[cediafan]

I think the marketing of this car has been very low key. They need to advertise more to inspire consumer confidence and throw in a free 4-5 year warranty. The space which this vehicle offers is something unique in this price band.

[samyakmodi]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Yeah noopster, its common knowledge
Infact the Matador, was a licensed copy of a very popular VW van.

The Tempo/Force Traveller, is one of the most popular people movers around us, and though decade old, has kept the Tata Winger at bay. It's latest version is quite ugly, and they had to roll it out since the license reached it's end probably, for the original design. The original Traveller with rectangular headlamps is a direct 1:1 copy of a popular Mercedes van. (You can see it in Arnold Schwarznegger's TRUE LIES in one of the early night chase sequences.)

The Force made MAN trucks are regularly seen on Pune's NH4 bypass, and so are Force branded heavy trucks. And don't forget the 3 wheeler Minidor . It gives as much hard time on the highway to us hatchbackers as a Scorpio.

Force is a company with plenty history and expertise. They just lost their way after the Trax-Judo-GAMA. I hope the Force One turns things around!

not only that, they have been making Mercedes Benz engines in their plant for I dunno how long. They have had a strategic tie-up with mercedes ever since i remember. That's why the Traveller is a direct 1:1 replica of the Mercedes Van. That's why the Trax has an uncanny resemblance with the Mercedes G-Wagen. And that's why the Gurkha has been one of the most fabulous off-roaders this side of 20 Lacs. Only reasons they missed with the Gurkha was - Interior quality AND the car had just 2 doors. SUV in a coupe style is still not popular in India (most of the evoques booked are 5 door).

The "Tempo" - three wheeler - has also been a HUGE HIT in commercial segment (i vaguely remember Anil Kapoor driving one in one of his movies - tezaab maybe) which was only disturbed till the time HM launched the RTV.

Force Motors had also come up with an indian version Hummer - and called it the Juggernaut. The vehicle never came out after the concept and pilot lots as it was turning out to be way too expensive for india. those days opel astras, ford escorts, daewoo cielo etc. were considered to be rich man's cars.

as far as the vehicle's design is concerned - they could have kept the front grill a bit smaller. it feels a bit creepy coming into the bumper territory. had they kept it above the bumper line - it would have looked better. I completely agree that the company logo "F" in red looks utterly ridiculous on the vehicle. they could have considered the logo which they have on the steering wheel. might have looked better.

OT :: Just a few days back i got a book from them - about their founder - Mr. N.K. Firodia - and it seems quiet interesting. Would be happy to share it with you all if you are interested. (though i have no clue how to share a book online)

[Archish]

Suprise! Suprise!!

Got a call from Chennai MPC Force about an hour ago. The salesgirl (Maheshwari) was on the line. Her superiors in the showroom had seen and gone thru whole of this thread it seems. And its seems she was well appreciated by her manager . She seemed genuinely happy and thanked me profusely.

It was very pleasant experience. Nice to know that you are appreciated by sector.

[MAS]

Originally Posted by Archish

Suprise! Suprise!!

Got a call from Chennai MPC Force about an hour ago. The salesgirl (Maheshwari) was on the line. Her superiors in the showroom had seen and gone thru whole of this thread it seems. And its seems she was well appreciated by her manager . She seemed genuinely happy and thanked me profusely.

It was very pleasant experience. Nice to know that you are appreciated by sector.

Well, looks like every manufacturer & dealer is sitting up and noticing the importance of Team Bhp.

MODS: Any chance of an official test drive thread on Force One ?

[andromeda]

Originally Posted by Archish

Suprise! Suprise!!

Got a call from Chennai MPC Force about an hour ago. The salesgirl (Maheshwari) was on the line. Her superiors in the showroom had seen and gone thru whole of this thread it seems. And its seems she was well appreciated by her manager . She seemed genuinely happy and thanked me profusely.

It was very pleasant experience. Nice to know that you are appreciated by sector.

