Force Motors, the Indian automaker behind the Force Gurkha, has just released the Force Citiline, a vehicle so big that it sports another row behind its third to comfortably fit a total of 10 adult passengers. Those of us who weren’t ready for three-row pickup trucks, beware: the four-row SUVs are here. Well, kind of.
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They’re not here here, in the U.S., since the Force Citiline has just been released for sale in India, where it’ll start at $18,285 based on current exchange rates. And the Force Citiline is not technically an SUV but rather an MPV, according to the carmaker’s own account, as well as that of Autocar India, which reports that the Citline is based on the Trax Cruiser.
The Cruiser is also made by Force Motors, but it’s more of a commercial vehicle that’s referred to as a “multi-utility vehicle.” The differences between the MUV and MPV aren’t major; it’s just one letter, after all. But one is meant to be a commercial vehicle, while the other is a kind of civilian version better tailored to private use or ownership.
Then again, the new Force Citiline looks a lot like the Force Gurkha, which is not an MPV but a two-door SUV that shares a platform with the Cruiser and, now, the Citiline. The Gurkha, however, competes with the Mahindra Thar. It seems the deeply-American infatuation with the Jeep Wrangler has, more or less, been exported to South Asia where Tata, Mahindra, Force and Maruti Suzuki keep cranking out blocky off-roaders in sizes big, small and everything in between.
The Citiline takes after these blocky SUVs, although it’s not for off-roading. It’s just a basic people hauler that takes the notion of an MPV and blows it up in size to yield a nearly 17-foot long passenger van mashed together with an SUV. The Force Citiline is still a few inches shy of the new Land Rover Defender 130, which seems unnaturally long and a just a little bit out of proportion.
We could say the same thing about the Citiline, but somehow the blocky design and generous greenhouse balance the MPV enough to make it look pretty cool. But if the looks aren’t your cup of tea, maybe the Citiline’s drivetrain could be, as it’s powered by a Mercedes-Benz-derived 2.6-liter common rail diesel engine making 91 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque. That’s not much, but this brick-on-wheels isn’t really concerned with speed. And it gets bonus points for having a five-speed manual transmission as the sole available option.
Basically, the Citiline is a bare-bones MPV that looks like a tough SUV, while making more space for passengers and cargo than others in its segment. You can fit two families of five in the Citiline for epic road trips, although they might have to hold their own water bottles in their lap. The Citiline has four rows and all those seats, and yet there are still only four cup holders that I can count.
