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GTO reviews the Force Gurkha 4x4

18th September 2024, 16:34 by Rahul Nagaraj

For 99% of the people out there, a 5-door-Thar or Scorpio-N 4x4 is the superior choice, yet there will always be that 1% adventurous kind who buys the Gurkha

GTO recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

What I like about the Force Gurkha 5-door:

Very truck-like + rough + tough appeal, looks really bad-ass (Mercedes G-Wagon-like front end + blingy headlights + snorkel + windshield guard make it turn heads like no other SUV), big size & bossy presence means other road users make way for you (on the highway too), build quality feels abuse-friendly, OEM tyres have sufficient width (255 mm) and sidewall height (166 mm), driver's seat is very comfortable & I love the reach adjustable steering + individual front seat armrests, enjoyed "climbing" into the tall Gurkha and that commanding driving position, top class front & side visibility, big center console has good storage for your belongings, our test car wore tinted classes (sunfilm), powerful air-conditioner, retuned turbo-diesel engine now has 138 BHP & 320 Nm on tap, hydraulic steering is friendly to use and weighs up adequately on the highway as well, 5.5 meter turning radius is surprisingly friendlier than other off-roaders (even smaller ones), ride quality is compliant enough (not bumpy like my Thar), is extremely bad-road friendly (you won't even drop speeds for broken roads), massive 233 mm of ground clearance, Shift-on-the-fly 4x4 with low range + diff locks + excellent gradability, approach, departure & break-over angles, looks way more handsome & proportionate than its 3-door sibling IMHO and is far more practical too, low sales result in supercar-like exclusivity (you'll be the only one in your zipcode with a macho Gurkha), heavily customisable and you should definitely spend big on modifications to make yours even more unique

What I didn't like about the Force Gurkha 5-door:

Annoying niggles and bugs, heavy kerb weight dampens performance & dynamics, fit + finish + quality are from the 2000s (very crude), interior design is too basic (not to forget, that ugly steering wheel), rear legroom is adequate but not excessive, SUV is too tall for elderly people to climb into, door pockets are too slim to be of any use, the digital instrument console is cheesy looking, horrible aftermarket audio head-unit with lots of bugs, no Android Auto or Apple CarPlay or steering-mounted audio controls, reversing camera display is poor (when it works, that is), fixed 3rd-row captain seats means boot space is poor (I would remove these or put folding seats from the aftermarket to create a useable boot), turbo-diesel has an extremely narrow powerband (useable just till 3000 rpm like commercial vehicles), performance is adequate but not fast, 100-110 kmph is best on the expressway (feels scary & busy above that), manual gearbox is awful to use (long throws & notchy), 6-speed torque-converter Automatic is greatly missed (an AT would double or triple the Gurkha's sales), wind & tyre noise are prominent at 80 - 100 kmph, it's an of-froader SUV so don't expect any kind of cornering talents or dynamics at high speeds, ride quality (though acceptable) has some typical body-on-frame imperfections, lazy braking takes getting used to, feature list is basic by 2024 standards

• I had the Gurkha 5-door for a few days, so just had to take it out for a nice drive. You've got to admit that it's a different kind of kick driving the Gurkha. Feels like driving a robust, rough & tough utilitarian truck. There's nothing quite like it in the market. As if to match the mood of the vehicle, I'm wearing an Oakley Vest, my well-worn denims, blingy shades, workhorse shoes and taking the car for a weekend holiday to a tree house resort in the middle of nowhere (zero phone network). As you would know from my road-trip reports, I prefer unique independent hotel properties over 5-star hotels. Here’s a link to my Tata Safari Facelift Review when we stayed at a unique property in Karjat.

• As an enthusiast, I'm happy that even in today's market, there are such unique cars on sale. It's a different kind of high with these. The Gurkha is not for everyone, no. It's a very niche vehicle by a niche car manufacturer for a niche buyer. The Gurkha has got its quirks, but it's also got its unique advantages.

• With the Thar, I love the look of the 3-door as well as the 5-door. On the other hand, with the Gurkha, the 5-door looks really badass. The 3-door Gurkha, now to my eyes, looks weird & disproportionate.

