[Big Smoke]

Took the test drive of the Force Gurkha today.

Looks-

In one word: Macho

I feel this is as macho as it can get for a factory spec sub-40 lakh car in India. The car is HUGE. Pictures don’t do justification to the massive size of the car (the height particularly). In comparison, my Harrier felt small. The car is well proportioned overall. The front end is handsome. The rear end could be made better looking, but it’s not particularly bad looking. You get used to the looks of the rear. The side profile is good looking as well, with clear, straight lines. The overall boxy design of the car suits the true - blue SUV character a lot. I really like it. The wheels might look undersized in pictures, but in person, they look alright.

And yes, the car turns heads. It has incredible street presence and exclusivity. Moreover, the test drive vehicle was red. The moment I drove out of my gated community, all the pedestrians and other people on the busy street were turning heads as I passed by. I’ve driven an Audi A7 as well quite often through this street, and my E220d on a regular basis, but the Gurkha turned more heads in comparison.

Ride Quality-

In one word: Superb

The suspension tuning is extremely comfortable. I felt the ride quality to be slightly more comfortable than an Innova Crysta (despite the car having 37 PSI pressure in 2 tyres, 34 PSI in 1 tyre, and 41 PSI pressure in 1 tyre ).
While taking a right turn at 60 kmph, it wasn’t unnerving. Body roll was present, but nothing out of control or abnormal.

Driving Experience-

In one word: Engaging

This vehicle feels like a truck. You climb into it. There is superb visibility all around. The seat is comfortable. I quickly found my preferred driving position with basic adjustments.

The steering wheel is thinner than expected. The clutch pedal is light (lighter than my Ford Aspire diesel @ 60k kms). However, the gear lever is placed far away, and it’s not really aligned properly. Like, the gear lever isn’t exactly straight. The gear shifts are easy, and light. The gear ratios are short, designed in such a way that the vehicle easily remains almost always in the maximum torque band.

I floored the accelerator on open roads as well to reach 3500 rpm and see what the 90hp engine is capable of. I was surprised. With the way the car catches speed keeping in mind how it looks (pointing at the aerodynamics), and the low power rating, I am actually happy. I expected worse, actually. But still, it’s not power - packed like you would expect from a powerful turbo - diesel (like say, in my Aspire diesel or Harrier). It’s not meant to be that way in this engine, and it’s very important to understand that. From what I understood, this engine is all about the low - end torque, suitable for off - roading, and also facilitating respectable highway speeds in a smooth driving manner.

The engine actually has a bit of a naturally aspirated Diesel engine characteristic to it. When you floor the accelerator, it doesn’t pin you to the seat, or there’s no turbo - swoosh which I’ve experienced in almost all turbo diesels. Rather, the engine starts developing speed in a faster, but gradual way.

The gearbox positioning is the biggest problem I found in this car. I am 5’8”. I almost had to lean to my left every time I wanted to change the gear. I took a pretty long test drive of almost 45 mins, testing the car in bumper to bumper traffic, broken roads, highway- like open roads and an off - road (mud) terrain as well. Now at the end of the test drive, I have a sprain on the left side of my neck and left shoulder blade. My left forearm is also slightly stressed. And after driving for 35 mins or so, I could feel my right bicep was slightly stressed.

While off - roading in the mud terrain, I engaged both the 4L and 4H. The car becomes very powerful. I was stuck at a slush pit in 4*2 mode. I put the car in 4H, and the car easily glided out through the pit. I drove through similar muddy patches and slush pits, and engaged 4H and 4L as was required. I didn’t get a chance to use the differential locks though.

Here again, engaging the 4H and 4L is a MAMMOTH task. The driver told me that it was a problem specific to this car (covered 5600 km, Oct ‘21 model). Engaging 4H or 4L needs brute force (and by brute force, trust me, I am not exaggerating). Moving the gear lever for 4H or 4L required the application of a force equivalent to moving a 7.5 kg dumbbell.

In fact, after my off - road trail, the car experienced a mechanical failure. When I was on Tarmac, the gear lever refused to slot into 2H. I tried several times, then the driver tried, applying even greater force. But the gear lever would only shift between 4H and 4L, not 2H. I asked the driver to take over the car. He tried again, sitting in the driver seat, turned off and then again turned on the car. But it was fruitless. The driver mentioned that he had encountered the same problem in the past as well. And he again told me that it’s a problem specific to this vehicle.

I took over the steering wheel again and continued back home in 4H, driving very slowly. After 1 km, I pulled up to the side of the road to try to slot the lever into 2H again. This time, the gear lever readily slotted into 2H. Everyone was relieved. I continued the journey home again driving enthusiastically.

