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Force Citiline debuts as a SUV capable of rivalling an SA taxi
Automaker was meant to have entered South Africa in the first quarter of 2023, but nothing has yet materialised.
Citiline’s exterior a combination of old Mercedes-Benz G-Class and Mahindra Bolero. Image: Force Motors.
Having last year announced its entry into the South African market, of which nothing has come so far, Force Motors has revealed its latest model in India, the Citiline that offers SUV styling with the seating capacity of some minibus taxis
Room for 10
The third model in the automaker’s line-up of SUVs designed to carry more than seven occupants, the Citiline is in fact a derivative of the Trax Cruiser that provides seating for 13 and the Trax Troofvan that seats 12.
“Borrowing” styling from the Mahindra Bolero but with slab-side appearance similar to the original Mercedes-Benz G-Class, the Citiline seats ten in a 2+3+2+3 configuration, which, unlike in the Trax versions, are all forward facing chairs and not arranged in a bench design as the case is with the fourth row.
Dimensionally, the Citiline measures 5 120 mm long, 1 818 mm wide and 2 027 mm high while riding on a 3 050 mm long wheelbase; the same as both Trax variants. Equally similar is the 191 mm ground clearance.
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Being a mass transport people hauler, the Citiline is anything but lavishly equipped as it omits even basic items such as a radio, central locking or airbags.
It does, however, have power steering, electric windows, air-conditioning with separate vents for those in each row and according to Force Motors, “ample headroom and legroom”.
Don’t expect rapid acceleration
Riding on a body-on-frame chassis with leaf springs at the rear and an independent double wishbone suspension at the front, underneath its bonnet, the Citiline is motivated by a Mercedes-Benz-era 2.6-litre turbodiesel engine that can its trace its roots back to the 1970s.
The result of Force’s partnership with the three-pointed star dating back to the 1997, the internally named OM 616 oil-burner that also powers the G-Class-inspired three-door Gurkha off-roader develops a paltry 67kW/250Nm directed to the rear wheels through a five-speed manual gearbox.
Already available for ordering priced at Rs 1 510 000, which equates to just under R341 100 when directly converted, the Force Motors Citiline hasn’t been mentioned for South Africa, especially given the silence surrounding its supposed operations meant to have started in the first quarter of this year.
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