The Force One may have a very basic exterior design that is marginally impressive. But what about the interiors? At more or less the same price, the rival XUV500 offers a very neatly packaged interior. Does the Force One have what it takes to justify its 10 lakh+ price tag?
Step into the Force One, and it’s a mixed feeling. On one side you have modern amenities such as steering mounted controls and on the other side you have the AC vents seen on movies featuring a young Jackie Chan. The Force One interiors is a mash up of beige and two shades of brown. As you open the massive doors, you realize that the ingress and the egress is very easy.
Once inside, you notice the big, leather wrapped, three spoke steering with steering mounted controls. These steering mounted controls seem to be inspired by the Range Rover and have a silver aerosol finish to it. You can pick up calls, tune the radio and engage/disengage cruise control using the buttons.
The indicator and wiper stalks are on the correct side of the steering wheel. The steering is adjustable for tilt but not for range. The dial console is literally an overload of information with its 25 lights shining away.
Moving to the center console which is just a sea of fake wood finish, the AC vents look archaic. The gear stick lacks a substantial feel to it.
For entertainment needs, Force has fitted it with a aftermarket JVC unit specially built for the Force One. Although the music quality is nothing to write home about, it does have all the necessities such as USB, AUX and Bluetooth compatibility.
Check below the music unit, we are back to the past with the AC controls knobs. A little storage space below than helps to keep pocket change and toll tickets. Left to the center console is a huge center slab of plastic to accommodate the glove box which is huge.
The leather seats are very comfortable and the look very aesthetic too. The button to operate the electric mirrors is weirdly below the center armrest. The center arm rest can accommodate nicknacks. The driver and the front passenger also get a sunglass holder on the roof. Small details like the dead pedal are also present.
You CANNOT complain about space (headroom, legroom, whatever) in the Force One. There is miles of it thanks to the SUV’s wide body. The second row seats are very spacious and they get their own charging outlet and ashtray.
Folding the second seats is very easy and the access to the rear seats is even easier. These are proper third row seats in which an average adult can sit for a extended period of time. The Force One is built grounds up to be a 7 seater SUV. It is not a 5 seater converted to a 7 seater model.
Each passenger gets his own dedicated set of air vents. Each door gets a puddle lamp too.
Coming to the rear, you find that despite of the 7 seat arrangement, the Force One has a very good boot space. The rear seats can also be folded to give way the additional boot space.
The toolkit is neatly tucked in the walls of the Force One. However, the knob that opens the compartment gives away the Force One’s Chinese roots.
This little beeper is what I would disconnect the moment I get the delivery of Force One. It beeps for a lot of things but no reason is provided as to why its beeping. Very annoying at times.
A really commendable fact is the all around visibility of the Force One. There are hardly any blind spots that you should worry about. Thanks to the parking sensors, it very easy to park this massive beast.
Things that I don’t like about the interiors:
- Although the Force One has all the modern amenities inside, they don’t come together to give you an enriched experience.
- The interiors feel dated and archaic.
- The AC takes a lot of time to bring down the temperature. No Climate control either.
- The steering mounted controls do not have buttons to change the tracks.
- The feel of the plastic is a bit tacky.
- If the door is closed, it’s almost impossible to operate the seat height adjusters.
- The door pads cannot hold water bottles. That’s not good for long journeys.
Stay tuned for the driving review. You don’t want to miss this one!
