 |
|
High on the highway:
The new Force One comes with a very long wheelbase and a gargantuan bodyPhotographs by Rajeev Gaikwad |
A glance at the Force One’s specs shows that it appears to have a lot going for it. At a reasonable price, you get an almost five-metre-long vehicle (read: presence), a common-rail diesel motor from Mercedes and no less than a million features. What it doesn’t have right now is a 4WD version (which will be introduced mid-2012) and essential safety features like ABS and airbags.
Currently, there’s just one version on offer and your choice is limited between a 6- or 7-seater variant. The Big question is does the Force One live up to its SUV billing?
Force Motors has been tight-fisted with the One. To keep development costs down, it took the cheaper route of buying an existing design (Guangdong Foday Explorer III). The Explorer III’s body panels, along with bits like the dashboard, are imported from China and assembled at Force Motors’ Pithampur plant in Madhya Pradesh. To price it competitively, the company has ensured that about 85 per cent of this SUV is made in India.
STYLE FILE
The One has all the traditional SUV cues like a big grille, flat sides, flared wheel arches, mud-plugging tyres and pavement-crumbling size. However, the boxy looks are a generation or two behind what customers now expect. The disproportionately long wheelbase and football-field length of the body prick the eye.
Force Motors seems to have spent money on the chassis, designed in-house. The One is underpinned by a rather sturdy-looking C-in-C ladder frame. The company roped in Lotus Engineering UK to fine-tune the chassis and set up the vehicle specifically for its standard Apollo Hawkz all-terrain tyres. Despite its gargantuan size, the Force One weighs 1,860kg just 10kg more than the Scorpio and 190kg less than the Tata Safari.
INSIDE STORY
The seats on the Force One are placed quite high, so you have to step up, duck under the low roofline and slide in. There’s good space for the driver and passenger as well as a good view of the road ahead. There’s a smart set of dials with more warning lamps than a NASA shuttle and the dashboard layout in general is easy to use.
The interiors simply don’t feel plush, with some definitely downmarket bits. The steering wheel boss is made from hideous plastic, the wood finish on the centre console looks extremely unconvincing and cabin quality in general is unimpressive. In fact, the One feels like a poorly-finished Chinese product. There are ergonomic flaws as well with the door closed, it’s almost impossible to operate the seat height adjusters and it is hard to access the door pockets as well.
Still, you won’t complain about legroom, because there’s loads of it. The direct result of the long wheelbase is that all seats, including the third row, have plenty of space and you can plonk in some luggage too. What it doesn’t have though, is thigh support. Headroom is not great either because the roof is rather low, especially in the third row.
Force Motors’ claimed ‘long equipment list’ includes senseless stuff like Force signature scuff plates, body-coloured wheel arches and a coolant level indicator. Even features that do make sense, like an audio system, Bluetooth connectivity, electrically-operated mirrors, projector headlamps, cruise control, remote locking and leather interiors, are now standard on a lot of cars.
UNDER THE HOOD
Sitting under the bonnet and powering the rear wheels is the Mercedes-Benz OM611 engine, first seen in the 1999 W210 E-class not a bad starting point at all, despite its age. This twin-cam, common-rail diesel makes 139bhp and 32.7kgm of torque that get the One to 100kph in a not-too-shabby 13.3 seconds. But this engine’s real strength lies in the way it pulls effortlessly from just 1000rpm all the way to 4000rpm, with a second, slight kick in power delivery at around 3000rpm.
Driving in town is quite easy because the ample torque and low gearing don’t demand too many gearshifts. This is a good thing because the G32 five-speed manual gearbox (also Merc-sourced) has a long throw, needs effort to use and is vague. It also has a tendency to jump out of gear if you don’t take the trouble to slot it in fully. The clutch is on the heavy side painful when you’re stuck in traffic.
The Force One is quite capable on the highway, which points to the flexible nature of this diesel motor. At any speed, you always have adequate power and even with a full load the Force doesn’t get bogged down. It’s the way the torque is delivered with a nice broad spread that makes this engine special.
DRIVER’S DEAL
The ride on the Force One is pretty settled. The suspension does a good job of isolating you from the road without giving up much in high-speed manners. The front is on the soft side and on an uneven road, the nose gently bobs up and down, but not to the point of being disconcerting. At lower speeds, you get a lumpy ride that’s characteristic of body-on-frame chassis, but again it’s not uncomfortable.
But the One isn’t too much of a handler. It rolls excessively through corners while the steering is slow-witted and vague around the straight-ahead position. At moderate speeds, it feels stable and is surprisingly easy to manoeuvre around town, owing to the light steering and a generous glass area. The brakes are good as well despite not being ABS-equipped, they are easy to modulate and have adequate stopping power. However, the 12m turning circle and massive length make parking in tight spots quite a challenge.
Thanks to the short gearing and the torquey engine, you never end up using much throttle in the city. Hence, the Force One returned a respectable 9.8kpl in urban conditions. The flipside is that the engine works quite hard at higher speeds 120kph equates to a rather high 2600rpm so the highway figure is unimpressive at 11.9kpl.
FINAL VERDICT
The Force One is a genuine seven-seater, has a brilliant engine and is quite easy to drive. It tackles bad roads well and is great for long distance journeys too. However, interior quality is poor, there are a few electrical niggles and the overall quality falls quite short. But the One’s biggest handicap is the outdated body, which will make owners think twice before spending the ambitious asking price of Rs 10.65 lakh on it.
SPEC CHECK
Force one
Price: Rs 10.65 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi)
Engine: Diesel, 4-cyls in-line, 2149cc/ front, longitudinal, rear-wheel-drive
Power: 39bhp at 3800rpm
Torque: 32.73kgm at 1600-2400rpm
Gearbox: 5-speed manual
Weight: 1860kg
Suspension (F/R): Independent, double wishbone, coil springs/ non-independent, multi-link, coil springs
Brakes (F/R): Ventilated discs/ drums
My dream car I am fascinated by Rolls-Royces cars. I think the grandness of the brand rubs on to your image as well, if you are using one. Apart from that, I think Rollers are extremely classy and stylish. I would like to own a bright red model someday.
Mimi Chakraborty, actor |
