Ashok Leyland drives in rugged Boss vehicle

Ashok Leyland, the Hinduja group flagship, commercially launched the BOSS, an intermediate commercial vehicle (ICV), which the company claims combines the ruggedness of a truck with the comfort of a car. Manufactured at its plant at Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, the ICV is available in LE and LX variants and will feature in the 9.6 tonne, 11.9 tonne and 12.9 tonne haulage segments. "Manufactured on a modern and efficient chassis line and a state-of-the-art cab line using robotic processes and with unmatched comfort-features, we have made every investment to ensure that the Boss delivers on quality, durability and reliability,” said Vinod K Dasari, MD, Ashok Leyland. He added, “Specifically engineered to meet evolving customer expectations in the areas of performance, comfort and reliability, the Boss promises to make our customers more profitable by offering them a tailor-made product solution to meet their needs and certainly will be a game-changer for them,” he said. The Boss LE is fitted with a 120HP H-series BS3 engine with an in-line fuel injection pump and a 6-speed overdrive gearbox. The LX on the other hand is more up-market and has an automated manual transmission. It is also equipped with a 130 HP common rail engine; the LX comes with factory-fitted air-conditioning. The company claims the Boss has undergone 920,000 km on road trials and 240,000 km of endurance testing. The company hopes for the Boss to be a game changer in the CV market in India and comes with a 40,000 km service interval, hydraulic power steering, a turning radius of 15.3m, a three-year anti-perforation warranty for the cabin and a five-year replacement guarantee on the rear LED lights. In addition to warranties and assurances, Ashok Leyland will deliver the vehicles to its customers with 'Zero' Km reading through the truck-on-truck transportation mode. The company has also set up new cab repair facilities at select authorised dealer and service outlets to allow customers to get their cabs repaired quickly and cost efficiently.