Ashok Leyland Stile: First Impression Report

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Ashok Leyland Stile: First Impression Report

Ashok Leyland has already made its mark in the commercial vehicle segment. Their extensive truck range has been hauling an amazing capacity of goods across the country. Ashok Leyland and Tata Motors are the only two companies to compete against international players like Volvo and Daimler Benz.

The truck manufacturer, with an intention to test the passenger vehicle market in India entered into an alliance with Nissan. They showed it with the “Stile” passenger carrier two years ago at the Auto Expo in Delhi.

The Stile which is based on Nissan Evalia was launched recently at Rs.7.49 lakhs. It also got considerable additions to its exterior styling along with some changes to the interior. Ashok Leyland also claims that the Stile is a fuel efficient offering which competes against all other vehicles in this segment. We have done a first impression report of this new offering from Ashok Leyland.

Appearance Exterior

Stile, staying true to its name in a way, is pretty attractively styled. The bonnet and front portion though looks like a mini Innova, it’s made beautiful with usage of excellent styling headlamps. The front doors are wide and the windows are stylish with some interesting curves.

The designer style window shape for the front doors and small but beautiful shape of windows for middle and rear rows gives the Stile a nice design element. However once we move on to the rear, it does not look as beautiful after seen from different angles.

The Stile however misses on modern styling which Ashok Leyland can bring in with future iterations.

Appearance Interior

At par with the exterior styling, the interiors too have been done neatly. The wide opening doors enable easy entry into the car. The wide and fine finished dashboard gives the passenger a luxury feel. The dual tone finish in the top variants is a huge bonus point, creating a good impression of the car. The steering wheel has a good grip, with the logo placed in a visibly strategic manner.

The Gear lever is provided just next to dash and enables the driver to sit easily and access to gear lever seamlessly. The music system is not available in the top variant but there is lot of space for fitting stylish music system panels. The control knobs are made round shaped and the blower vent holes are positioned vertically besides central console, similar to the one used for the middle row AC vents.

Round shaped ones are used at the ends of the dash. The opening of the middle row door is easy and a slight push would slide the door to max position, allowing easy entry for the passenger. Captain seats are provided in the 7 seater versions and 3 seater is provided in 8 seater version. Captain seats are designed well for comfortable seating . Howe ver, one tends to feel that these dimensions could have been increased a bit.

A slight movement of the middle row seat and folding of the same will enable a passenger to get into the last row. In the last row 3 persons of average size can be accommodated comfortably. Water bottle holders are provided for all the doors. For third row seated passenger, a slight push of the button opens the bottle holder.

Performance Drive

The wide opening doors enables the driver to enter easily. There is good cushioning and lumbar support design enabling for easy posture of driver. There is feel good factor with design of dashboard .The engine starts smoothly and has lowest possible noise.

Driving the Stile out is a pleasure thanks to smooth power steering and convenient turning circle radius enabling easy turning at narrow spaces. Head room and leg room available can enable comfortable posture of above average size person also.

The vehicle has a smooth pick up and ground clearance of 185MM ensures a smooth drive over rough patches. The suspension is strong and provides comfort even on bad roads.

Tech Specs

Technical Specifications
Make	Ashok Leyland
Model	Stile
Variant	LX
Engine	Turbo-Intercooled CRDE
Displacement	1461/4
Power in PS/RPM	75
Torque in NM	185/1750-2750
Transmission	5/M
Dimensions
Length	4400
Width	1700
Height	1860
Wheel base	2725
Ground clearance	180
Minimum Radius	5.2
Gross weight	2000
Tyres	165/65 R14
Fuel Tank capacity in Liters	50
Mileage	20

Features

Features	LE	LS	LX
Front and rear Bumpers	Black	Body coloured	Body coloured
Dual Tone interiors	No	Yes	Yes
2nd row captain seats	No	Yes	Yes
Seat material	PVC	PVC+Fabric	Fabric
Engine Immobiliser	Yes	Yes	Yes
Electric power steering	Yes	Yes	Yes
HVAC	Yes	Yes	Yes
Dual AC	No	Yes	Yes
Tilt steering	Yes	Yes	Yes
Central locking	No	Yes	Yes
Power windows	No	Yes	Yes
Seating	8	7	7
Ex Showroom Price Mumbai	7,49,000	8,79,000	8,99,000

Competition All Specs

Specifications	Ashok Leyland Stile	Maruti Suzuki Ertiga	Chevrolet Enjoy
Variant	LX	ZDI	LTZ
Engine type	Turbo-Intercooled CRDE	-	-
Engine CC	1461/4	1248	1248
Power in PS/RPM	75	90//4000	77.5/4000
Torque in NM	185/1750-2750	200/1750	188/1750
Transmission	5/M	5/M	5/M
Dimensions
Length	4400	4265	4305
Width	1700	1695	1680
Height	1860	1685	1750
Wheel base	2725	2740	2720
Ground clearance	180	185	180
Minimum Radius	5.2	5.2	50
Gross weight	2000	NA	1345
Tyres	185/70 R14	185/65 R15	175/70 R14
Fuel Tank capacity in Liters	50	45	50
Mileage Kmpl	20	19	18
Dual Tone interiors	Yes	Yes	Yes
2nd row captain seats	Yes	Yes	Yes
Seat material	Fabric	Fabric	Fabric
Engine Immobiliser	Yes	Yes	Yes
Electric power steering	Yes	Yes	Yes
HVAC	Yes	Yes	Yes
Dual AC	Yes	Yes	Yes
Tilt steering	Yes	Yes	Yes
Central locking	Yes	Yes	Yes
Power windows	Yes	Yes	Yes
Seating	7	7	7
Music System	No	Yes	Yes
ABS	No	Yes	Yes
Airbags	No	Yes	Yes
Ex showroom price Mumbai	8,99,000	9,21,448	8,44,982

Conclusion

It’s a welcome launch for Ashok Leyland in the passenger car segment. There are good things about Stile like its styling, comfortable interiors and ground clearance etc.

However the factors like non availability of safety features such as ABS and Airbags even in top end variants could be a matter of concern for the customers. Overall it’s an important launch from Ashok Leyland and would surely make a worthy option for customers looking for 7 or 8 seater diesel vehicle.