO
DEVGAD
Where cars shudder to tread, the RiO will confidently go
Waking up to a nice sunny coastal morning, we began the ascent to the Devgad fort. The climb is steep and the road narrow but it was nothing for the RiO, with groves of the Alphonso mango trees that the area is famous for, and a path that snakes through a handful of villages. And then, in the clearing up ahead, the Devgad fort rises up from the plateau. Built in 1705 by the great Maratha navy admiral Kanhoji Angre, the fort
Be it thick vegetation or rutted roads, the RiO will take it head on without complaint
now houses a lighthouse that was constructed much later in 1915. The access to the structure is through a very narrow passage way. Thankfully, we were here in the RiO which very possibly is one of the few SUVs sold in India capable of squeezing into the fort. Despite being exposed to the ravages of weather and wind for centuries, the structure has held up incredibly well – which is a testament to the quality of workmanship and design that went into its construction. There's not much to see, apart from
the ancient little Maruti temple, the ramparts and moat around the structure, but the view from the fort is stunning. The sea buffets the rugged coastline hundreds of feet below the fort, and quaint fishing boats can be seen braving the waves, heavily laden with the choicest of catch. Next, we headed towards the Vijaydurg fort, which was less than 60 km away.
VIJAYDURG In terms of sheer size, the Vijaydurg fort
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The RiO stares at the Sindhudurg fort in the distance
trounces the Devgad fort by a large margin. It's no surprise then that this fort was once known as the 'Eastern Gibraltar' for the fact that it was nearly impossible to conquer. The Vijaydurg fort's earliest fortifications can be traced to the early 1200s, making it one of the oldest forts along the Sindhudurg coastline. Originally called Gheria, Chhatrapati Shivaji did the near impossible and took over the fort from Adil Shah of Bijapur and renamed it Vijaydurg. We parked the RiO comfortably, all thanks to its compact size and its segment’s smallest turning radius of 4.7 metres, to look around, and the tourists suddenly turned their cameras from the fort walls towards the little white SUV. It was surreal, really! Apart from its strategic importance and sheer impregnability, Vijaydurg has also contributed to science, albeit relatively recently. In 1868, an English astronomer by the name of Norman Lockyer discovered Helium at this very fort in 1868, when he was studying a solar eclipse that occurred at the time. Although there is much to see at Vijaydurg, and employing the services of a registered guide is a must, we had miles to cover and other forts to see. Jumping into the RiO, we pointed the front wheels towards Sindhudurg, some 40 clicks away.
MURUD On reaching the coastal town of Alibag, some 350 km away from Devgad, we checked into a hotel room by the sea and crashed out for the night. Setting out early the next morning, we drove towards the Murud Janjira fort. We passed the Nizam's palace, and we couldn't help but park the RiO in front of the gates for some photos. The palace seemed to be in good shape and a couple of cars parked within the compound led us to conclude that it is still inhabited. The location of the palace is brilliant, sitting on a cliff overlooking the sea. A couple of corners later, the fort of Janjira (its name derived from the corruption of the Arabic word 'Jazira' meaning island) loomed ahead. This fort, also surrounded on all sides by the sea, proved to be invincible, repelling all efforts of the Marathas, Portuguese and
even the British to conquer it. One of the reasons for this was that within the fort is a well, which despite being quite a distance off the coast, contains fresh water. This provided the soldiers within the fort with unlimited drinking water reserves that allowed them to stay on indefinitely. After the photo shoot, it was time to point the RiO towards Mumbai. Covering almost 1,400 km on all sorts of roads, the little Premier stood up gallantly against whatever we threw at it. The boot space comfortably held our two duffel bags and a couple of backpacks with space to spare. Long journeys are a breeze in this SUV, with the ride quality insulating the occupants from harsh jolts and jarring potholes. The Rio indeed is a tiny SUV with a large heart. Just what we need in a country like India. This one will go down well in the history books for certain!
The Nawab’s palace gates make for a grand background for a photo
POWERTRAIN DISPLACEMENT: 1248cc, I-4, common rail diesel, turbocharged, BSIV POWER: 72 bhp@4000 rpm TORQUE: 18.6 kgm@1800-2400 rpm TRANSMISSION: 5-speed manual
SUSPENSION FRONT: MacPherson strut and coil spring REAR: 5-rod system
BRAKES FRONT: Disc REAR: Drum
DIMENSIONS L/W/H (mm): 3970/1570/1730 WHEELBASE: 2420 mm TRACK (f/r): 1305/1310 mm GROUND CLEARANCE: 200 mm TURNING RADIUS: 4.7m FUEL TANK: 46 litres KERB WEIGHT: 1145 kg
FUEL EFFICIENCY 23.7 kpl
SINDHUDURG Commissioned by Shivaji himself and surrounded on all sides by the sea, the Sindhudurg fort was built between 1664 and 1667 off the coast of the Malvan town and is spread across 48 acres.A remarkable fact about the fort is that the foundation stones were laid with molten lead! Urban sprawl has caught up with Malvan, causing the place to sit somewhere between a quaint town and a bustling city. The roads are narrow and crowded, making the dimensions of the RiO a boon for negotiating through the town. A quick sea-food meal later, we set out towards the final fort in our sojourn – Murud.
PREMIER RIO CRDi4
It’s no wonder that Janjira was virtually impregnable. Even the RiO could not breach its walls!