Good to know that manufacturers looking into T-BHP for real-time feedback. We had the TATA Corporate Communication person send out this response in another thread where a TBHPian was give very useful insights about issues within Tata Motors which gave rise to quality issues/niggles in the end product.

In this diwali season, almost all car manufacturers have Ads for their latest product being repeated so often. But I've hardly noticed any Ad for the Force One.

[rajeshsundaram]

Rating 5 stars! Very good write up Archish. Thanks for the review.

I always prefer functional interiors over, jazzy interiors. Force One seem to have that type of interiors. And I do not find anything odd except the following :

1. Big Force one Logo on the steering
2. Cheap looking design headlamp
3. Rear tail lamp cluster design.

Cheers!

[SedatedDrive]

Originally Posted by harimakesh

If Force One is given ABS, DUAL air bags, 10" roof mount DVD + 5 years unlimited warranty including AMC at revised price of Rs. 8.9L then it will sell in decent volumes PULLING significant XYLO E8/ scorpio SLE/safari EX prospects

If they provide those features even at an additional cost of +1L, I am willing to buy this for my parents (the 6-seater at that).

If you are a passenger vehicle manufacturer in India reading this, get this:

There is no substitute for safety.

[rajeev k]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Yeah noopster, its common knowledge
Infact the Matador, was a licensed copy of a very popular VW van.

I am afraid it is not right. The Matador also has its ancestry with Mercedes like the Traveller.

pic courtesy www4.mercedes-benz.com/e/ecars/transporter/...

Perhaps the confusion may be due to a very rare Volkswagen powered mini truck called a Tempo Matador, built in 1951 by a Hamburg Germany based company by the name of Vidal and Sohn. That is not made by the erstwhile Bajaj Tempo Ltd, which is now Force Motors. The 'Tempo' tie up was initially for the Hanseet three wheeler. and subsequently for the Viking and matador because the hamburg company was purchased by Diamler Benz.

[harimakesh]

Originally Posted by SedatedDrive

If they provide those features even at an additional cost of +1L, I am willing to buy this for my parents (the 6-seater at that).

If you are a passenger vehicle manufacturer in India reading this, get this:

There is no substitute for safety.

Fodday / Cherry of china are dirt cheap for their apparent copycat SUV models. Their cost is just around 35% of any reputed global manufacturer. Force one must sell at 8 odd Lakhs for all safety features and infotainment features if they need to pull decent sales.

Force One With its spaciousness and current spartan features it must retail significantly less than base model of toyota innova base model and Tavera in the the people mover MUV segment.

Force Motors cannot ask for this price in current circumstances as mahindra has bench marked with XUV 500.

Force One if it takes this opportunity to offer ABS as standard and offer decent modern infotainment features and offer 5-10% less price than other entry level model prices of Scorpio/Safari then Force One can pull customers and can build a genuine brand equity over their product reliability and after sales support.

[VeluM]

Originally Posted by Archish

...

Thanks for the review, Archish. The Force One seems to have been lost in the excitement and drama surrounding the launch - and more importantly Pricing - of the XUV500.

To be perfectly honest, I feel the Force One looks good, and ticks almost all the boxes of what one would need. It is also relatively cheap, and apparently well built. As mentioned by another, I would consider this for my parents in 2WD Only if it has ABS.

Wish Force had waited for the XUV launch. That may have given them the opportunity to decide whether or not to reconsider the pricing. Then again, we have to wait until next year to see finally where the competition will stand wrt prices.

Hope Force introduces the ABS enabled version First, instead of the 4x4.

PS: On a separate note, I am pretty impressed by the Force One website. It is well laid out, clutter-free, well designed and Everything (links/selections) works! Good job.

[ebonho]

Pratham Force, the sole dealer in Pune, claims to have done 14 bookings of the vehicle since its launch. They have a single TD vehicle for the whole of the city of Pune - a city which is the Force Motors HQ. My imagination, even given extreme license, fails me in understanding how Force expects people to go for this vehicle at around 10.7 Lacs ex-showroom, when the XUV 500 W6 with similar power and torque, supposedly superior handling and road manners, way better top end, ABS and Airbags, way superior interiors (I have seen both vehicles), and a galaxy of other features light years ahead, retails at just 10,000 rupees more. With just space and its licensed Merc angle as its prime USP, this is one vehicle that is not going anywhere in a hurry, notwithstanding even its very conservative 4000 unit first year forecast.

