[Tejas@perioimpl]

Originally Posted by gsferrari

I somehow cannot believe that spinning the wheels aids traction.

It doesn't. Remember that's why both of us sat at the back of imran's gypsy while pulling desmo out? It's the light weight of the gypsy that caused the spin.

Rock Crawlers won't help much in loose gravel.

Coming soon to an OTR near you...

That's this weekend! Confirm your participation in the Mumbai 2010 OTR Season Thread.

[mohan]

Originally Posted by hisunil

Mohan,

Are you sure that Gurkha will ONLY come in a Chinese body?

cheers
Sunil

Hi Sunil,
Dunno for sure but that's the inside information.

[rhandle]

Gurkha is Gurkha!

With all the niggles and work to be done on it, given a chance again I would buy Gurkha again.

Comparing it to any vehicle is not fair. This is an average vehicle, not a Bright one.

Given a set of all off-road and on-road performances, it passes in all subjects, whereas not many vehicles have the capability to be this gr8 all rounder.

My vehicle at this time has completed 32,000 kms. No problems till now ... might be few ;-) let me drive back from Mumbai and would add further here!

[vinod_nookala]

Originally Posted by rhandle

Given a set of all off-road and on-road performances, it passes in all subjects, whereas not many vehicles have the capability to be this gr8 all rounder.

My vehicle at this time has completed 32,000 kms. No problems till now ... might be few ;-) let me drive back from Mumbai and would add further here!

, very true!! Its an all rounder and the only one in India for now!

[rhandle]

Originally Posted by vinod_nookala

, very true!! Its an all rounder and the only one in India for now!

very true - It can definitely date Jeeps/Gypsies on their terrain, may be as well teach a dance step at times and would not shy holding hand with likes of scorpio or Safari on Highway, many times even running ahead of them!

I am though loving Fortuner very much. It did superb water crossing, and covered 1500 kms in two days and it is performing brilliantly - but it loses out to Gurkha because I just cannot dare to take it to Jeep territory in spite the fact it is capable enough to at least go some distance!

[Monster_BHP]

Originally Posted by rhandle

very true - It can definitely date Jeeps/Gypsies on their terrain, may be as well teach a dance step at times and would not shy holding hand with likes of scorpio or Safari on Highway, many times even running ahead of them!

I am though loving Fortuner very much. It did superb water crossing, and covered 1500 kms in two days and it is performing brilliantly - but it loses out to Gurkha because I just cannot dare to take it to Jeep territory in spite the fact it is capable enough to at least go some distance!

Rahul are you serious! If the Scorpio driver is a moron sure we can date it, i have done 140km/h on my Gurkha but Scorpios definitely are in a different league if the driver is as good as us in flooring it we wont stand a chance! Also after a prolonged period at top speed the engine heats and the governor arrests the speed at 120km/h, so one has to be careful with that too.

The suspension is a bit hard which means its tiring to go very long distances, i hardly feel that run down for the same distance in a car.

Off-Road its definitely better than the jeeps, provided the front bull-bar does not effect the angle of approach and the rear wheel articulation is improved to fully floating types. On mud or sand i think the gypsy has an better deal because of its lower weight.

In all the Gurkhas service lets it down terribly every time they return the vehicle with the EDC light blinking, no one can seem to stop the EDC light from blinking and other few teething problems still go frustratingly unnoticed. Anyway i dont want to rant on that.

The gurkha is good if force is gets better. Right now with its german counter part it sounds like a condom company "Man-force".

[rhandle]

Originally Posted by Monster_BHP

Rahul are you serious! If the Scorpio driver is a moron sure we can date it, i have done 140km/h on my Gurkha but Scorpios definitely are in a different league if the driver is as good as us in flooring it we wont stand a chance! Also after a prolonged period at top speed the engine heats and the governor arrests the speed at 120km/h, so one has to be careful with that too.

Yes I am serious. I do not consider myself as a very good driver (have my short road rages and at times forget what is defensive driving) neither a good auto expert. What I am sharing is my feelings and some experience. On Scorpio I have been to Mumbai and also to Diu both over 3500kms run completed in 7-10 days. And these were my longest driving to these places, I have done even better in Matiz, reason was fatigue of self and Family. Might be the Scorpio which I bought was just launched and had it's share of niggles which we take without any fuss.

On Gurkha, have done trip to Gangtok, Mumbai and Pune, whole time doing 120 KM (where ever road and traffic conditions permitted) along with my family, and as per family it was more comfortable - the only crying portion from them was lack of space.

I do not know what heating and governor you are referring to. Mumbai to Ahemdabad my trip was SOLO and whole time I had the pedal to Metal, never felt lack of grunt. Or might be that 600 kms are not prolonged usage - BTW this was non-stop except for one fuel halt. Get your vehicle checked bro'.

Originally Posted by Monster_BHP

The suspension is a bit hard which means its tiring to go very long distances, i hardly feel that run down for the same distance in a car.

This is news for me. I have always felt suspension of Gurkha was better than Safari or Scorpio. In fact even Samurai has written somewhere about this and has praised Gurkha's Suspension. Yes you wont feel THAT run down in car, but try doing same in Gypsy or Jeep ~ just 500 kms and then think about this sentence. Car is a different league altogether my friend.

Originally Posted by Monster_BHP

Off-Road its definitely better than the jeeps, provided the front bull-bar does not effect the angle of approach and the rear wheel articulation is improved to fully floating types. On mud or sand i think the gypsy has an better deal because of its lower weight.

Well well ... won't comment on this. Each vehicle to its own. Where Torque would come in to picture a Jeep would easily strangulate the Gypsy and when Momentum would come in to Play then Gypsy is King.

