[Steeroid]

And, lest we forget - sheet metal from GCMMF.

[CARDEEP]

ACI have test driven the Gurkha 4X4X4, here is the link to their test drive report:

http://www.autocarindia.com/Review/3...t-drive.aspx/1

They found the SUV much better than the Thar despite being Rs.1.4 lacs costlier than the latter.

[CARDEEP]

Now Zigwheels have reviewed the much capable SUV & here is the link to their review:

http://www.zigwheels.com/reviews-adv...t-drive/16165/

IMO, it is the best factory built cheaper Indi-SUV followed by Safari Storme (read Tanvir's review in the morning) & Thar.

@Mannuj did you get a chance to Test Drive it.

[Steeroid]

3-year, 300k kms warranty sounds terrific - until you realize that you have to deal with Force Motors dealers. What warranty?



Has anyone else noticed the eerie similarity in terms and words used in the two reviews?

For eg:

"All said and done, the comfortable seats, the new moulded roof lining and the bright airy interiors make the Gurkha’s cabin quite a comfortable place to be in." - Zigwheels


"That said, the Gurkha's seats, its moulded roof lining and the bright, airy interiors are quite nice by off-roader standards" - ACI

There's more of such similar terms if you read on - which sound like the manufacturer has been giving them key words to highlight.

Or they have the same writer.

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

3-year, 300k kms warranty sounds terrific -

A common marketing ploy, given average customer will only drive only around ~50K in 3 yrs.

Sort of like one of those 'all you can eat buffets'...knowing that one can eat only so much.

[Steeroid]

That may be so, Deep - but you still get 3 years. And considering the fact that there's not a lot to add-on/modify as it comes with most stuff standard, there is a good chance of that warranty remaining valid.

Once you get past the dealership, ie

[codelust]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

Has anyone else noticed the eerie similarity in terms and words used in the two reviews?

For eg:

"All said and done, the comfortable seats, the new moulded roof lining and the bright airy interiors make the Gurkha’s cabin quite a comfortable place to be in." - Zigwheels


"That said, the Gurkha's seats, its moulded roof lining and the bright, airy interiors are quite nice by off-roader standards" - ACI

Looks like a good PR firm working for Force providing the journos with the copy. ACI seems to have better copy editors, though, as explained by the extra comma.

I think even the photos looked somewhat identical.

We'll have to wait till a official review here or till one of the ownership threads pop up for a more realistic picture.

[CARDEEP]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

3-year, 300k kms warranty sounds terrific - until you realize that you have to deal with Force Motors dealers. What warranty?



Has anyone else noticed the eerie similarity in terms and words used in the two reviews?

For eg:

"All said and done, the comfortable seats, the new moulded roof lining and the bright airy interiors make the Gurkha’s cabin quite a comfortable place to be in." - Zigwheels


"That said, the Gurkha's seats, its moulded roof lining and the bright, airy interiors are quite nice by off-roader standards" - ACI

There's more of such similar terms if you read on - which sound like the manufacturer has been giving them key words to highlight.

Or they have the same writer.

You have Argus Eye , & the similarity of both does not end here, as both have test driven the SUV in Force Motors' test track.

But, Zigwheels' review seems more detailed & with a bit of flair, as compared to ACI's. Though former's reviews are sugar-coated to the extent of making one diabetic, & this is a pattern.

[mohan]

In the context of Force Motors operational style , I would like to narrate an incidence which has been etched on my mind.

Somewhere in around 2010 ,during a night offroading stint ( we used to offroad very regularly almost every week end) , my Gurkha waded 1/3rd windscreen submerged through a lake at Pavna ,Lonavala , water reaching upto my knees in the cabin ;for almost 40 metres.
It reached the bank in full view of at least 15 drop-jawed witnesses all of whom are on TBHP . Not only it reached unscathed but also towed a gypsy 15 km down to civilization.

We wanted to repeat the same feat and also wanted to enter the Limca Records.

Rahul Roy a close friend ,(rhandle on TBHP who has a fantastic thread on Gurkha) did all the ground work at Delhi ,contacting the Limca Record guys and finally it was agreed to wade the Gurkha ,stock vehicle , without any alteration ,modification etc through 1.3 metres of water .(Under the Indian Vehicles amazing capabilities section).

