Kit Car Magazine

The Indian automobile company Force has released latest CITILINE 9-seat SUV, which looks a bit like Mercedes-Benz G-Class. The seat model is designed to increase passenger comfort.

The exterior design is also hardcore. The whole car is almost made up of square lines. The design of engine cover is also very similar to G-class, especially inverted trapezoidal shape, without any trace of originality. However, front has added ideas of its own, such as borrowing Transit's square headlights and juxtaposing them with a more modern center grille design, without making it too cheap.

If you just look at position from front of car to B-pillar, you might misunderstand that this is previous generation G-Class, but when you see rear of car comparable to Defender 130, another kind of confusion arises. However, this style of armored personnel carrier complements hardcore design: wild wheel arches and aluminum alloy pedals are imbued with even old-fashioned style.

The rear of car uses a side door that's easier to get in and out of, and has standard off-road "small schoolbag," which isn't bad in that regard. However, design of rear lights is relatively simple, don't think about LED light source or anything else, only basic signal indication can be guaranteed.

The interior design is also made in style of an SUV. There are no problems with functionality of symmetrical design and round air intake, but configuration is really small. Manual air conditioning is considered an advanced vehicle equipment that does not tire driver.

The back row is highlight of CITILINE. The interior of car is made according to scheme 2 + 3 + 2 + 3. In addition to passengers, headrests are provided in middle, which is really much more convenient than in cabin. armored personnel carrier facing opposite direction. Of course, safety has never been pursuit of Indian cars. In principle, no passenger is completely safe. Even driver does not necessarily have airbags, so do not think about side airbags and air curtains.

However, I do have some ideas about use of space. The middle row is equipped with Honda housekeeping magic seats, which can be divided 60:40 and folded. Convenient.

Power is provided by a 2.6L four-cylinder diesel engine. Thanks to 1970s technology and absence of a supercharger, engine's maximum output is only 90 horsepower, yet it can continuously develop a maximum torque of 250 Nm at 1,400 rpm. -2400 rpm. Transmitted to rear wheels via a 5-speed manual transmission. Of course, how fast it can accelerate depends on road conditions and determination to press the gas pedal.

Overview

If you know something about daily traffic in India, you won't be surprised why such models exist. After all, many models do not even have doors, and rear passengers only have opposite benches. CITILINE rear air conditioners with independent seats are naturally considered a high-end model. Of course, as a relatively "high" model, price has reached $18,000, which is not a low price for Indian market, but given that it can accommodate 8 high-profile passengers, I think it will pay off soon.