[ambujlal]

Saw a Force One SUV in flesh and blood yesterday. Man, did it look imposing! Yeah it did. May be its a new entrant, that's why it didn't get the attention it deserved. I would be in SUV market in some time and for me Force One is definitely on the "check it out" list, until Merlin really does something which is out of world and especially with pricing.

My wishlist for Force One:

1. ABS
2. Upgrade front, looks tad bland to me
3. Better headlights

I am very sure there is no other SUV which seats 7 in comfort and still has space to carry luggage. Some leather work and good tints would do the work for me. Who cares for unnecessary feature. When I spend money, I need my family to sit in comfort and that includes kids ! Why should they be tucked away in last rows to make use of it!

Anyway looking forward my own test drive!

[apachelongbow]

Originally Posted by harimakesh

Fodday / Cherry of china are dirt cheap for their apparent copycat SUV models. Their cost is just around 35% of any reputed global manufacturer. Force one must sell at 8 odd Lakhs for all safety features and infotainment features if they need to pull decent sales.

Force One With its spaciousness and current spartan features it must retail significantly less than base model of toyota innova base model and Tavera in the the people mover MUV segment.

Force Motors cannot ask for this price in current circumstances as mahindra has bench marked with XUV 500.

Force One if it takes this opportunity to offer ABS as standard and offer decent modern infotainment features and offer 5-10% less price than other entry level model prices of Scorpio/Safari then Force One can pull customers and can build a genuine brand equity over their product reliability and after sales support.

Are you for real? You expect all bells and whistles at a price below the base version of scorpio/safari. Both scorpio and safari base are without any safety features costing upward of 8lacs yet, you seem happy with their pricing.
Force one size wise is a full SUV unlike scorpio which is effectively a mini suv/more of an muv. I think the pricing for all the features is just right, yes I agree with having ABS/EBD, if they price it accordingly.

Btw only the body panel stampings come from Forday, rest of the car is inhouse with technology inputs from mercedes and lotus.

[harimakesh]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

Are you for real? You expect all bells and whistles at a price below the base version of scorpio/safari. Both scorpio and safari base are without any safety features costing upward of 8lacs yet, you seem happy with their pricing.
Force one size wise is a full SUV unlike scorpio which is effectively a mini suv/more of an muv. I think the pricing for all the features is just right, yes I agree with having ABS/EBD, if they price it accordingly.

Btw only the body panel stampings come from Forday, rest of the car is inhouse with technology inputs from mercedes and lotus.

I am not happy with Safari / scorpio over pricing. Currently This is possible due to the duopoly between Tata and Mahindra in Indian SUV market. Third and fouth player with genuine product blended with feature rich technology will make buyers a SUV at affordable pricing. at 7L a decent SUV with ABS IS POSSIBLE in India.

A Toyota Prado TX -petrol is available in Kuwait for about 12L ex showroom. This is after shipping it from Japan to Kuwait and other costs.

In India manufacturers form syndicate and literally loot buyers.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by rajeev k

I am afraid it is not right. The Matador also has its ancestry with Mercedes like the Traveller.
Attachment 830370
pic courtesy www4.mercedes-benz.com/e/ecars/transporter/...

Perhaps the confusion may be due to a very rare Volkswagen powered mini truck called a Tempo Matador, built in 1951 by a Hamburg Germany based company by the name of Vidal and Sohn. That is not made by the erstwhile Bajaj Tempo Ltd, which is now Force Motors. The 'Tempo' tie up was initially for the Hanseet three wheeler. and subsequently for the Viking and matador because the hamburg company was purchased by Diamler Benz.

Ah alright! Thanks for enlightening me and yes, the van in the picture really does resemble the F Matador 1:1. Cheers!