Opening
If any person has gone on a tour with their car or SUV with a person or two extra above the normal capacity, he would have experienced the worst of discomfort. With that in mind, companies have developed an MUV which solves the purpose of both MUV and a traveler.
Most of us would have in the past noticed a fully packed Force Motors Trax loaded with passengers. One may wonder why the same is not the chosen car for city people whereas the car is one most popular utility vehicles having a massive presence in Rural Areas. We took the Force Motors Trax Cruiser Toofan for a testdrive, and present our analysis of the same.
Appearance Exterior
A quick look at the Trax Toofan, clearly shows that it is perfectly suitable can for touring all over the state and country-side with a good number of people, even compared to say a 8 or congested 10 seater MUV. From the outside already, it’s clear that the Trax Toofan can seat 12 people comfortably – the car is that big.
From the front, there is nothing much to appreciate, as there is no curving or any other styling cues, which one sees in the Mahindra Xylo or Tata Sumo Grande. The metal bumper gives a sense of toughness comparable to Ambassador cars.
On the side, the car carries graphics resembling a splash of water. They cover from the front door to the rear quarter panel and a sticker of Toofan Classic is there for the Toofan version.The Ground clearance of 210 MM is apparent on viewing and it assures to swallow worst of the road humps. In general, the Trax is a no-nonsense, big car, with no embellishments whatsoever. It’s purely designed for functionality.
Appearance Interior
The Interiors of the Trax Toofan are comparable to any other pick up van. The dashboard is completely plain, serving the minimum necessity for which there is an instrument cluster and a small glove box. The dashboard has the fuel gauge, speedometer, and engine temperature gauge. It doesn’t feature music system.
For the 11+driver option, the driver seat is separate from other the other two seats in the front row. As a result, the driver is assured of comfortable seating and he need not move to the far right to accommodate one more passenger, a problem which exists in the Ambassador. Best of comfort exists for the middle row, where there is provision of headrest for two persons, with plenty of legroom for all three passengers that can sit here.
Two bench seats are provided in the back with enough space for seating of 3 passengers on each side. Thus, the car allows 6 persons in rear side, 3 in the middle row, 2 in the co-driver seat so that a total of 12 persons can be seated in a comfortable manner. Beyond the above, there is really not much to say about the Trax’ interiors. It is extremely functional to the point of being underwhelming and contains only the bare minimum without any embellishments.
Performance Drive
The Trax Toofan is a variant within the Trax Cruiser model and features a 4 cylinder diesel engine with capacity of 2596cc, which delivers a power output of 61HP and torque of 158NM. The ground clearance of the car is 210MM,. Other options in the Cruiser model are the Trax Cruiser 9+driver and the Cruiser Classic 13+driver. Other specifications remain same for all.
We drove the 11+ driver option variant in Bangalore which is priced at 7.24 Lakh on-road (6.0 lakh ex show room).
An important point to note is that of emission norms. The Trax is still available under BSII and BSIII norms version only. BS IV norms version can be expected by next year or so. Since most of the sales for the Trax are from rural areas where BS IV norms are not implemented yet, the company has the luxury of delaying the new launch. Similarly, though the dealer is located in the city, registration would be done in respective RTO of residence of customer. However, if anybody from city wants to buy the same, the Executive is ready to help out to complete registration formalities with a rural area RTO and deliver the vehicle.
We took the 11+1 seater Trax Toofan for a testdrive. While the large size of the vehicle does create an apprehension for one who is not used to driving such large cars, there turned out to be no need to worry about driving in normal roads. The only precaution one needs to take while turning is to make sure that the vehicle is slowed greatly down and ensure that there is enough space available for taking turn. Bear in mind that the car’s minimum turning circle radius is 7.0 Meters (for comparison, the Nissan Micra’s is just 4,5 meters). However, there is no need to worry about the same while driving on plain roads.
As we can see in the photos, there is no special cushioning for the driver seat. The Dashboard is plain with minimum required gauges. Once seated, one at once feels like a pick up van driver, as there is really no other purpose for driving this car. However, once we switch on the engine, we are presented with a smooth running diesel engine, which is also known for its reliability. The car’s Hand brake is provided just next to driver and hence there is no need to extend hand for operating the same. However, gear lever is a bit forward and we have to stretch somewhat to grab the plain gear lever, but once we start using it, there is not much of an issue.
