[himanshugoswami]

Anirudh...r u sure u want to go in for Gurkha, since your main requirement is a good cruiser and not a hard core mud plugger.

IMHO, you should still be looking at a bolero CRDE or a Safari , depending on your budget.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by himanshugoswami

Anirudh...r u sure u want to go in for Gurkha, since your main requirement is a good cruiser and not a hard core mud plugger.

IMHO, you should still be looking at a bolero CRDE or a Safari , depending on your budget.

Hey hey, let the dear man have his pleasure of atleast exploring this option! Actually I did, and when I found that the price was more than 9L onroad in Bangalore, and the fact that no Bank would give me a loan to fund the acquisition of this vehicle, I decided to keep my cheap jeep for heavy duty offroading and pick up a normal cruiser.

Ofcourse, when the dealer promised me delivery in a week, I could not control my heart beat from bouncing off the charts.

[MileCruncher]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Hd the fact that no Bank would give me a loan to fund the acquisition of this vehicle, I decided to keep my cheap jeep for heavy duty offroading and pick up a normal cruiser.

If thats the case then it can turn into a non-starter.
@Rhandle: Request you to provide your experience

[Dud_Dodo]

Awesome pics, awesome ride! Came back twice to this thread to just have a look at the pics & ride. drool drool..

Originally Posted by rhandle

Yes I am planning to make the rear step fold upwards, you know kind of joint. Where as soon as it hits anything if moves up and then just falls back.

Be aware however that this may lead to sounds, rattling sounds especially. Do this with a spring mounted hinge kinda thing, a spring with loads of tension however so that it doesn't rattle away.

[H3LIOS]

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

BTW can someone help/guide me with the Gurkha specs please

I am sure you can find it on the Gurkha thread. Anyway, here you go buddy - specs attached.

In Hyderabad, do not go to Sehgal Motors - reputation not good, poor customer service and do not give correct info about the vehicles. Go to Anshu Automotives (in Kukatpally I think), phone 040-44556677. But don't expect to get ready info on the Gurkha, be prepared to do a lot of follow-ups. And if you are looking for a test drive or something, then just forget about it.

Having said that, it seems Gurkha is available ex-stock now and you could get one in under a week after placing the order. The normal ex-showroom price is about 7.7 Lakhs, but you can bargain and get a discount because of the general economic down-trend.

Cheers

[MileCruncher]

Thanks Helios

BTW isn't the OM611 engine a standard on the Gurkha?

[Blue Thunder]

Originally Posted by Monster_BHP

These are some of my pics of the Gurkha i have. Hope you guys like it..

Monster_BHP, glad to see that the registration has been completed . I remember there was some delay because this was the first Gurkha being registered in TN, right?

[rhandle]

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

If thats the case then it can turn into a non-starter.
@Rhandle: Request you to provide your experience

I purchased the vehicle without loan. I can find it out if required.

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

Thanks Helios

BTW isn't the OM611 engine a standard on the Gurkha?

Nope. OM611 has not yet been commissioned in any of the Force vehicles.

[rhandle]

Originally Posted by maddy42

rhandle brilliant. Your review showed none of the essence unlike your smiley:-)

Your tires selection and the alloys also suit this vehicle and good that your offroading with this too.

So how is the service facilities by force in terms of regular maintainence and spares??

Spares are cheap, and a Matador mechanic would work wonders with it. Till now no issues in any terms. Though I had to get boots replaced because the service team put excessive grease on that. Force replaced it free of cost.

Originally Posted by Steeroid

It wont be bashing any dunes with that output. Needs more power for the dunes where momentum is everything - torque alone wont conquor.

If you want to go dune-bashing, the Gypsy King would be the best bet in India. Light and revvy.

I do not want to negate it but have seen hummer, TLC, Montero and old Unimogs bashing the dunes. If you would chk out the BHP of earlier Unimog then you would be surprised, I thou' guess you know it very well.

Originally Posted by amitk26

wonderful pics rhandle , Does Force put the Mercedes logo only on OM611 engine Gurkha or on all Gurkha's for the G-Wagon connection ?

Guys just a question why T-BHP homepage shouldn't have these kinds of pics from members
instead of Red Skoda RS.
Is there any sponsorship or support from Skoda to the community ?

Ther Merc's Logo is my work - :( 100bucks only! Wish had money to get original G-wagen!


Well I would be interested to see other pics from members istead of Red Skoda as well!!

[gowda79]

Originally Posted by rhandle

Ther Merc's Logo is my work - :( 100bucks only! Wish had money to get original G-wagen!

Good work done Rahul on putting up the Mercedes Logo on the grill, Rahul if you have dreams you can buy anything in this world.The dream makes you to work towards making the dream come true.

How good is the service you are getting from the Force guys ??? A good rapport with the Service Manager and the Service Guys will make wonders for your car maintainence.

PS - Service Guys(These guys are most important)

[lohithrao]

Rahul am keen to know if you are given an option of owning just 1 truck, what would that be?
Safari or Gurkha?

This que is out of the blue but am keen to know since you own both i think on this thread you have mentioned that you have kind of got very used to gurkha...

[rhandle]

Originally Posted by gowda79

Good work done Rahul on putting up the Mercedes Logo on the grill, Rahul if you have dreams you can buy anything in this world.The dream makes you to work towards making the dream come true.

