Latest News & Reviews from Indian Auto Industry
2017 Force Gurkha has been launched in India starting at Rs.8.45 lakhs and going up to Rs.11.48 lakhs. The BS4 compliant Force Gurkha comes with a range of updates including a revamped engine along with cosmetic changes and a new chassis with multi-link coil spring suspension all around.
Continue reading “BS4 Compliant 2017 Force Gurkha Launched At Rs 8.45 Lakh”
A company named Color Glo Kerala had undertaken a project to transform a Force Gurkha into a Mercedes G-Class Wagen. Now we can report to you that the project is complete and the car has been priced at Rs.6.5 lakhs.
Continue reading “Force Gurkha Becomes A Desi Mercedes G-Class For INR 6.5 lakhs”
Force Motors has launched the 2017 Force Gurkha with updated BS-IV engine in India for a price of Rs.8.38 lakhs for the 5-door Xpedition variant and Rs.9.36 lakhs for the 3-door Xplorer variant. Under the hood of the car comes with a OM 616 sourced 2.6-litre inter-cooled, direct injection, turbocharged BS-IV compliant engine. This engine now produces 85bhp of peak power and 230Nm of peak torque, mated to a G-28 five-speed manual transmission.
Continue reading “2017 Force Gurkha Launched At Rs 8.38 Lakh”
Trax, the popular people carrier from Force Motors just got all that much better as the company has launched an updated edition of the vehicle just in time for the festive season. Priced at Rs.8.68 lakh, the car will now have a new dashboard as well as a new instrument cluster. The carrier will also come with two toner interiors and air conditioning making this all the more popular with passengers.
The Trax Deluxe, which is the updated model, will be powered by a 2.6-liter turbocharged engine which delivers 81hp in terms of power as well as 230Nm of torque. The engine has been derived from the Mercedes OM616 and does a great job for its purpose. The new model also looks better in terms of the exterior with a new front grille, round headlights as well as new rear and front bumpers. The car also has new coloured side graphics that look more stylish and bold to give it an overall look and presence that is modern and classy at the same time.
According to the President, Sales and Marketing, Mr Ashutosh Khosla, Trax is the first in terms of indigenous MUVs to have been developed in India and over the last 30 years it has made itself the leader when it comes to people as well as goods carriage across the country. Force India has been looking to update it in order to ensure its longevity and this has been another step in that direction.
We don’t know what to call it, but certainly Force Motors did it. A seven-door Trax was found testing nearby the vicinity of carmaker’s bay in Pune, mentioning the launch during the coming months. But the positioning, it took us over a confusing way to arrive at a coming point. Force selling its vehicles in rural areas and generates enough revenue to keep up the cost of bread and butter for its employees. Only four trims of the Trax are being sold in those areas which are heavily filled with Tata Sumo and Mahindra utility vehicles: Gama, Cruiser, Toofan and Ambulance. Addition of this seven-door variant will be the fifth model of its lineup. As of now, one can buy Trax with options of eleven-seats at the max, which will then be notched to an all new level, apparently leading a one of its kind example in the country. Couldn’t exactly confirm but this version would even surpass the seating options of Toyota Hiace which is bound to launch in India soon.
Hence, under the hood, power is speculated to be sent by the existing option of 2.6-litre diesel engine worth of a paltry 60bhp mated to a five-speed manual transmission. Spotting the differences, Cruiser and Toofan comes as extended versions of Gama. Force Gurkha, Trax Gama and Trax Cruiser are all based on the same platform, where this will be the fourth man of lineup on the same base.
Will the seven-door Trax be an option that rural buyers may use like a limo? Feel free to pen down your thoughts in the comments section below…
Image courtesy : autocarindia.com
After EcoSport, Ford India is apparently going to work out the same equation with the next-gen Figo hatchback.
Can be seen here is the first spy-shot of new Figo that will launch in the country soon. The hatchback was spotted testing in Pune, Maharashtra. Sao Paulo Auto Show 2014 was the host to unveil this new Ford first in the world.
Eventually, the current-gen Figo will be replaced when this will make way to the market.
Pinned underneath is the same platform of Ford Fiesta. For India, the engines are going to be company’s own 1.2-litre petrol and 1.5-litre DV5 turbo diesel machines. A possibility is also there of a brand new 999cc petrol motor making way for 80bhp, using the same tech as of .0-litre EcoBoost minus the turbo.
New Figo in India will not only be sold as the conventional hatchback but would also be spawned into other body styles. For South America the Ford Ka+ sedan is in the line-up. In India, we are expecting the Ford Figo compact sedan only after the hatchback.
Hence, production will happen at Sanand facility in Gujarat by next year. In fact, Ford India too is reported of launching the next-gen Endeavour SUV by next year.
Image Courtesy: Autocar India
Force’s only modern rival in the market – Force One SUV – that automaker is keen on selling in numbers for the past three years (since 2011) has now taken a plight further. Spied without the camouflages on the outskirts of Pune, the SX or the mid variant of Force One is bound to be coming with “4×4 traction” soon.
Earlier, it was the top-end or LX variant that got the all-wheel drive functionality in the line-up. The differentiation on the outer skin of stock SX and its 4×4 sibling is the “4×4” sticker on C-pillar mimicking the LX variant. In the drivetrain the SUV comes powered by a 2.2-litre four-cylinder diesel engine of 141PS max power @ 3800rpm and 321NM of torque produced between 1600 and 2400rpm after mated to 5-speed manual gearbox. An electronic shift is given to switch between two-and-four wheel drive mode.