• This 4x4 is so tall that believe it or not...at a Toll Booth, there was a board saying 'this lane is only for private vehicles' and the Gurkha's roof carrier mildly brushed that signboard!

• This is an incredibly tall car to get into as well. There’s no way your aged parents or grandparents will be able to get into the Gurkha comfortably. On the other hand, I loved the feeling of climbing into it. Felt like an occasion each time.

• Just to put things into perspective of how tall you sit, a 1st-gen Fortuner rolled up next to me and I'm sitting taller than the driver of that SUV! The omnipresent crossovers (Creta, Seltos, Grand Vitara) look like hatchbacks when you're perched in the Gurkha's driver seat.

• Everything about this car feels like the year 2005, not 2025. From the way the door is locked and unlocked (pull-up stalks), to the interior layout & the cabin quality. This is probably more of a competitor to the 1st-gen Mahindra Scorpio Facelift rather than the current breed of SUVs. The Gurkha is truly a throwback to how things were two decades ago. Even if you look at the rear AC, it's the snap-on aftermarket unit that one would see many 1st-gen Innova owners installing from the aftermarket AC guys.

• The interior feels basic & rudimentary. I'm not a fan of the digital instrument cluster or the way it's implemented, although it gives you all the necessary data. There are so many rough edges on the interior that you will lose count. A lot of the parts like the front armrest have fit and finish comparable to aftermarket accessories.

• One of the best things about this particular Gurkha is that it came installed with sunfilm. Wow, how much I love sunfilm for the look, privacy and enhanced air-con cooling. You can tell this company has some passionate guys working behind the scenes. The last media car with sunfilm installed was the Toyota Etios (reference image), but that's probably because the Toyota dudes wanted to hide the basic interiors of the Etios. The dark sunfilm made the Gurkha look absolutely gangster.

• Horrible, poor, extremely cheap and laggy aftermarket sound system that's very clearly a 10k rupee import from China. This is poorly chosen by the Force Team, which is surprising as there are good quality after-market head units available in the market. The HU is terrible to use and way too laggy. If you buy a Gurkha, the first thing you'll want to do is upgrade the head unit.

• They have even got those aftermarket speakers installed on the door, right next to your thigh, the way we used to do it back in the 1990s at accessory shops. There is nothing "OEM-Fitment" about this. Funnily, the right speaker in our test car kept going on and off randomly.

• The front seats are super comfortable, and I especially love how these bucket seats come with their own adjustable, cushioned armrests. They are such a boon - every SUV should adopt them.

• Extremely happy that the steering offers tilt and reach adjustment. Full marks to Force for this. It helps in securing a better driving position.

• Don’t even remember the last time I drove a car without steering-mounted controls! I can understand the other misses, but this is inexplicable. Was cumbersome to change tracks via the unfriendly HU or my phone (having to take my eyes off the road for either).

• Love the well-sized centre console. Lots of storage - there are 2 big cupholders, a dedicated phone slot and a large rectangular cubby. Love it. There is also ample width / space between the driver & front passenger.

• The horn seems to have been picked up from the Innova. Almost identical sounding!

• Due to the fixed 3rd-row seats, the boot layout is very impractical. We had to throw our luggage onto the 3rd-row seats, and then squeeze some between & behind the chairs. The Gurkha should've had a folding option. There is a roof carrier, but I don't like keeping my luggage on the open carrier for many reasons. Frankly, a guy like me would just remove the third-row seats and use it as a five-seater with lots of luggage room. For those who need that third row from time to time, a foldable seat solution should be easy to deploy in the aftermarket.

• The motor has fantastic tractability. You can pull away from no speed in 2nd gear, and then drive around in traffic while staying in 3rd gear all day long. I was actually doing that, because my test drive vehicle had covered 1,800 km and been through a lot of media abuse / off-roading. The clutch pedal - when cold - was as hard as a Tata truck. The example I got was clearly abused since Aditya drove two Gurkhas at the media drive and both of them had a light clutch.

