After the showcase of the Bajaj RE60, pitched as the 21st century auto rickshaw riding on four wheels, many thought the good old tuk-tuk was on the brink of extinction.
It was seen as a logical evolution, the four wheeler by virtue of its design is safer and more stable than a three wheeler. Bajaj has promised a real world fuel efficiency of over 35 kmpl from the RE60's 200cc twin-spark engine, almost double of what the three-wheeler can manage. The comfort, space and convenience factors are better, and the launch of the superior RE60 would sound the death knell for the trike.
But seeing these recent spyshots of a what is believed to be the Bajaj rickshaw facelift coming in from Pune, one believes the three-wheeler could stage a miraculous escape and tell the whole world about it!
Bajaj is testing a facelift for the autorickshaw, the one spied here is the everyday model's larger cousin. Bajaj has a variety of variants including 2S petrol, 4S petrol, GDI and diesel and the mule spied could be any one of them.
Like its rivals from Piaggio and TVS, the vehicle sports twin headlights and a sculpted front wheel cover. Bajaj will not invest on a model that it sees no future in. It seems like the era of the Bajaj three-wheeler has not yet come to an end!