How good is the service you are getting from the Force guys ??? A good rapport with the Service Manager and the Service Guys will make wonders for your car maintainence.

PS - Service Guys(These guys are most important)

Force people are not one of the best let me tell you. But with Gurkha we got to bear with them as Gurkha's engine management is thru a Laptop.

Rest of the things can be done by a matador mechanic. The good thing is service interval is after 7.5k kms.

Originally Posted by lohithrao

Rahul am keen to know if you are given an option of owning just 1 truck, what would that be?
Safari or Gurkha?

This que is out of the blue but am keen to know since you own both i think on this thread you have mentioned that you have kind of got very used to gurkha...

After long term I wont be thinking about Safari. I guess a bulock cart would do better. The safari after 60K kms is all rattled up. Also the clutch on Safari first went out on 11K kms. Gurkha has covered 8.5 still doing gr8 and has done more off-roading than the Safari, and still going strong. The rattlings are not there.

The seats in Gurkha might not be comfortable but you would get used to. If you want you can get it changed though.

In Gurkha I cant do speeds unlike safari but then I am king of off-roads.

Gurkha I can say would easily last 2 safari one aftre another.

So if you want better body and engine life then it Gurkha.

If you want easy creature comforts then go for Gurkha and remember to change your vehicle every three years!!

For me it's Gurkha al the way.

[lohithrao]

Thanks Rahul,

I think this would have answered many peoples que on which vehicles which fits both touring and offraod...

am removing safari off my list....i need a tough guy which can be taken anywhere..

Originally Posted by rhandle

Force people are not one of the best let me tell you. But with Gurkha we got to bear with them as Gurkha's engine management is thru a Laptop.

Rest of the things can be done by a matador mechanic. The good thing is service interval is after 7.5k kms.



After long term I wont be thinking about Safari. I guess a bulock cart would do better. The safari after 60K kms is all rattled up. Also the clutch on Safari first went out on 11K kms. Gurkha has covered 8.5 still doing gr8 and has done more off-roading than the Safari, and still going strong. The rattlings are not there.

The seats in Gurkha might not be comfortable but you would get used to. If you want you can get it changed though.

In Gurkha I cant do speeds unlike safari but then I am king of off-roads.

Gurkha I can say would easily last 2 safari one aftre another.

So if you want better body and engine life then it Gurkha.

If you want easy creature comforts then go for Gurkha and remember to change your vehicle every three years!!

For me it's Gurkha al the way.

[GTO]

Rhandle, what a fantastic report! Congratulations on your Gurkha; absolutely loved the pictures. She looks damn purposeful; truly mean and aggressive. In fact, some of the offroading pics make her look like a Merc G-Wagen from afar. Its great to see someone buy a new 4x4 and take her offroading right away.

Originally Posted by rhandle

1. NVH and driving
2. Comparison wrt to Safari
3. ISSUES & Problems ( lot of emotional ones as well!)
4. Condition as of now

Don't sweat. Initial build quality may be terrible, though Force depends on you to set things right. Inexcusable for a 9 lakh rupee car, but the good news is : By 10,000 kms you would have found all the loose ends and sorted them out. These machines are extremely simple in construction. The NVH are pretty much in line with most basic offroaders (including Jeeps & Gypsies), but the highway manners / ride quality of the Gurkha are way superior.

Initially I literally cried over my decision of buying Gurkha.

Been there, done that. I remember my first night out to celebrate the Classics delivery (on my birthday). Once run on the western express highway and I was like "How the hell am I going to live with this for 5 years"? Needless to say, its been 12 years of joy and the Jeep has gone on to become a permanent asset of my garage.

Please bear with my way of writing and I am no expert. This is my first thread or any report stuff on TBHP or anywhere for that matter.

Thanks

Are you kidding? Your straight-forward honest style has made this report amongst the best on Team-BHP. Look, I just clicked the 5 star rating button.

Originally Posted by Steeroid

Everything you've written about the Gurkha reminds me of my Defender.

You betcha! I also thought of my early Jeep days when reading his comments. Namely:

Yes it doubles up as a vibration massager.

Vehicle crosses 100 not easily and takes a toll on you.

Sound increases with increase in speed and so do vibrations.

Gear changes have to be in spot or the vehicle gets angry and starts growling.

Ride was harsh, so much noise and vibrations.

During the trip to Rishikesh I had to wipe out the glass in front to be able to drive, because of condensation on Glass.

Originally Posted by rhandle

Now what do you guys think Is it worth ???
[/left]

Absolutely. Keep her for life and continually improv her build & performance. Trust me, you have motivated more than just a handful of people to buy a Gurkha.

[predatorwheelz]

This is one of the best ownership reviews I have read so far. Always knew the Gurkha was a great vehicle, but somehow felt it was too specialized a tool for us laymen to use/live with on a day-to-day basis. Rhandle, your report was like "The complete idiot's guide to off-roading, and living with off-roaders"!

Just one question: Other than hardcore OTR trips, have you made a general long drive on normal national/state highways? How did the car perform then? Note that factors like driver & passenger fatigue, vehicle overheating, reliability etc become paramount in such drives (rather than just the sturdiness and capability of the vehicle), which is the point of making this query.