Ashok Leyland Dost Express – FrontView
Country’s second largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, Ashok Leyland, the flagship company of the Hinduja Group, may launch a passenger van on the platform of its first Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) – the ‘DOST’, alongside Stile MFV. The passenger version of Dost will sit under the Stile MPV in terms of pricing and will be aimed mainly at semi-urban and rural pockets of India.
Now Team-BHPian named dhandapanik, has snapped the firstever spy pictures of the upcoming Ashok Leyland passenger van believed to be named as ‘Dost Express’. Spotted at Madurai, the vehicle was temporarily registered with Hosur plates. At first glimpse, the Dost Express looks local workshops job, the final touch at rear-end is not upto the mark, it should have been improved.
The Dost Express will seat no less than 14 adults, giving it a much larger capacity than both the Mahindra Maxximo Minivan and the Tata Ace Magic. With this seating capacity, the Dost Express could rival the Tata Winger, although the former could feature a lower price tag than the Winger. The vehicle would be aggressively marketed to semi-urban and rural pockets.
Ashok Leyland Dost Express – RearView
Although not confirmed, the sources close to us reveal the top-end variant of the Dost Express will offer power steering and air conditioning. However, the same 1.5-litre 3-cylinder, common rail turbo diesel engine that powers the Dost pick-up truck is expected to make it way into the Dost Express too. This engine is mated 5-speed manual gearbox that will drive the rear wheels.
Also both BS3 and BS4 versions of the Dost Express are expected to be launched, with a CNG option likely to be added to the variant mix, when Ashok Leyland launches such an option for the Dost mini pick-up truck.
Also see – Ashok Leyland “Dost” Unveiled
Ashok Leyland-Nissan JV unveil first LCV model
Image Credit – Team-bhp.com