Originally Posted by Monster_BHP

In all the Gurkhas service lets it down terribly every time they return the vehicle with the EDC light blinking, no one can seem to stop the EDC light from blinking and other few teething problems still go frustratingly unnoticed. Anyway i dont want to rant on that.

The gurkha is good if force is gets better. Right now with its german counter part it sounds like a condom company "Man-force".

My EDC light problem has been solved long time back. No issues. Guess you need to take care of your vehicle and make friends with Force service mechanic. Trust me they have seen less and driven less Gurkha than you have. So you will have to guide them at times. I have been helped by Force Engineers and Managers in Service many times, even during odd hours and they have always got back to me, in case their phone had been busy they make it a point to call back. Mr. Desai is a gem of a person.

Regarding Force Management

[rhandle]

Originally Posted by Amar82

Rahul, Had I not paid the booking amount for my gypsy, i would have bought your gurkha for sure. Don't sell it unless you don't have a parking issue's.

Yeah guess it is stuck with me, no one will pay me 8 Lacs for this

Originally Posted by mohan

Ha ha -beginner's luck

What do you MEAN

[rhandle]

YouTube - Gurkha going up in reverse.MPG

Goes up without momentum - and A/C on.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by rhandle

Goes up without momentum - and A/C on.

With or without diff locks?

['72 Bullet]

Originally Posted by Samurai

With or without diff locks?

Diff-locks engaged.. you can see the right front tyre starting to slip (and kick-up dust) soon after that the left joins in as well..

[rhandle]

Originally Posted by Samurai

With or without diff locks?

Without diff locks.

Originally Posted by '72 Bullet

Diff-locks engaged.. you can see the right front tyre starting to slip (and kick-up dust) soon after that the left joins in as well..

This vehicle moves without diff. locks as well. Captain Samarth from Proautomods.com was also with me.

BTW I never understood 72 bullets logic. In case you ever come close to Gurkha see this in action.



Now WHY we recommend doing recee on foot before climbing on over hill!





and the aftereffect expenses worth 90 bucks!!

[wanderhermit]

Originally Posted by rhandle

very true - It can definitely date Jeeps/Gypsies on their terrain, may be as well teach a dance step at times and would not shy holding hand with likes of scorpio or Safari on Highway, many times even running ahead of them!

I am though loving Fortuner very much. It did superb water crossing, and covered 1500 kms in two days and it is performing brilliantly - but it loses out to Gurkha because I just cannot dare to take it to Jeep territory in spite the fact it is capable enough to at least go some distance!

Few days back, when a brand new Fortuner joined us in our regular OTR, I felt like hiding under my old Jeeps rear bumper. The stance and the feel and the hallowed Toyota badge was damn too overwhelming. I had watched some Youtube videos plus that famous BBC "polar challenge'. Fortuner to any offraoder spells out as a 'dream'.

And now after two full OTRs, our collective response is that of utter dismay. A dream that is shattered to a billion pieces.

The indian version does not have a diff lock!!!!

And it performed worst than the weakest car in our whole group. A 4X4 Bolero. With completely run down XDP engine.

Please do not underestimate Gurkha or Jeep viv a vis Fortuner. They will have Fortuner for breakfast.

The front and rear bumpers came off like wind blowing under Monroes red skirt. And that too in the first OTR. The owner was an experienced Gypsy driver.

Still we gave it a chance. May be it was just the first time. And after the second OTR, it has been consigned to strictly on the tarmac duties.

On the other hand, even a Pajero performed brilliantly. I has been mentioned as old, outdated, and underpowered by many members on this site especially when compared to Fortuner. But one has to see a Pajero in action to appreciate its offroad DNA.

The king, MM550 pulling out a Fortuner from sand.

[rhandle]

Originally Posted by wanderhermit

Fortuner to any offraoder spells out as a 'dream'.

And now after two full OTRs, our collective response is that of utter dismay. A dream that is shattered to a billion pieces.

And it performed worst than the weakest car in our whole group. A 4X4 Bolero. With completely run down XDP engine.

Please do not underestimate Gurkha or Jeep viv a vis Fortuner. They will have Fortuner for breakfast.

The front and rear bumpers came off like wind blowing under Monroes red skirt. And that too in the first OTR. The owner was an experienced Gypsy driver.

Still we gave it a chance. May be it was just the first time. And after the second OTR, it has been consigned to strictly on the tarmac duties.

On the other hand, even a Pajero performed brilliantly. I has been mentioned as old, outdated, and underpowered by many members on this site especially when compared to Fortuner. But one has to see a Pajero in action to appreciate its offroad DNA.

The king, MM550 pulling out a Fortuner from sand.
Attachment 346365

YouTube - SUVs mild offroad action

Well I have tried some offroading with fortuner. It is quite capable machine but it does not has the approach angle like that of Gurkha. The power is awesome.

After some testing on AWD and 4H and 4L it performed. Though I did manage to get it stuck and missed the diff. locks of Gurkha.


At place where Pajero had to use 4wd lever, Fortuner just climbed up in AWD.

Few pics from that OTR:





Fortuner stuck!!






Good Old Pajero pulled it out.

This vehicle has it's good points. Someday when we are just working or on OTR with only AWD or vehicles this size made for both Tarmac and off-road we would be able to appreciate it more.

It would always be though last on OTR for Jeeps/gypsies and Gurkhas!!

['72 Bullet]

@ rhandle Looking at the video, it looks as if Diff locks are engaged. A little over halfway up the slope, the front right wheel starts spinning, soon after that the left starts spinning & kicking up dust as well. My logic is that once the right tyre lost traction and started spinning, why would the same happen on the left? As in the torque would not get transmitted to the left tyre unless the right one found a firm footing right?

I'm sorry if my logic sounds very confusing, I don't really know how to put it across more effectively.