Conclusion-

The Gurkha is a very vehicle built for specific purposes. It is utilitarian, and very engaging to drive. In cities it’s comfortable to drive, but it excels greatly in off-road. The AC is also very powerful.

It’s not easy to live with a Gurkha on a daily basis. As I mentioned, I am not very comfortable with the driving position of the car. But I’m thoroughly impressed with the car. It looks rad, is capable for the purpose it’s designed for, very spacious and oozes exclusivity on road.

However, the mechanical failure I experienced is a concern. Besides, over bad roads, there are quite a bit of rattles in the car. Over multi - speed breakers, the steering wheel sways beyond control (the car doesn’t change direction though). Also, with a service interval of 2 months (as per what the Sales Advisor told me), it’s a headache to deal with.

Additionally, the Gurkha costs almost 18 lakhs on road with the extended warranty. It’s not a very favourable price as well.

As much as I liked the Force Gurkha, as much as I was impressed by the vehicle, I don’t think I will buy the vehicle in the near future.

[Ragul]

Originally Posted by Big Smoke

Took the test drive of the Force Gurkha today.

The suspension tuning is extremely comfortable. I felt the ride quality to be slightly more comfortable than an Innova Crysta (despite the car having 37 PSI pressure in 2 tyres, 34 PSI in 1 tyre, and 41 PSI pressure in 1 tyre ).

And another reviewer said the rear was bumpy. Unless its just a matter of using the right tyre pressure...

Here again, engaging the 4H and 4L is a MAMMOTH task. The driver told me that it was a problem specific to this car (covered 5600 km, Oct ‘21 model). Engaging 4H or 4L needs brute force (and by brute force, trust me, I am not exaggerating). Moving the gear lever for 4H or 4L required the application of a force equivalent to moving a 7.5 kg dumbbell.

Did you try reversing then forwarding the car just a wee bit and try engaging 4WD again? Maybe you can ask the original owner to try and report? At least it works with stuck gears.

In fact, after my off - road trail, the car experienced a mechanical failure. When I was on Tarmac, the gear lever refused to slot into 2H. I tried several times, then the driver tried, applying even greater force. But the gear lever would only shift between 4H and 4L, not 2H.
I took over the steering wheel again and continued back home in 4H, driving very slowly. After 1 km, I pulled up to the side of the road to try to slot the lever into 2H again. This time, the gear lever readily slotted into 2H. Everyone was relieved. I continued the journey home again driving enthusiastically.

I think what you experienced was due to mechanical binding of the drivetrain. Usually taking slight turns as you exit slippery surfaces on to road surfaces with a bit of grip causes this - even a few meters. The trick is to drive the car to a grassy patch on the roadside with only one (left) side wheels on the grassy surface, this allows some wheel slip as the binding tension releases and then the 4WD mode is easy to disengage. This is a standard trick - I've had to do this with my Gypsy as well a few times because I thought I would disengage the 4WD just after reaching the tarred road.

Besides, over bad roads, there are quite a bit of rattles in the car. Over multi - speed breakers, the steering wheel sways beyond control (the car doesn’t change direction though).

Oh hmm... I will watch out for this on my test drive. Thanks for the feedback!

[Ksingh544]

Hi Everyone,

has anyone remapped their Force Gurkha 2021 yet ? There has been a lot of talk about the 90 BHP engine and that it may lack the required power.
I was wondering if anyone had remapped and what has been their experience with the added power.

Do update incase someone has done this.

Thanks !

[Ragul]

Does the Gurkha come with a heater as well? I forgot to check that in the showroom.

[Traveler]

Anyone faced any DPF issues in the Gurkha yet. Owners please provide feedback on how much you have driven and whether any DPF issued cropped up for you yet.

[Knightrider]

Spotted the 5 door Gurkha today on Mumbai - Bengaluru bypass in Pune. Note the engine badging on the fender. But this one was without the round headlamps that come in 3 door Gurkha or as were spotted earlier in another test mule.

[swunkjyn]

If one refers to last one and 2nd from the last pictures, the ground clearance is much higher, I would say as high as Thar. Plus the tyres are bigger too. I am hoping the Engine plus the transmission has been tweaked. This is going to get some good number for Force. Really love their efforts.

[Ksingh544]

Background -

Force Motors have opened a new showroom, a small sales office in Old Gurgaon near the Kapashera border. This is an extension of Rohit Autowheels who are the existing dealer in Delhi, having their main showroom on the GT Karnal Road.

