[NaXal]

I wish they (Force) simply keep a fully loaded (with all those mean looking, off roading accessories fitted) Gurkha on each showroom as display unit.

I would be for sure spending at-least an evening every week to simply keep looking at it.



Its not always a car name justifies meaning. Truly a Gurkha.

In year 1971 after crushing the enemy, Field Marshal Gen. Sam (Bahadur) Manik Shaw (Indians first and only all arm force Supreme commander) said,

"If a man says I am not afraid of dying, either he is lying or he must be a Gurkha."

Similarly, if in India, a car says it makes it own road, then it's lying or it must be a Force Gurkha.

[sbanerjee]

Can anyone shed some light on the towing capacity of the vehicle?

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by sechebe

Thar doesn't have ABS/Airbags either. Also as per your observations Thar felt archaic, less comfy and cramped. Don't know what the price difference is with Gurkha 4x4 Xplorer 3 Door.

Gurkha is spacious and very comfortable to drive Vs Thar powerful, agile and little on the crude feel thanks to leaf spring at rear and horrible seating. Space is also pretty tight inside.

But at 10.5 Lakhs on road i would still go for Thar since Gurkha will make your hair stand out while trying to do a simple overtaking Thar that way is a point and dart machine. Again M&M service back up Vs Force.

[lazy]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Final words - For all 3 of us biggest downer was the engine, if it was the 2.2 Liter 110-120 bhp version with ABS and two airbags that was being sold at this 11.27 price tag, i am sure there would have been 3 bookings on saturday. Rest everything we could have fixed!

Thank you Jaggu. Great summary.

Let me add my perspective as a typical urban prospective customer who wants a lifestyle vehicle. And I recently cancelled my Thar booking 2 days before delivery so maybe my views will resonate with the TG.

Thar's BLR OTR is 10.8 and Gurkha is 11.27.
For 50K extra, Force gives:
- hard-top that too metal (this alone more than negates the price delta),
- much better looks
- more space
- much better ride (assuming ride is same if not better than older model)
- extra 4x4 hardware - front diffs (not imp to me)
- better warranty I think

Now, the downer, engine - cannot remaps add some more power?

Finally, lack of safety was the reason I dumped the Thar, and hence Gurkha too is no-no for me.

But for the Thar buying public, 400 per month all India, this should be a serious option.

cheers
lazy

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by lazy

Now, the downer, engine - cannot remaps add some more power?

Have to see what ECU it is running and if a tuner will be able to hack it, with low numbers will be a tough task for tuners to make a business case. And how much gain can be achieved, don't think it will still take it above 100 bhp mark and at 2700 kg, that is still a very low power to weight ratio.

[Aroy]

I was wondering if 2700kg is unladen weight or the maximum total weight of the vehicle fully laden.

[Torqy]

No Expedition available for test drive at Bangalore Bommanahalli showroom. Explorer is available. They claim to have sold a few of both. Waiting for the owners to popup here.

Originally Posted by sharktale

..... repairs could be done by a rookie rural mechanic.

This is always better than having to transport the vehicle 200km on a flatbed.

[sechebe]

Originally Posted by Aroy

I was wondering if 2700kg is unladen weight or the maximum total weight of the vehicle fully laden.

2775 kg is the 5 door Xplorer Model Gross Vehicle Weight. The same for 3 door version is 2510kg.

GVW = Maximum permissible weight including Passengers and Luggage.

So Unladen weight of Gurkha should be much lower.

For a comparison: Mahindra Scorpio 4wd GVW = 2650kg. They haven't officially published Kerb Weight in their website, but it says max payload of 600kgs. That implies an unladen weight of 2050kg.

I think if Force's power to weight ratio is being pointed out as a big disadvantage, then we should also see how successful Bolero is with similar weight and just 62bhp & 195NM for 2.5L m2crde BSIV.(Agreed its cheap, but lacks 4x4 equipment and is crude as well).

[4x4addict]

Originally Posted by Aroy

I was wondering if 2700kg is unladen weight or the maximum total weight of the vehicle fully laden.