Moving out the Trax from its parking place onto the main road in the heart of the city was a bit due to the heavy movement of vehicles, but once we came on the road, there was not much of an issue. The quality of the build and the bumpers provide good confidence. For the driver, there is the confidence boost that in case of any inadvertent collision, the bumpers are easy and cheap to replace – indeed the car has been built keeping this in mind.
Clutch operation is very easy and the positioning of brake and acceleration pedals is just right, so that it is easy to operate. While driving on plain roads, the Trax is as good as any MUV such as Tata Sumo and Mahindra Bolero. The Trax reaches a maximum speed of around 100 to 120KMPH max, which is not bad keeping in mind the capacity of the engine and the number of passengers, causing a larger pay load due to larger interior space. Though there is considerable acceleration, we can not expect acceleration as good as a Sumo Victa or Bolero. Hydraulic brake system with front disc and rear drum is very efficient and has a minimum stopping distance and road grip. Hence, it can be used confidently in city, highway, and rural roads as required.
Overall, driving Trax Toofan is as good as driving a Tata Sumo, though the only thing one has to get used to is the length of vehicle.
Tech Specs
| Technical Specifications | ||
| Make | Force | |
| Model | Cruiser | |
| Variant | Toofan | |
| Engine Displacement | 2596 | |
| Power PS/RPM | 60/3200 | |
| Torque Nm/RPM | 158/2000-2200 | |
| Transmission | 5/M | |
| Seating | 10+1 Driver | |
| AC | No | |
| Power windows | No | |
| Central lock | No | |
| Power steering | No | |
| Ground clearance in MM | 210 | |
| Fuel Tank Capacity | 60 | |
| Tyre Size | 7.0/215 R15 | |
| Dimension in MM | ||
| Length | 4832 | |
| Width | 1660 | |
| Height | 2055 | |
| Turning circle radius | 6.3M | |
| Colour Options | Metallic Silver,Metallic Gold | |
| Metallic Sapphire, Tasmania Green | ||
| Mica Black | ||
| Ex showroom Price Mumbai | 660972 | |
Features
| Features | Toofan |
| AC | No |
| Power steering | Yes |
| Power windows | No |
| Central locking | No |
| 4WD Wth 10+Driver | Yes |
Competition All Specs
| Specifications |
Force
Cruiser |
Tata
Sumo Gold |
Mahindra
Bolero |
| Variant | Toofan | EX | SLE |
| Engine Displacement | 2596 | 2596 | 2523 |
| Power PS/RPM | 60/3200 | 84/3000 | 62/3200 |
| Torque Nm/RPM | 158/2000-2200 | 250/2000 | 195/2200 |
| Transmission | 5/M | 5/M | 5/M |
| Seating | 11+1 Driver | 9 | 8 |
| AC | No | Yes | Yes |
| Power windows | No | No | Yes |
| Central lock | No | No | Yes |
| Power steering | No | Yes | Yes |
| Ground clearance in MM | 210 | 190 | 183 |
| Fuel Tank Capacity | 60 | 65 | - |
| Tyre Size | 7.0/215 R15 | 185/85 R16 | 215/75 R15 |
| Dimension in MM | |||
| Length | 4832 | 4258 | 4107 |
| Width | 1660 | 1700 | 1745 |
| Height | 2055 | 1925 | 1880 |
| Turning circle radius in M | 6.3 | 5.3 | 5.8 |
| Ex showroom Price Mumbai | 660972 | 676588 | 653382 |
Conclusion
The Trax Toofan Serves the Purpose of a utility vehicle, providing for maximum number of people to travel in it. It’s a reliable car, with effectively priced maintenance and parts, and offers attractive drive quality.
Though one has to compromise with respect to luxury features such as AC, Music system, etc., the car justifies the money invested explaining its stronghold in rural transport system.
However, the car’s purpose is clearly to carry as many people as possible. As such, even for city use, it will be useful only to fleet operators or taxi drivers.
