The new Force Gurkha SUVs will be used at hilly police stations and to traverse to Naxal-affected areas across the state of Kerala
After a lot of waiting, the new gen Force Gurkha was finally launched in India back in Sep 2021. Deliveries to customers started from Oct 2021. Though the sales are not as high as that of rival Mahindra Thar, Force Gurkha has its own fanbase.
Force Gurkha Kerala Police
The latest to join Force Gurkha club, is Kerala Police. Yes, 44 units of the Force Gurkha SUVs have just joined the Kerala Police fleet. This is the first time Kerala Police has added a Force Gurkha to their fleet. Previously they had added 72 units of Mahindra Bolero SUVs to their fleet.
The Kerala Police Department has purchased a total of 44 Force Gurkha 3 door SUVs for its fleet. Along with these vehicles, the fleet also consists of 72 units of the Mahindra Bolero, all of which will be used at police stations located in hilly regions and for access to Naxal affected areas. What makes this even more noteworthy is that this is the first time that a Force Gurkha SUV will be deployed in a police station.
The Police Department in India finds the use of SUVs most practical. For instance, the Tata Xenon is being used by the police in the states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh even though it has been discontinued.
Mahindra Scorpio is another SUV that has found favour for patrolling operations while the Tata Safari Storme is commonly used by bureaucrats and SWAT teams. More recently the Coimbatore Police Department received 17 SUVs, painted in a red colour and fitted with Global Positioning System facilities connected with the city police control room.
BS6 Force Gurkha – Exteriors and Interiors
The Force Gurkha 3 door was launched in September 2021. It is a 3 door 4 seater off roader that is powered by a Mercedes-sourced 2.6 liter turbo diesel engine offering 90 hp power and 250 Nm torque. The engine is mated to a 5 speed manual transmission with a 4 wheel drive system with manual differential locking on front and rear axles. It also gets 4×4 low gear with crawl mode that make this vehicle ideal for taking on steep mountainous terrain and is equally adept across steep descent.
The Force Gurkha was earlier priced at Rs 13.59 lakh but following a recent price hike by Rs 51,000 is now at Rs 14.10 lakh. This 3 door version is presented in colour choices of Red, Green, White, Orange, and Grey. It is well equipped for use in the Police Department.
It gets a large front grille with the Gurkha logo, LED headlamps with integrated LED DRLs and LED tail lamps. True to its off-roading stance it also receives a massive bumper and fenders, roof rack, snorkel and a spare wheel mounted on its tail gate along with a large panoramic window for the rear seat.
Interiors are in a 4 seater layout and come in with all the latest equipment. It gets a 7 inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and a 4 speaker sound system. Other features include power windows, 3 spoke steering wheel, manual air conditioning and tyre pressure monitoring system. Safety is via dual front airbags, rear parking sensors, speed alert and ABS and EBD.
Force Gurkha 5 Door on Test
The new 5 door version of Force Gurkha has been doing test rounds with launch scheduled for later this year. It will be a stretched out version of the 3 door Gurkha and is slated to come in with a 6 seater configuration with captain seats in 2nd and 3rd rows.
It is slated to carry forward the same 2.6 liter engine as seen on its 3 door version with interior features similar to that seen on the latter. It will, however, gain in terms of a longer wheelbase of 2.8 mtrs, new exteriors with redesigned B Pillars and the addition of 2 new doors. It will also be priced at a premium of Rs 1 lakh over the 3 door model.