Dealer Experience -

I called them to enquire about a Test Drive and they asked me to come on Saturday 13th August. It was fairly simple to find the spot on google maps, their Executive had sent me the location on Whatsapp. It is a small sales point that has one Display Vehicle and one Test Drive Vehicle. Both of which were the Black Gurkha.
I had previously taken a short test drive at the Rama road Dealer in New Delhi about 3 months ago, where i had the pleasure of meeting fellow Team BHPian and Gurkha owner Manuuj, with his Green Gurkha aka Astreix.
I told the Sales Executive that i am interested in driving the vehicle but over a longer distance and on the highway.
Having been a previous Force Tempo Trax owner (2002-2008) and researched enough about the Gurkha 2021, my only concern has been about the engine and its power output. I do a fair amount of long distance driving and didnt want to be caught short on the highways, with a vehicle that was struggling. For reference my previous vehicle that i sold in May 2022 was the Thar CRDe 2015 version, which i drove for over 1 lakh kms as my daily driver.

The Test Drive & Feedback -

The Sales Executive was very accomodating and allowed me a long drive from Old Gurgaon to IFFCO Chowk, onto the Gurgaon Delhi Expressway and back to the Showroom. This would have been approximately 20+ kms of open highway driving. In which i put the Gurkha through its paces, yes it doesnt have the immediate grunt in low gears that one is used to from Mahindra vehicles but at about 2000-2200 RPM the vehice cruises with ease. Near Cyberhub i was at 100 kmph with no issues and carving through the traffic, at times having to switch lanes to get by slower cars. The Gurkha feels planted and there wasnt much roll while pulling these moves. The TD Vehicle itself wasnt in the best shape, the gears were very notchy and brakes soft; so one had to plan slightly ahead when braking at a higher speed.
Overall i was very satisfied with the experience, i can see this being a long distance cruiser in which one can do 100-110 in 5th gear for long stretches.
The suspension, body roll and how it tackles bad roads is superior to both my Thar 2015 and the Thar 2020. I have driven both the Thar's extensively.
The cabin space is much bigger and it easily has the most commanding view from the cockpit. Add to that its a proper 4 seater, with all captain seats and a proper luggage space.

The Digression -

I have had the privilege of being on this forum for over a decade now and without doubt this is the holy grail of automotive information for India. The level of information sharing, forum discussions, value add is unbeatable.
But in the past 3-4 years I have noticed a trend where based on social media comments or some Youtube video, members will start tearing apart vehicles without even having tested them or tried them out in person. One case in point is the 205 mm ground clearance, people have written of the Gurkha without even having driven it over a speed breaker. My previous vehicles have been the Tempo Trax, Scorpio CRDe, Thar CRDe and the next will be the Gurkha 2021; you can see the trend. For a consumer like me i need the basics in place and there are many more like me who dont care if my seats arent heated/cooled or the rear view mirror doesnt dim automatically. I have two able hands and can change my mirror myself. But i see long discussions on these small elements which honestly dont matter to that target audience. Its my humble appeal to someone coming from a sedan, hatch or a luxury car to experience these vehicles from the point of view of what they are and not making a direct apple to apple comparison with your existing vehicles. It serves no purpose at all.
Youtubers are taking these vehicles to Spiti, Leh type locations and making them do antics which 99% of customers will never encounter or do to avoid bashing their vehicles up. This is being done for views and the monetization of their respective channels, it has nothing to do with the vehicle or its capability. The number of trails i managed to do in 4x2 in my Thar, without ever having to engage 4x4.

This forum existed way before social media and its 140 character limits, the whole purpose of it is to do a deep dive and not a cursory glance. I love the fact not more than 2 emojis are allowed per post. Lets maintain that ethos and add value which each interaction.

Thank You.

[shashanka]

Originally Posted by Ksingh544

Background -

Force Motors have opened a new showroom, a small sales office in Old Gurgaon near the Kapashera border. This is an extension of Rohit Autowheels who are the existing dealer in Delhi, having their main showroom on the GT Karnal Road.........Youtubers are taking these vehicles to Spiti, Leh type locations and making them do antics which 99% of customers will never encounter or do to avoid bashing their vehicles up. This is being done for views and the monetization of their respective channels, it has nothing to do with the vehicle or its capability. The number of trails i managed to do in 4x2 in my Thar, without ever having to engage 4x4.

This forum existed way before social media and its 140 character limits, the whole purpose of it is to do a deep dive and not a cursory glance. I love the fact not more than 2 emojis are allowed per post. Lets maintain that ethos and add value which each interaction.

Thank You.

A perceptive and appropriate post, Ksingh544. I've felt this for a long time - that a buyer's focus has, over the years, shifted from a vehicle's core strengths to what is merely candy-floss and hot air.

