The COO and President of Force Motors, Mr. Naresh Kumar Ratan had said in November 2012 that the company will be launching 2 new variants of Force One between January and February 2013. But half way through 2013, there were no signs of these variants reaching the market. Although there were reports coming in that Force one variants are moving around, quietly test driving. It indeed turned out to be true. Though not Jan Feb, but the company has finally launched the 2 variants of Force One SUV. These are called the EX and LX. So now, Force Motors has 3 cars- Force one present model, Force One EX and Force One LX in its lineup.
Force Motors was established in the year 1958 by Mr. N.K. Ferodia. It is a company that specializes in manufacturing 3 wheelers and light commercial vehicles. It was previously named Bajaj Tempo after Bajaj acquired a significant amount of shares in the company. Now it goes by the name Force Motors. The company’s first ever venture into the passenger vehicle segment was marked with the entry of its SUV Force One in 2011. Now in 2013, 2 variants of this SUV have been launched.
The two variants, EX and LX are lower end and upper end variants of the present model. Talking about the EX (Executive) variant it is the base model of Force One. To keep the prices as low as possible the company has removed a lot features from this car. The EX variant does not have the all terrain wheels made up of alloy but has patterned wheels made up of steel. The day time running head lamps, rear view mirror indicators, hub caps, roof rails, rear defogger, washer, wiper as well as fog lamps, steering wheel mounted controls, height adjustable drivers’ seat, keyless remote entry, leather seats, audio system, cruise control, radio antenna, service warning and reverse parking sensors have all been removed from the car. Why would anyone want to drive this car, hard to say. Anyways, talking about what EX variants has to offer then we have bumper with body colour scheme, projector headlights, electronic rear view mirrors, multi info display and AC vents for all the rows.
The SX (Superior) variant is the present model of Force One and has all the standard equipments and features that the car offers. In addition, it now offers an ABS (Anti Lock braking system) option. The LX (Luxury) variant gets the ABS as standard as well an all wheel drive system.
With the launch of these 2 variants, Force One will now have 2 engine options. The SX and LX variant will have the same common rail, MB sourced, diesel engine with a 2.2 liter capacity. This engine is capable of producing a power of 141 PS at 3800 rpm and a torque of 321 Nm between 1600 to 2400 rpm. The EX variant has Gurkha’s turbo diesel engine with a displacement value of 2650 cc. This engine offers a lower output of 82 PS at 3200 rpm and a torque of 230 Nm in between 1800 to 2000 rpm. All the 3 variants have a 5 speed manual gear box. The EX variant engine is only BS III compliant and so will be available only outside the cities. Hence it will be targeting the rural population.
The Force One in all gets 6 variants. The Superior variant that comes with a 4 wheel drive system also offers a limited slip differential. The EX model will not have any captain seats while the SX variant will have them. The starting price for Force One will now be Rs 8.9 lacs. If the middle row of the car is bench type then the SUV will be a 7 seater. The price for the LX variant is not yet announced.
Prices for Force One Variants.
- EX – 2.5 liter engine, 7-seater: Rs 8.99 lakh
- SX – 2.2 liter engine, 6-seater: Rs 11.79 lakh
- SX – 2.2 liter engine , 7-seater: Rs 11.71 lakh
- SX – 2.2 liter with ABS, 6-seater: Rs 12.06 lakh
- SX – 2.2 liter with ABS 7-seater: Rs 11.99 lakh
