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Why I upgraded to a Force Gurkha 5-door from a Tata Aria

26th July 2024, 18:02 by Kanad Kalasur

All I needed was a tough, robust, no nonsense vehicle which can take us to the remotest places with confidence.

BHPian dhrubojyoti recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

This forum is packed with so many great knowledgeable souls in various disciplines, that I get a chance to enrich myself everyday! I really can't thank everybody enough!

For now, I can explain our buying decision and do a quick comparison with my beloved Aria (4X2) which has been our companion for long and still is, and has taken us to many remote, scenic corners of India, Nepal and Bhutan.

I was hunting for another vehicle (4X4) for a while because of Aria's age. It's still mechanically superb, ran over a lakh of kilometres, so technically it's a healthy adult now which can run another six digit kilometres with ease. Every corner of its interior is still as shiny as new. But the electricals have started showing aging (wiper mechanism went kaput in last monsoon while returning from a 3000km road trip) and may not be very confidence building when you are traveling to remote places with your entire family.

As we were badly pampered with the acres of space, headroom, sofa-like seating comfort, sedan like riding comfort, and great power & torque of 2.2L dicor engine, we knew it won't be any easy hunt in limited budget. We all wanted a vehicle with similar size, space, seating & riding comfort but with more power and off-road capability. I took test drives of 3 row seating vehicles of Tata and Mahindra. Test driving existing Tata vehicles for the replacement of Aria were useless as none can outrun Aria in any aspect (maybe it just can run faster on highways, and that's it). I found Mahindra vehicles' engine and gearbox superb, butter smooth and gem of engineering. I still was uncomfortable in terms of driver's low seating height, space and ground clearance which were better in Aria. 4X4 may not be of any use if the car bottoms out in first place. Once we could not go and had to return from a 3-4 feet snow and black ice in Haa valley of Bhutan, and we don't want to come back again from similar situation.

I was aware of the limitations of the 2021 Gurkha, and I was waiting to see the changes in 5 door Gurkha. As soon as it was launched, it looked sorted other than the middle row seat. I was on a regular connection with the nearest dealership for the test drive. I already knew the extreme off-roading capabilities of Gurkha, so that was not at all my concern. I just wanted to check the on-road behaviour of this truck. As soon as the test drive was available, my wife and I went to the dealership and got spellbound by looking at it physically! It's mammoth! Gigantic! Collosal! As soon as we entered the driver and co-driver seat, we felt very familiar with Aria! Cushioned seats, great visibility (greater seating height than Aria). It engulfed all the potholes, spread breakers, and broken roads, as if you are driving a volvo bus and all these are mere stone chips. We again got speechless. Then we spent a good amount of time in the middle row seat which will be essentially used by my mother and daughter. We even checked the price of second row seats of 3 door Gurkha (captain seats with armrest and reclining function), checked the bolting points of middle row seat if we want to swap it anytime with captain seats. The ground clearance and under the car visibility is again lucrative! I love to do some general maintenance of Aria myself (engine oil, oil filter, differential oil, gear oil, coolant change etc.) I felt like I may not need to lift up Gurkha for such tasks! I also love lesser electrical old school cars, I even won't mind rolling up windows mechanically. All I needed was a tough, robust, no nonsense vehicle which can take us to the remotest places with confidence. My wife was impressed and convinced even before me and the decision making was easy.

Now if I compare a few aspects of Gurkha with Aria, benchmarking Aria as 10, then here it goes:

Seats: 8/10. It's very comfortable in all day-night journey, Aria was even better.

Space: 10/10. Very much similar like Aria. I always had my 3rd row folded in Aria for luggage which is not a provision in Gurkha. Moreover, my daughter loves the third row seat of Gurkha with great visibility as it creates her own little world. It's a little smaller in length and width than Aria but still can engulf loads of luggage on floor, and Seats.

Highway driving comfort: 10/10. Again very similar to Aria.

City driving comfort: 10/10. Surprisingly, Gurkha is better drivable in city than Aria. Nobody cuts your lane or goes closely parallel because of the size.

Cruising capability: 8/10. I am a defensive driver and used to cruise all day at 100 at 2K rpm. In Gurkha, it reaches 100 at 2100-2200rpm. I am cruising Gurkha a little slower than Aria. Aria had better aerodynamics and could run through crosswinds easily. Gurkha, because of its size and shape, feels the crosswinds. The power figure is very much similar in these two vehicles, but Aria had better power to weight ratio, wherein Gurkha had better low end torque delivery even in 2WD. Aria was a better cruiser, Gurkha can pull steep inclined roads of hills in 2nd gear in which Aria had to go down to 1st gear.

Braking ability: 8/10. Aria was crisp, spot on with 4 disc brakes. Gurkha takes a few hours to be familiar with braking ability, distance, and to gain confidence. However, once adapted, I never felt nervous.

Off-road capability: I may not be doing extreme off-roading like enthusiasts. I just do not want to come back from harsh conditions while traveling. So I may not get the chance to explore its optimal capability, but I know there is a dial which can engage 4H, 4L; there are two sticks to engage rear & front differential mechanically, so it's like the insurance always at my disposal.

I know BS6 diesel vehicles have their own tantrums at high altitude and sub-zero temperature. Even in plane lands, you will have two extra instrument cluster indicators to keep an eye on. One, being the adblue meter (fortunately Gurkha has one), another is the DPF indicator. I have not faced the issue so far in high altitude, but that doesn't mean it would never happen. DPF regen button may come handy in those situations. There are many BS6 Force travellers carrying tourists in such regions and they are managing somehow. I have heard them doing manual regeneration overnight in high altitudes and sub-zero temperature even without any warning light to avoid any adverse situation while carrying tourists. We shall learn and adapt eventually. I love doing small DIYs and also visit workshops to find out even the smallest niggle in my car, I won't mind doing similar things with Gurkha also which is not bought for easy office runs but for travelling long distances in harsh weather and landscapes. Maybe we all are in the last league of fascinatingly powerful diesel vehicles in India as the world is moving quickly towards the gadgets on wheels powered by electric and taking away the intimate connection between a soul and machine. Till then, I would be enjoying every beat of it for sure.