It is GVW (Gross Vehicle Weight) which I think includes the passenger capacity. So if we knocked off 600 to 700 kgs for the passengers, it still weighs a 2 tons or over, almost the same wight as full size SUVs.

[Kandisa]

The tags to highlight the new additions is impressive, looks like Force is attempting to follow the 'mainstream' marketing initiatives! That kitted up Gurkha is surely a beauty (and a beast). The classic boxy design has an appeal of its own and this is probably the closest to an LR Defender kind of a thing one can have in India.
With a powerful engine, some basic add-ons in safety department (at least ABS), expansion of service network and a bit of aggressive pricing, this vehicle surely has the potential to attract a good number of customers waiting for an affordable no-frills 4wd tourer. On another note, I did register for a TD this time and got an email on pricing of the Xplorer version in stead.

[mallumowgli]

Originally Posted by Kandisa

I did register for a TD this time and got an email on pricing of the Xplorer version in stead.

Did they give separate prices for D+4, D+5 etc options? The website gives only one price

[NaXal]

Originally Posted by Kandisa

With a powerful engine, some basic add-ons in safety department (at least ABS)

If I am not wrong (correct me if I am), new safety norms coming in just few months time would make this Gurkha model obsolete ??

I mean to say, isn't GOV plans to make safety norms like ABS/EBD and AirBags mandatory?

I remember THAR, when came in with BS3 while country was just few months away from BS4 in Metro cities, thus making THAR hard (impossible) to register in Metro City address.

I wonder why releasing a face lift in this time of the year, when safety tests and safety tech is just about to get mandatory while skipping those main features.

expansion of service network

Force website shows ZERO dealer for Gurkha in entire eastern India ?

While I can see tons of Force dealer or at least sales outlet in City

bit of aggressive pricing

A friend of mine with Budget of Rs. 8/9L (Approx) is banging is head in the wall as he is torn between Bolero and Gurkha.

While arguing with him, I am unable to even convince my self for Gurkha with the price TAG

[apachelongbow]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

Good feed back Jaggu. The above line pretty much sums up my take as well. We can deal with improving the dash, repainting the vehicle, etc, but I think they need to provide a decent powertrain that can move this fat lady.

If power is a major concern, will a tuning box not cure it? Considering it is a crdi with ecu control? Im sure a basic tuning box can bump up the 85bhp to 110/120 bhp atleast. At a max cost of 20k more

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Have to see what ECU it is running and if a tuner will be able to hack it, with low numbers will be a tough task for tuners to make a business case. And how much gain can be achieved, don't think it will still take it above 100 bhp mark and at 2700 kg, that is still a very low power to weight ratio.

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

If power is a major concern, will a tuning box not cure it? Considering it is a crdi with ecu control? Im sure a basic tuning box can bump up the 85bhp to 110/120 bhp atleast. At a max cost of 20k more

I have addressed this earlier ^^ if it is a hackable ECU, one can bump up the power but NOT to the extend you have mentioned. So for now best option is to wait for the upgraded engine to come out.

[Kandisa]

Originally Posted by mallumowgli

Did they give separate prices for D+4, D+5 etc options? The website gives only one price

What i have received is the information on 'Xplorer 3 door 4x4 hard top version' with a price tag of 9.35 Lakhs on 'direct billing in name of customer from plant'.

Originally Posted by NaXal

If I am not wrong (correct me if I am), new safety norms coming in just few months time would make this Gurkha model obsolete ??

I wonder why releasing a face lift in this time of the year, when safety tests and safety tech is just about to get mandatory while skipping those main features.

I am sure if Force is serious enough, some more upgrades are on the way and may be seen in the market 'soon'. How soon that is anybody's guess going by their track record so far. But i think this time there is at least some change/effort in the overall initiative. Even the website now gives a feeling of encouraging the customer to go for it.

...Force website shows ZERO dealer for Gurkha in entire eastern India ? While I can see tons of Force dealer or at least sales outlet in City

To the best extent of my knowledge, the common Force dealers are supposed to deal with the commercial vehicle segment i.e. the Traveller, which is a popular mainstream product already well established. This is different from Gurkha which should come/comes under passenger / personal vehicle segment.