[indian21r]

Any idea when we will have teambhp review for Gurkha. Even though it is barebones, it looks interesting. I am planning to consider it as a daily drive with occasional offroad activities. Major worry though is the steering position, reminds me of RTC buses. I have done a little off-road in Thar and it was fun. From what I read Gurkha is a better proposition than a Thar. With Some modification Gurkha should look butch and having the rear wheel on the tailgate retains its character.

I need to test drive it ASAP. Any 4x4 guys here planning to test ride in Hyderabad??

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

If force can give a 100 bhp/25 kgm engine, I will choose the Gurkha over the Thar any day as it is a lot more practical vehicle.

Tini

Dont bother waiting - I've been given to understand by someone in the know that there will not be a BS4 Gurkha. Apparently the cost of producing it would make it infeasible to sell, as nobody would pay so much for a vehicle with such basic interiors.

[Mpower]

@Steer. Sad to hear that!

Its a lot easier to drop that delicious OM611 engine from the 1 into the Gurkha than try to massage the old one to meet BS4.

Hope the agreement with MB allows for it !

[007 Bond]

Force gurkha has just released these two videos, makes it more tempting after watching them, have a look at it guys, both are real world videos, hence i liked it more !

Its looking very interesting the way these guys are marketing the product !!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SSTMxRlBPI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5fTb9GDjnE

[Parm]

Originally Posted by 007 Bond

Force gurkha has just released these two videos, makes it more tempting after watching them, have a look at it guys, both are real world videos, hence i liked it more !

Its looking very interesting the way these guys are marketing the product !!

The person who is driving the Gurkha is not an OTR guy!

1. After climbing the stairs, he finds it difficult to turn the steering towards the right.

2. The way of making the Gurkha "Jump" on the embankment, is very incorrect in terms of OTR driving. One ends up harming the fellow passengers and cause expensive damage to the vehicle.

Total immature way of handling the vehicle.

[simply_sunny001]

but its really cool to see gurkha swim effortlessly across water and then climb the stairs.
nice video

[Shubhendra]

Overall Gurkha is a good package. But i am still not sure whether company is taking it seriously (which i think they are) or they are damn slow in execution. They launched it 2 months back and in their home city vehicle is not displayed on all showrooms except one. I am following up with them from last 3 months but i am yet to see vehicle in flesh (though i have seen it on road during their test) forget about test drive.
Why this attitude when they dont have first mover advantage and Mahindra might be planning another upgrade on Thar...

Shubhendra

[tatsago]

This looks more like marketing showmanship, I am sure most 4x4s including Thar and Gypsy could pull these stunts. Also when he lands after the jump, the rebound seems to be set too hard.

[condor]

Stunts !

btw, the front end looks horrendous !

[anandpadhye]

The water wading and stairs climbing one looks good. The second video looks kiddish. But Gurkha seems to be quite capable.

[roy_libran]

Two Mobile pictures from yesterday's event. Sorry, I wasn't carrying a proper camera.

There's a wonderful video of the New Gurkha making mincemeat of an Articulation Point, that saw every other type of vehicle either beached or stuck. Only a 550 with LSD and Double Shackles was able to clear it. Will try and upload it soon.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by condor

btw, the front end looks horrendous !

"Grotesque" would be more apt, but still does not do enough justice to the 'treatment'.

[ACM]

The videos are really cool. It does not matter that the correct technique was not used to navigate the obstacles and that the driver was not a professional (or was one and made mistakes) in either cases the ability of the vehicle does stands out.

If the Thar did not have sufficient power we would have complained about the engine, now we complain about the IFS and interior quality. If it had interiors we would have complained about it being unsuitable for off road trips and if it did not have IFS we would have complained about the highway drive.

The Gurkha seems to miss out only on the Engine front mainly. The plastic bumpers can anyways be taken care of by the buyers.

[adc]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

This is the Gross weight, i.e. weight with passengers. I am more interested in the "kerb" or unladen weight.

The kerb weight is 1990 kg - somewhat on the high side.

Originally Posted by 007 Bond

Next project on Gurkha is Gurkha with ABS, ...

From your old posts you do seem to have some inside information on Force Gurkha!

May be, I would be looking out for a Force Gurkha for whatever it looks in some 3-4 months from now.

1. So how far, in months, is the Gurkha ABS?

2. The RAW of Gurkha is 1410 kg [somewhat less?], the GVW 2510 kg. With diff locks the stress is quite big on the rear axle, and depending upon terrain it goes more up. Have you heard of any rear axle stress problems on prolonged testing when the vehicle is fully loaded and with diff locks engaged in adverse terrains? Or may be you can ask some of the factory tech out there about this - may be just an upstart query but would like to get this cleared up.

As for the Gurkha, the cost is okay for what is there - of course it looks horrendous. But then I plan to start travel journeys from his year end to some places with some most hostile terrains, with family - so do need to know more about the structural rigidity of the rear axle when the vehicle is fully loaded and under stress with diff lock.

[roy_libran]

Originally Posted by adc

2. The RAW of Gurkha is 1410 kg [somewhat less?], the GVW 2510 kg. With diff locks the stress is quite big on the rear axle, and depending upon terrain it goes more up. Have you heard of any rear axle stress problems on prolonged testing when the vehicle is fully loaded and with diff locks engaged in adverse terrains? Or may be you can ask some of the factory tech out there about this - may be just an upstart query but would like to get this cleared up.

There are a couple of points to note here:
1. When do you use a Diff Lock? - You should engage a Diff Lock when you have lost or will certainly lose traction on one wheel each from each axle. At times, when you are attempting steep climbs (e.g. 70 degrees sand), you may choose to engage the Rear Diff Lock, to ensure that the Pushing wheels maintain traction for as long as possible. You should not use the Front Diff Lock specifically in situations that need a lot of Steering corrections. This will place an enormous stress on the Front Axle components. I have used this as an exception only, and that too when nothing else has worked. The rear diff locks are relatively safer to use, but should only be used when absolutely necessary. Diff Locks are certainly not something that you should engage the moment you enter a trail, and keep them on for the rest of the day. That way you are guaranteed busted axles, differentials, and what not!

2. How strong are the Axles? - The Gurkha Axles, specifically the Rear Axles, has an enormous Load Rating. I am unable to recall the exact tonnage, but these are light truck class axles. On Sunday, I towed a MM550 XD for 15 kms, and I was running on 4th Gear comfortably, but there was negligible strain on the Gurkha. A few months back I had the opportunity to tow a Safari VX 4x4 up a sandy hill (100 odd feet over a 30-40 degree slope), because it was hopelessly stuck. In neither situations were Diff Locks needed.
I had recently gotten all my axles, wheel joints, CV joints, Bearings etc checked and there is absolutely no issue. So, I guess the axles are quite strong. My vehicle is now 60K kms old.

P.S. I wouldn't pin much hopes on Gurkha with ABS.