HomeCar NewsForce Gurkha 13 Seater Spied - Production Ready, Launch Soon?

Force Gurkha 13 Seater Spied – Production Ready, Launch Soon?

Force Motors has the 3-door Gurkha on sale currently – They plan to launch new 5-door Gurkha soon, in multiple seating options

Force Gurkha 5 Door 13 Seater Spied
Force Gurkha 5 Door 13 Seater Spied

Have you ever wanted to own an off-roader? Something to set yourself apart from the sea of Marutis and Hyundais? Something to make a statement? Well, your options are meek. Because Tata Xenon XT and Scorpio Getaway are both discontinued. Isuzu V-Cross is steeply-priced despite being a generation older.

From Toyota, we have the Hilux, which, in true Toyota India fashion, has a ridiculous price tag. That leaves us with Mahindra Thar and Force Gurkha. Mahindra is currently developing a 5-door version of Thar based on Scorpio-N platform. Also, Maruti Suzuki is keen on setting foot in this segment with 5-door Jimny which is currently under testing in global markets. What is Force Motors doing to tackle these developments? Let’s break it down.

Force Gurkha 5 Door 13 Seater Spied

While Mahindra and Maruti Suzuki are working on offering six or seven-seat layouts on their upcoming lifestyle off-roaders, Force seems to be following “Go hard or go home” kinda strategy. If this upcoming 13-seater Gurkha is launched alongside 5-door Gurkha, Force will have 4-seater, 6-seater, 9-seater and whopping 13-seater options to offer under Gurkha brand. Talk about the flex, huh?

The Gurkha in question is not a newly developed vehicle based on Gurkha 5-door platform. What it is, is a Force Trax Cruiser commercial people mover developed with PV norms like dual airbags, rear parking sensors and dual-airbags. It will get the same bumper, headlights assembly, G-Class-inspired fender-mounted indicators, 4X4 system, and snorkel as the Gurkha 3-Door and 5-Door.

Force Gurkha 5 Door 13 Seater Spied
Force Gurkha 5 Door 13 Seater Spied

It also gets the same 18” alloy wheels with 255/60 tyres as seen on 5-Door Gurkha. But the vehicle in question is production ready and also dons a white number plate. So, is it undergoing a TVC shoot? Force Motors hasn’t revealed anything officially yet.

Specs & Features

Force Gurkha is a no-nonsense off-roader. It doesn’t get half the creature comforts and features that Thar gets. But where Gurkha has the edge, is with extreme off-roading. It gets mechanically lockable differentials both at front and rear which allows it to retain grip and traction like a panicky cat holding to its life.

Trax Cruiser gets the same interiors as Gurkha already and also gets separate blower and AC vents for second and third rows. 13-seater Gurkha based on Cruiser will also get the Kenwood infotainment system with smartphone integration too. Force Motors only has one engine, a Mercedes-Benz-derived 2.6L turbo-diesel unit making 90 bhp and 250 Nm.

Force Gurkha 5 Door 13 Seater Spied
Force Gurkha 5 Door 13 Seater Spied

This engine does duties on every single Force Motors product. Gurkha has always been a rudimentary machine that gets the job done in most off-road situations. It might not be a compelling buy as a primary vehicle, but as a third or fourth vehicle in the garage, it is brilliant.

But where does this chunker fall into? We call it a chunker because it will have same dimensions as Trax Cruiser which measures 5,120mm long, 1818mm wide, 2027mm tall and has a bonkers 3050mm wheelbase with an almost 6.5m turning radius. I don’t understand who would logically buy this, but if I had to buy a vehicle to create a 4X4 RV, now I know where to put my money.

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