We worked out the location,dates etc and other requirements to satisfy the Limca Records.

There was however one hitch , both Rahul's and my Gurkha were still in the warranty period and we didn't want to proceed without the company's help should anything really go wrong.

So we approached the Force Motors top brass with our proposal ,which included some documents and a presentation.
We were very excited about the whole thing and optimistic too .
We thought we would be appreciated and encouraged with all necessary support .

Actually we did not need financial support ,only a guarantee that should anything happen to the engines Force Motors would look after it .

As we sat in the office of this very senior official who called the shots we experienced the unforeseen.
He simply brushed aside the entire idea ,did not even care to look at the presentation and summarily dismissed us saying " We do not need such stunts ".
We walked out in a daze !

Thats Force Motors:
They Manufacture Sports Utility Vehicles (SUV) without the Sporting Attitude.
4 wheelers without the ground.

[Saptarshi B]

Originally Posted by mohan

Thats Force Motors:
They Manufacture Sports Utility Vehicles (SUV) without the Sporting Attitude.
4 wheelers without the ground.

Compare that to Mahindra who are making an entire range of products to cater to offroading and their recent adverts too are centered around "stunts"

It's one thing to have a capable product and another to actually do something with it. Force Motors: you better wake up soon, else you will be sitting in the board rooms an wondering why your products not selling

[Manuuj]

Originally Posted by CARDEEP

Now Zigwheels have reviewed the much capable SUV & here is the link to their review:

http://www.zigwheels.com/reviews-adv...t-drive/16165/

IMO, it is the best factory built cheaper Indi-SUV followed by Safari Storme (read Tanvir's review in the morning) & Thar.

@Mannuj did you get a chance to Test Drive it.

I have been calling the dealer once every week for an update for a test drive of the vehicle. The Gurkha was supposed to be with them by the 1st week of April which has now (expectedly) shifted to the 1st week of May.

Another interesting bit of information graciously dispensed to me was that the Vehicle will be "Only for Display". No test Drives will be allowed on it.

Test Drives will only commence once a specially built track has been prepared for it which can be anywhere..and i quote, "Delhi, Gurgaon or Pune, i cannot confirm yet. The vehicle will definitely not be given for Road test on Normal Surface Roads"

So this means that every customer who wants a test drive will have to book an appointment to drive it on the specially made test track which hasn't been made yet as it location hasn't been decided yet.

Iv'e given up hope of a test Drive this year atleast. I don't really fancy flying to Pune for a test drive either. Amazing marketing ploy by Force Motors i must say. A real gem of an idea

I had a Marketing Manager who had been fired for incompetency. I wonder if he is over at Force Motors now.

[AVR]

Originally Posted by Manuuj

I don't really fancy flying to Pune for a test drive either. Amazing marketing ploy by Force Motors i must say. A real gem of an idea

A friend of mine who is looking to buy the Gurkha was apparently made the same offer of flying to Pune to check it out. At company cost. Now whether it was a special case or one-off, am not sure. But for a car that costs 8.5 Ex-showroom, I doubt it contains a margin for flying prospective customers into Pune . Yes, this is based on the G-wagen but FML can't really offer what maybe prospective G-Klasse (G63 AMG) customers may be offered.

The A'bad dealer hasn't got one yet but will get one soon as they say. Hope floats as they say...

Cheers,
Adi

[speedmiester]

Originally Posted by Manuuj

Iv'e given up hope of a test Drive this year atleast. I don't really fancy flying to Pune for a test drive either. Amazing marketing ploy by Force Motors i must say. A real gem of an idea

I had a Marketing Manager who had been fired for incompetency. I wonder if he is over at Force Motors now.

Force Motors are following the footsteps of other niche car makers like Rolls Royce, Ferrari and the likes. They know that their product is so competent that they choose who can have the "pleasure" of owning their vehicle.

You can't just buy a Gurkha, you have to earn the right to own it.

Mods: Could we please have a smiley for Sarcasm.

