New variant of Force One seen testing in Pune

Force Motors, the erstwhile Bajaj Tempo Limited, which manufactures and sells the popular Traveller range of light commercial vehicles, recently entered the passenger car segment with Force One. This huge SUV was launched late last year to compete with the likes of Tata Safari, Tata Aria and Mahindra XUV500. With loads of passenger space and Mercedes-sourced 2.2 liter common-rail diesel engine as its trump-cards, the Force One has met with considerable success. The sales figures might suggest otherwise, but if our sources are to be believed, Force Motors is not able to make enough of them (on a relative scale) to meet the existing demand.

One major negative aspect of the Force One apart from its dated looks and questionable fit and finish is the absence of any sort of safety features in the vehicle. Remember, the Force One is priced upwards of 10 Lac Rupees and for that, you don't even get ABS and Airbags, leave alone advanced features like Electronic Brake-force Distribution and Traction Control System that some of its competitors have on offer. Competing in the SUV segment, the Force One does not even have a 4WD option despite the company displaying one at the Auto Expo and during the launch event. Those are some serious omissions by Force Motors.

When probed, Force Motors announced that a feature-loaded version of Force One equipped with 4WD option and safety features like ABS and Airbags would be launched in 2012. We are well into 2012 now and Force Motors seems to be working towards adhering to their commitment. These shots taken today in Pune by Biswajit, one of our regular reader's pals, shows a Force One SUV with test plates sans the logo and badges. So, can we assume that this is indeed the 4WD variant or the top-end variant with features like ABS and Airbags being tested before being put into the market? We are definitely not going to bet against that.

Though the Force One is not a great looker in the first place, we have to admit that this particular test vehicle with its all-black treatment does look sinfully macho.