• Today, most mainstream cars offer effortless power delivery and it's easy to get them to 80-100 km/h. The Gurkha isn't one of them. The extremely narrow useable rev band of the engine (up to just 3,000 rpm) and cumbersome manual gear shifter mean that you have to "work" to bring the car up to highway speeds.

• Power has been bumped up to 138 BHP; at best, we can term the performance as adequate. This is not a fast SUV like the Thar. The diesel engine is really all about drivability and crawlability.

• Even the 5th gear has a relatively shorter ratio. At 105-108 km/h, I was at about 2,300 RPM, and the engine felt very busy. The engine noise coming into the cabin at this point was loud and I had to increase my conversation volume as well as the music volume. At 115 km/h, the engine is at ~2,500 RPM. In my opinion, the best cruising speed for the Gurkha 5-door is ~100 km/h (like the 3-door Thar). 100ish is a suitable speed as the vehicle is also very tall, so you have to keep the stability in mind.

• Max revs of about 3,500-3600 rpm. No point taking the motor beyond 3,100 - 3,200 though.

• The one thing that Force Motors needs to do to double or triple the Gurkha's appeal is get a nice 6-speed torque converter automatic. Just like Tata, they can simply buy a ready AT gearbox from a supplier and tune it. The MT gear throws are too long, too notchy and the gearbox is cumbersome to use. To engage 5th gear, I had to actually move a little bit forward from my relaxed driving position! Adding fuel to the fire = because of the narrow power band, you have to keep upshifting frequently as you accelerate on the open road.

• At 100 km/h, there's a fair amount of drivetrain vibrations felt through the floor. The driver-side mirrors were also vibrating. This is really an old-world 4x4.

• Absolutely love how the engine idling start / stop isn't enabled by default when you start the car . You can disable it via a switch on the fascia & the car remembers your setting (even after a restart). Other manufacturers have to learn this from Force Motors, instead of compulsorily pushing the annoying start / stop feature down our throats.

• I drive a modified red Thar and I can tell you that my Jeep has an enormous presence...but this Force Gurkha is next level!!! For one, it's so tall and so big. Then, there is the G-Wagen styling, the flashy headlights + fender lights and all those accessories (e.g. snorkel) just giving it a powerful personality. It turns more heads than my modified Thar! On the road, it's so intimidating. I was cruising on the Atal Setu and approached a slow car in the fast lane; only had to flash my headlights twice and he moved instantly to the middle lane. That happened again with the next slow-moving car in the fast lane and was experienced many more times on the road trip. This car has a terrific, commanding presence. At junctions, others give way to you. And no pesky Olas, Ubers & Rickshaws cut you.

• Yes, it is crude, yes, it is rough, yes, it is old-world. But the Gurkha is brimming with character and feels very tough. Give me the Gurkha with a 6-speed AT and I’ll buy it 10 times out of 10 over the Maruti Jimny. The Gurkha is loaded with "feel" (no offence to Jimny owners), while the Jimny feels too small & timid for my tastes.

• Ride quality is compliant & liveable, yet not perfect. The Gurkha is a typical body-on-frame 4x4 in some ways. It has a busy ride on imperfect roads at low-mid speeds. Note that suspension compliance is acceptable and it's nowhere as bumpy as my 2-door Thar or even the Fortuner. However, those typical body-on-frame imperfections are there and you do "feel" the road. At moderate speeds, you'll be aware of bad roads underneath you. At high speeds, you won't. On flat roads like say the Atal Setu, the ride is far better than my Thar.

• The Gurkha sure seems to devour bad roads. Low speed, high speed, any speed, it chews on them, then spits them out arrogantly. This is seriously a truck that thrives on broken roads. Most of the broken patches, I didn’t even slow down for...and kept on accelerating!

• I tried a quick lane change at highway speeds due to an idiot driver ahead, and I can tell you the Gurkha felt very top-heavy & unnerving. Straight-line stability at 100 km/h is okay, but what the tall Gurkha isn't okay with is a sudden manoeuvre. Drive cautiously on the expressway.

• This 4x4 is like a skyscraper in comparison to other cars. The good thing about it is the visibility you have, and that commanding driving position. The downside is, you are always (A-L-W-A-Y-S) aware of the skyscraper height at 80-100 km/h. This is no corner-carving crossover, so take it easy on the tarmac.

