Urbania vs Tempo Traveller: Which Is Better for Group Travel?

If you are taking eight to twenty people out of Chennai, the choice usually comes down to two vans: the Force Urbania and the Tempo Traveller. The Urbania costs more to hire. Whether it is worth the difference depends on how many of you are travelling, how far you are going and who is on board.

A note before we start. We rent Urbanias, so we have an interest in your answer. We have kept this Urbania vs Tempo Traveller comparison to what Force Motors publishes about both vehicles and to things you can check yourself before paying an advance.

The short answer

• Pick an Urbania when the drive is long, when elders or guests need to arrive rested, and when your group is 16 or fewer.
• Pick a Tempo Traveller when you have 17 to 25 people and want one vehicle, when the trip is short, or when the budget decides.
• For 10 to 14 people on a day trip, either will do. The age, seat layout and upkeep of the actual vehicle matter more than the name on the grille.

First, what each vehicle is

“Tempo Traveller” is the everyday name for the Force Traveller, a name left over from the company’s Bajaj Tempo days. The current model is sold as the Traveller N. People also use the term loosely for any van of that size.

The Urbania comes from the same manufacturer. It is Force Motors’ newer, more premium passenger van. So this is not one brand against another. It is two vans from one company, built for different budgets.

One correction to something you will read on other sites: that the Tempo Traveller is a truck-style body bolted to a frame. Force describes the current Traveller N range as monocoque construction, the same approach as the Urbania. The differences that passengers feel are in the suspension, the cabin and the fittings.

Urbania vs Tempo Traveller at a glance

These are manufacturer details for current models, taken from the official Force Urbania and Traveller pages. A rental vehicle can differ by year, variant and whatever the operator has refitted, so treat the table as a starting point.

If an Urbania sounds like the right fit, compare our 8-seater, 10-seater, 12-seater and 16-seater Urbania options.

Urbania vs Tempo Traveller: comfort, space, safety and cost

Comfort and seating

This is where the Urbania earns its higher rent. Force lists reclining seats with armrests, an AC vent for each passenger, reading lamps, USB charging ports and a cabin tall enough to stand up in. The independent front suspension is designed to soften broken road surfaces. Over five or six hours, those details add up to a group that arrives less tired.

On a standard Tempo Traveller, recliner seats and the better AC are options the buyer chooses. That is why two Tempo Travellers with the same seat count can feel completely different. A well-kept one with pushback seats is comfortable for a day trip. An older one with fixed seats is a long five hours.

Is an Urbania always more comfortable? No. A new Tempo Traveller with good seats will beat a badly maintained Urbania. Whichever you book, ask for recent photos of the interior of the vehicle you will actually get.

Seats and luggage

Seat counts cause more confusion than anything else. Manufacturers write capacity as “12+D”, meaning 12 passengers plus the driver. Rental listings often just say “12-seater”, which may or may not include the driver’s seat. Ask one question: how many passenger seats, not counting the driver?

Operators also fit fewer, wider seats into the same van. Our 8 and 9-seater Urbanias are examples: the same vehicle, with more room for each person.

The upper limits are different. An Urbania carries about 16 passengers at most. If you have 17 to 25 people and want everyone in one vehicle, a larger Tempo Traveller is the practical answer.

Luggage needs its own check. Seat count tells you nothing about boot space, and a van with every seat filled has little room left behind the last row. Twelve people with twelve suitcases on an airport run is a very different load from twelve people with handbags on a temple day trip. Tell the operator how many bags you have and their sizes. If it looks tight, book one size up.

Safety and vehicle condition

On paper, the Urbania has the longer list: Force names ABS, EBD, electronic stability control and airbags for the driver and co-driver. The Traveller N lists ABS and EBD, with stability control on its larger wider-body model.

An equipment list is not a crash rating, so we will not call either van “the safer one”. What you can control matters more:

• Ask the age of the vehicle and when it was last serviced.
• Check that passenger seats have working seat belts, and use them.
• Never carry more people than there are seats.
• On overnight or multi-day trips, ask how the driver’s rest is planned.

Rental cost, and how to compare two quotes

A Tempo Traveller is cheaper to hire. Every operator comparison we read while writing this prices the Urbania above a standard Tempo Traveller of similar size. The size of the gap changes with the city, the season and the vehicle, so get both quotes for your own dates.

Split across the group, the difference per person is often smaller than the headline numbers suggest. Work it out per head before deciding.

Two quotes are only comparable if they are built the same way. Check these on each:

• What the package includes. Local trips are usually billed as a block of hours and kilometres. Outstation trips usually carry a minimum number of kilometres per day.
• Extra kilometre and extra hour rates.
• Where the meter starts. Some operators count kilometres from your pickup point. Others, including us, count from the garage and back, often called shed to shed.
• Driver batta per day, and any night charge.
• Tolls, parking and interstate permits. A Tirupati trip, for example, needs an Andhra Pradesh permit. Ask whether these are included or extra.
• GST, and whether it is in the figure you were given.
• The exact vehicle: model year, passenger seats and photos.

Want an Urbania quote built this way? Send us your date, route and passenger count, and we will list every charge (package, extra km, batta, tolls, permits and GST) in one message.

Which suits your trip?

Planning one of these with us? See Urbania for wedding guest transport, Urbania for corporate travel in Chennai, or our Chennai to Tirupati Urbania trips.

When a Tempo Traveller is the better choice

• Your group is larger than 16 and you want one vehicle, one driver and one toll receipt.
• The trip is an hour or two each way, where reclining seats change little.
• You are booking late or on a peak muhurtham date. Tempo Travellers are far more common, so one is easier to find.
• The budget is fixed and the group would rather spend the difference at the destination.

When an Urbania is the better choice

• You will be on the road four hours or more each way.
• Grandparents, young children or anyone with back or knee trouble is travelling. A cabin you can stand in and a seat that reclines make a real difference to them.
• The passengers are guests or clients, and how they arrive reflects on you.
• You are returning late at night and want people to be able to sleep.

Choosing the right Urbania size

If you have settled on an Urbania, size it in three steps:

1. Count passengers, children included.
2. Count bags, and note the large ones.
3. For a multi-day trip, or if the bag count is high, go one size up.

We run 8, 9, 10, 12 and 16-seater Urbanias in Chennai. The 8 and 10-seater suit small families and senior executives. The 12-seater suits joint families and office teams. Wedding parties and tour groups are better served by the 16-seater Urbania. For more than 16 people, we plan two vans.

Urbania vs Tempo Traveller: frequently asked questions

Not sure which one fits your trip?

Send us your travel date, route, number of passengers and number of bags. We will tell you which Urbania fits, share a quote, and say so plainly if a larger vehicle would serve you better.