Hence, it will be only the cabin that may create a big difference between both the trims, as the SX comes with fabric, whereas LX makes a statement with the leather.
Hopefully, price of Force One 4×4 SX will hover near to Rs 13.5 lakh ex-showroom.
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Image Courtesy: Fly-Wheel
Force Motors is popularly known for making the LCVs that are most probably used in the rural and semi-urban areas. After the launch of ‘Force One’ it leads the transformation to a new segment which is quite more lucrative – and that’s the “SUVs”.
Taking that plight further on, the Force Motors is entitled to be the title sponsor of Rainforest Challenge in India, tagged as “Force Gurkha RFC India 2014?.
Well, that’s also the Gurkha which is recently launched and touted as the next baton of Pune based carmaker to foray deep into the segment of off-roader.
Commemorating about the Rainforest Challenge in detail, it was first launched in Malaysia in 1997 and is amongst the Top Ten Toughest motor races in the world. It is a global strain with presence in seven countries; Italy, Australia, Russia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Tunisia, and Plates.
The Force Gurkha RFC India 2014 will take on the routes in the forests of southern Goa from August 8 to August 14 this year.
Commenting about the challenge, Force Motor’s Administration Boss, Prasan Firodia said, “For Force Gurkha there could have been no better synergy than this extreme off-roading consequence. The RFC India 2014 is a splendid platform for the Force Gurkha. I believe the off-roading convergence in India is equipped for intense challenges and now has a global platform to test their mettle and bring to somebody’s attention their cleverness levels.”
Force Gurkha RFC India 2014 is reported to have maintained the entire standard that its Malaysian version had. The drivers will be will be given subjects like incessant rain, steep slippery slopes, deep ruts, gullies, flooded rivers, and landslides, all with fascinating and unpredictable twists.
Force Gurkha RFC India 2014 will have 4 levels of increasing difficulties; Preface, Killer, Terminator and Twilight. The participants have to complete all 30 Special Stages across a crowd of obstacles, to be declared as by and large winners.
But agreed the fact that the consequence is in its first year in India, the seven education and two by and large rankings – with one for foreign entries and another for Indian entries – have been kept bendable.
Ashish Gupta; Founder and Boss Cougar Motorsport said, “It will be fascinating to see how well Indian off-roaders stand up to unpredictable jungles amidst perpetually wet conditions without bringing up the rear their cool. This consequence paves way for the off-roading in India. I am fortunate to also announce that the winning team in this challenge will get an automatic entry to the RFC consequence in Malaysia”.
Force Gurkha, the same off-road vehicle which got launched almost a year and a half back, still hadn’t reached the dealerships. What had taken so long for the Pune-based carmaker to finally bring in the vehicle to the sales-floor still cannot be worked out by our experts. But it is been said the engineers at the backend were busy pepping the fallout of the vehicle which were pointed by the auto experts after they took its first drive.
Specifically, it was the February 2013 when the Force Motors revealed the prices and technical specifications of the Force Gurkha after a long wait, but soon after the experts got their hands on it and they complimented for a more room of improvements, with taking them seriously, the carmaker had again went to the board with its set of engineers to sort out shortcomings. “The feedback received from auto experts and select group of users during test drives has helped us further fine tune the Force Gurkha into an extremely capable off roader,” said Prasan Firodia, MD, Force Motors. It was also added the bookings will be open near to the date of sales.
Force Motors uses a 2.6-litre Mercedes sourced OM 616 turbo charged intercooled engine mated to a five-speed manual gearbox transmitting power to all the four wheels. Being an off-roader in nature, and also very serious about to give the Mahindra Thar a head-to-head competition, the reinforced tubular chassis chassis of Gurkha is made to bear the extreme torsional stresses passed on during the extreme off-road conditions.
The Gurkha gets a hardtop and a soft-top version and will be available with three colour options.
Force One top-end 4×4 variant was on the cards, but the sales and bookings hadn’t happened.
Now, after a year and more, the Force Motors finally led the gates open to the sales of its One SUV LX 4×4 variant after seeing a good market scenario.
Launched at Rs 13.74 lakhs ex-showroom Navi Mumbai and Rs 16.39 lakhs on-road Navi Mumbai, power to this SUV comes from a 2.2-liter four-cylinder diesel engine used by the SX variant. Force Motors had some sort of tie-ups with the Daimler and so it builds its own engine under the knowhow from that German group.
On the go, Force One produces 141 PS at 3,800 rpm and 321 Nm of torque between 1,600-2,400 rpm all transmitted from the 5-speed gearbox to an electronic shift-on-the-fly 4WD system. In terms of safety, the LX One gets ABS and EBD, exclusive of airbag.
Alloy wheels, projector headlamps with daytime running lights, electrically adjustable wing mirrors, 2-DIN music system with steering mounted controls and Bluetooth connectivity, reverse parking sensor, keyless entry and cruise control are the goodies that this Pune based carmaker had putted on offer on the One LX 4×4 variant.
Force One LX is the top-end variant of the One SUV positioned above the cut-price BS3 EX, and the mid-level BS4 SX.