• Must say, for a gargantuan SUV of this size, the steering is quite nice. It is easy and balanced to use.

• I was pleasantly surprised while taking U-turns. It’s a proper 5-door large SUV, but its turning radius is smaller than my 3-door Thar or the small Jimny. That’s nice to see, especially around Pawna & Lonavla where the roads are narrow.

• The tyre pressure sensors frequently gave the wrong information. Once when we were parked, it showed the front left tyre as having 7 PSI, but when we started driving, it came back to regular levels. Saw this with another rear tyre too while driving around Lonavla. Completely undependable TPMS.

• Braking capabilities are mediocre & quite lazy. Didn't find it to be much of an issue in the city as you get used to it. But yes, at high speeds, if the car in front of you stops suddenly, it can unnerve you. Will take you 50 km of highway driving to get used to the Gurkha's brakes.

• Tyre noise is quite significant even at just 80-90 km/h.

• I must say that after driving it for 100 km, the Gurkha felt a lot better than that initial shock from when I first got into the car. When I took the Gurkha out for an initial spin around the area, I was taken aback by how crude it felt and how outdated some parts of the interior were. The long-throw shifts and that basic-looking steering wheel etc. put me off. You drive a modern car and you're basically at home within 2-3 km, but with the Gurkha, it took me 80-100 km before I got accustomed to her...then, I actually started appreciating her advantages, nature & character. Once I got used to the Gurkha, I was at home with it. That's the thing with this kind of car = it takes a lot of getting used to. At the end of the 100-km honeymoon period, you will either love it or hate it. This off-roader isn't for everyone. If you're coming from a Honda City or Hyundai Creta, you will be shocked out of your wits. If you're coming from a Scorpio or Safari Storme, you will be more accepting & forgiving. I'm the kind of guy who likes big and butch cars a lot. Am basically a Jeep guy at heart, so this kind of car appeals to me (with an automatic transmission, of course). Again, it’s a niche car by a niche manufacturer for a very niche customer.

• Faced a 3rd electronic niggle on our drive. At one point, the car thought that it was in reverse gear, even though I was in forward gear! This meant that the parking camera stayed on at all times (not a bad thing), but the annoying thing was a continuous non-stop reversing beep that was stinging our ears. We couldn't even play music during this time. Solution? Well, there isn't any. It just went away after driving for some km and restarting the car a couple of times.

• Drive the Gurkha and you realize this is where Mahindra was in terms of product competence and engineering capability when they launched the Scorpio 20+ years back. Mahindra realized it was an existential crisis for them when the MNC carmakers carpet-bombed the market. They upped their game, in-house capability and how! Today, you see truly top-class cars like the XUV700, 5-door Thar, Scorpio-N & XUV300 / XUV400 from Mahindra. And they are convincingly selling 20-30 lakh rupee cars to tens of thousands of customers every month.

• For 99% of the people out there, a 5-door-Thar or Scorpio-N 4x4 is the superior choice, yet there will always be that 1% adventurous kind who buys the Gurkha and will be fanatical about it. We've seen this in Gurkha ownership reports on Team-BHP also. It's a completely different kick....that's the best way to describe the Gurkha experience. This monsoon drive in the Gurkha will be one of my most memorable ones of 2024 .

As you can tell from my road-trip posts, I much prefer boutique luxury hotels over standard-fare 5-star accommodation:

Total jungle view. Priceless with the rains & fog:

A treehouse, but an opulent one:

Driving through charming old Khandala areas:

Front & rear diff-locks are a Gurkha USP:

The beauty of tough body-on-frame SUVs is that, nothing ever happens to them! A sleepy guy in a hatchback basically drove into the rear bumper of this Gurkha. All I needed was 2 screws from a garage on the highway to keep on driving. You should've seen the other guy's car - it got a complete facelift after kissing the Gurkha:

Not every day that you come across another media car of the niche vehicle you are test-driving:

Same family...and both have a loyal following. Both have a 2.6L diesel. Both have different versions & sizes. Check out a BHPian's Force Citiline Review here: