When compared to Thar and Jimny, Force Gurkha 5-Door teased, packs more off-road hardware like front and rear locking diff and a standard snorkel
Once considered a niche, lifestyle off-road segment is thriving. The first wave of lifestyle adventure off-road vehicles in India has paved the way for this segment to self-sustain by pulling in more audiences than ever before. Force Motors has teased Gurkha 5-Door for the first time and is set to launch very soon. Let’s take a look.
Force Gurkha 5-Door Teased For The First Time
The new wave of lifestyle 4X4s packs five doors and associated practicality. This new wave is led by Maruti Suzuki with the Jimny launched in India. In the greater scheme of things, there is a race between Mahindra and Force Motors.
When it comes to their 3-Door counterparts, Mahindra launched Thar ahead of Force Gurkha. Now, Force Motors seems to be almost at the finish line where 5-Door Gurkha is concerned. Owing to Mahindra’s past launch patterns, we can expect Thar 5-Door to launch on 15th August 2024.
If Force Motors launched Gurkha 5-Door before that, it might gain a major headstart and advantage, something that couldn’t happen when launching Gurkha 3-Door. Force Motors has teased their upcoming Gurkha 5-Door for the first time. In the teaser, we can see the 4X4’s side profile, flexing its old-school and boxy G-Class inspired proportions.
Sure, we have seen it all before on innumerous test mules. We’ve seen this vehicle with and without camouflage, exterior and interior along with all the expected attributes. Rumours even suggested Force has initiated dealer staff training as well. But the testing continued after this and the product is finally set to launch now.
What does it get over Thar and Jimny
Force Motors Gurkha 5-Door is likely to be based on a modified version of the same ladder-frame chassis that also underpins Gurkha 3-Door, Cruiser MUV and Citiline along with its upcoming Kargo king pickup truck and Gurkha pickup truck, both under testing.
We hope there is a PV specific dashboard and other interior elements with Gurkha 5-Door. As of now, Gurkha 3-Door gets the same dashboard and door trims as Cruiser commercial MUV, albeit with a Gurkha specific centre console. Probability of an aftermarket infotainment system is likely and we hope there are significantly more features than Gurkha 3-Door.
What it gets abundantly over Thar and Jimny is road presence and off-road hardware. Note-worthy elements are a functional roof rack and a snorkel as standard. There will be 18-inch wheels, circular G-Class inspired headlights with DRLs and fender-mounted LED turn indicators, large Gurkha badge and more.
Mechanically, Gurkha will get the same 2.6L FM CR turbo diesel engine as every other Force vehicle. We hope there is a more enthusiastic engine tuning than the Gurkha 3-Door’s 90 bhp and 250 Nm. There will be a 5-speed gearbox with standard 4X4 transfer case and mechanically locking differentials at the front and rear.
Source – Powerdrift