I'm certain that the new Gurkha (like the new Thar) is a perfectly capable vehicle, well-suited for the task it was designed for. I wish the newly evolved arm-chair warriors understood this.

[vellatechie]

Gurkha has massive on-road presence. The only reason I don't have Gurkha in my garage instead of Thar Petrol AT HT is because Gurkha doesn't have a Petrol AT.

Other than this, Thar mayyyy be has slightly better alloys and interiors. Gurkha does everything much much better.

[Slushmaster]

This five door version will look better with the current Gurkha's front Facia. I think the pictures are not doing justice to this beast and with the raised ground clearance it will be a killer in terms of road presence.

Really need to appreciate force motors here, they heard the consumer sentiment and upgraded the biggest pain point of the current gen Gurkha, the ground clearance. Adding another set of doors and seat configuration is a bonus for people who are going to make it an overland vehicle or for those who are having hard time convincing their significant other for a 3 door vehicle.

[Shubhendra]

Originally Posted by Slushmaster

This five door version will look better with the current Gurkha's front Facia.

I just have seen it more than a dozen times and it looks pretty average. Not as good as 3 door. May be because of front fascia which looks ugly and similar to Tempo Cruiser/Toofan.

[RJM]

One could see Force is improving Gurkha but the sad part is the progress is so slow that competition takes 10 steps as opposed to Gurkhas one and the over all result remains the same.

As rightly pointed out above, there has to be obvious differentiation between the commercial Trax and Gurkha as it is catering to a different segment. If Force is thinking of being in the middle of the two segments and then I guess outcome is obvious and wont be any different from the earlier result. In my opinion somehow Force still puts half-hearted effort into Gurkha. First and the foremost Force has to be clear where to target the Gurkha, I guess the success of Thar is a clear indication of where Gurkha needs to be but then 140HP engine is required, AT/MT options and better interiors are a norm for that segment. Exterior has to be different than Trax and rest, these are something which a layman can identify but I guess Force knows something that we do not know.

Gurkha is a fairly a compelling product however will die down just trying to be at the lower end of the segment unless Force re-thinks its strategy. Force would not get an opportunity like this wherein both Jimny and 4 door Thar are a bit further away before being launched, if force penetrates this 4 door offroad/overland segment with a product that offers all the creature comports + the offroad ability that Gurkha already has, I think they have a winner recipe at hand, and sincerely, I am unsure where both Mahindra and Force are getting the data from to push for 3 door versions, worldwide statistics prove that after the launch of 4 door wrangler , 95% of the sales are for 4 door version, G-Wagon is predominantly 5 door all along except very small percentage of 2 door for military use in the past. so I'm unsure who is pushing for 2 door and why??

[PaddleShifter]

Originally Posted by RJM

First and the foremost Force has to be clear where to target the Gurkha, I guess the success of Thar is a clear indication of where Gurkha needs to be but then 140HP engine is required, AT/MT options and better interiors are a norm for that segment. Exterior has to be different than Trax and rest, these are something which a layman can identify but I guess Force knows something that we do not know.

Dear RJM, while I agree with you that Gurkha needs to be different than the commercial Force vehicles, I would like to add that if Force adds 140HP engine, better interiors, more features to make it at par with the Thar (Cruise control, AT, climate control to name a few), the prices will go up significantly.

What Gurkha lacks compared to the Thar is compensated by the much better 4x4 hardware stuff, which is not the same in Thar (off road capability of Thar is very good regardless of this fact).

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by RJM

Gurkha is a fairly a compelling product however will die down just trying to be at the lower end of the segment unless Force re-thinks its strategy. Force would not get an opportunity like this wherein both Jimny and 4 door Thar are a bit further away before being launched, if force penetrates this 4 door offroad/overland segment with a product that offers all the creature comports + the offroad ability that Gurkha already has, I think they have a winner recipe at hand, and sincerely, I am unsure where both Mahindra and Force are getting the data from to push for 3 door versions, worldwide statistics prove that after the launch of 4 door wrangler , 95% of the sales are for 4 door version, G-Wagon is predominantly 5 door all along except very small percentage of 2 door for military use in the past. so I'm unsure who is pushing for 2 door and why??

From a lifestyle off-road vehicle perspective.

A 2 Door Jeep with soft top \ open top is the image that draws people towards this entire scene. Much like how a 2 door sports car is certainly more attractive than a 4 door. It tells people that you are either wealthy enough or you are from a well to do family to afford multiple vehicles. This is almost always the case with a Thar, its a personal car.

Force will need to develop a Gurkha from the ground up if it wants to go anywhere near a Thar and then find an audience who would risk going for a brand like Force when a popular alternative is already available, its a tall order but not impossible.