[apachelongbow]

looks like a repeat of the Force One fiasco. Now a days the only place to see a Force One is inside the showroom. With hardly a few hundred cars sold, it has become a niche product. And believe me, the Force One is not a bad product at all. Had it worn a Maruti, Hyundai, Mahindra or a Tata batch, it would have sold a few thousands each year at the least.
Force motor's problems are not with their cars, its with the nuts who are in management. I believe that incompetence starts from the very top. Some people are not meant to be in the auto business, and I feel the Force company owners are one of them.
Come on Force, who will buy your cars no matter how good they are, if you have zero after sales service, incompetent sales force, poor coverage of distributors and are unable to procure or honor simple warranty claims?

[roy_libran]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

looks like a repeat of the Force One fiasco. Now a days the only place to see a Force One is inside the showroom. With hardly a few hundred cars sold, it has become a niche product. And believe me, the Force One is not a bad product at all. Had it worn a Maruti, Hyundai, Mahindra or a Tata batch, it would have sold a few thousands each year at the least.
Force motor's problems are not with their cars, its with the nuts who are in management. I believe that incompetence starts from the very top. Some people are not meant to be in the auto business, and I feel the Force company owners are one of them.
Come on Force, who will buy your cars no matter how good they are, if you have zero after sales service, incompetent sales force, poor coverage of distributors and are unable to procure or honor simple warranty claims?

Recently I got my Gurkha serviced for the first time in the Force Personal Vehicles Outlet at Ghaziabad (Prince Motors). Earlier I had experienced the outlets at Gurgaon, Manesar and Rama Road-Delhi.

Prince Motors had recently sent a guy (Manoj) to Pune to get trained on the Gurkha and were more than happy to see a real Gurkha in the flesh.
They didn't yet have any spares for the Gurkha, since they only service Force One vehicles. But, that was not a problem for me, since I carry a sackful of essential spares for my vehicle.

At the service center, there were eight, yes 8, Force One vehicles getting serviced or repaired. From the look of it, the guys doing the job were being quite professional about it. I noticed that there was 4-I validation happening for each critical job that was happening.

During my visit I chatted up with a few mechanics and here is what they told me:
1. Initial batch of Force One's had a few problems, mainly to do with the Rubber Hoses (a legacy Force Motors issue) and AC and Turbo.
2. The Turbo has been changed about 5-6 months back (re-specced), and since then no incidents. They are also changing the Turbo for older vehicles under warranty.
3. The AC had problems w.r.t the Condensor. The condensor has since, been redesigned, and they are also replacing these FOC for older customers.
4. 2 key hoses (one of them is the Turbo to Intercooler connection) have been redesigned, and their quality has been upgraded. This prevents frequent tears.

There were a couple of funny incidents as well, and are representative of the changes that Force Motors must drive within their personnel and processes.
1. There was a Bumper that had been repaired and it was being given a fresh coat of White Paint. The guy doing this, was merrily going about his job, with no clue that the Force One standing next to him (for a simple service) was also receiving the Paint Dropets and soon the rear windscreen was coated in White droplets. Best time for the owner to make an entry and Man, was that a sight to see! The problem was quickly rectified though and the poor painter guy got two tight slaps from the Floor manager.
2. One vehicle had had some work done for rectifying the hand brake. So, it was being demonstrated to the owner on the entry ramp. First the mechanic who had worked on it, displayed it and it worked fine. Next, the owner wanted to try it himself and tried it, and the vehicle rolled back and lightly bumped into another Force One parked behind. No damage, but a lot more shouting and one more slap. Hilarious!

Back to my Gurkha. Of all the spares I was carrying, I did not have the appropriate hoses that were bust. They went out of their way and located two hoses of the appropriate profile and diameter and cut them to the right size and fit them to my vehicle.
They gave me an ETA for my vehicle, and beat that time by around 2 hours. Not too bad, I'd say.
Cost of service + consumables + hose replacement = 4000 odd bucks. Of course, I supplied the Oil and Diesel Filter and chose to get the Air Filter cleaned, since it was only mildly dirty.

While they have a lot to improve in After Sales Service, this is the Third outlet that I have now experienced, where I was treated well and an effort to help, was genuinely made. True they goof up, but it's not all as bad as it is made out to be.
That said, the real failing of Force Motors, is on the Marketing and Sales front. They have absolutely no idea on how to "Go To Market" with their products.

On a sidenote, Force One is getting launched in a cheaper and trimmed down version soon.