[Manuuj]

Originally Posted by Ragul

Sorry what? If you are a new car owner one can understand the confusion. 20k kms is the recommended engine oil ...

20,000 kms?! Ever since i can remember I've been getting the Engine Oil changed every 10,000 kms as per the manufacturers reccomended Oil change interval for every car I've ever had and been responsible for maintaining since 1994.

From my Mahindra 540 DP in 1994 to the Cielo, Astra, Qualis, Scorpio, Fortuner, Camry, Baleno and Endeavour every vehicles recommended Engine Oil and Oil filter change has been at 10,000 kms or once every year whichever falls earlier.

This is usually done every 3 to 4 months for our cars with high usage and once a year for cars that are barely driven.
An example is my Camry Hybrid. Its done a shade over 20,000 kms in 6 years but has had its full service done once every year.

That is the same schedule i shall follow for the Gurkha as well. Oil change every 10,000 kms.

If they reccomend that I do an oil change every 4 months I'd be happy to do that as well as long as the vehicle hasn't crossed 10,000 kms before that.

For Diffs and Gear box I agree with you that 40,000 kms is the right amount. I usually change the Fuel Filter also at this time.
Engine Airfilters typically last about 30,000 kms in my experience.

[Ragul]

Originally Posted by Manuuj

20,000 kms?! Ever since i can remember I've been getting the Engine Oil changed every 10,000 kms as per the manufacturers reccomended Oil change interval for every car I've ever had and been responsible for maintaining since 1994.

Yeahh… my bad - I unconsciously mixed up a decision I made after discovering that good synthetic oils like Shell Helix Ultra make the engine “feel” quieter and smoother after 12-15k of running - as the standard practice. This is only a personal statement of confidence - after many years of using this engine oil - that I do not feel I am risking my expensive car asset in any way by extending use to 2x the recommended interval for mineral oils. As a matter of fact I have only changed oils between 20-25k in the last 5-7 years out of caution after switching to Synths. Part of me was always nagging me that it was good for another 5k, at each oil change. TBH Every oil change at 20k kms with a synth like Shell has felt like “jabardasti”… I have even experimented by switching back to mineral oil from synth and it made me so unhappy I over-eagerly switched back to synths within 7k kms. I am past 90k kms now on the odometer and have been following the 20k schedule for more than 60 or 70k kms I think. Engine is as peppy as ever! You only need to exercise caution to stay in Warranty!

[his-xc-lnc]

Hello. I have been reading comments on this forum for long and actually want to have a gurkha. I would really appreciate if someone could post test drive review here. I dont have the luxury of a dealer with test drive availability in dehradun. Hope FM addresses this issue soon.

[Manuuj]

Originally Posted by his-xc-lnc

Hello. I have been reading comments on this forum for long and actually want to have a gurkha. I would really appreciate if someone could post test drive review here. I dont have the luxury of a dealer with test drive availability in dehradun. Hope FM addresses this issue soon.

I have been calling the dealer every couple of days. The test drive vehicle was supposed to land up by the 7th which was moved to the 10th and has been finally moved to the 15th of October.

He informed me that they have had about 15 people pay the booking amount of Rs.25,000 without even taking a test drive so far.

I guess the Gurkha is a special vehicle for special people. No thousands of bookings a day here like with the Thar. But then Mahindra also has a much larger dealer footprint all over India.

I have very fair expectations from the Gurkha. It has been in development for a while and I am hopeful that the end product will leave a good impression.

As soon as i do manage to take a test drive i will post pics and a brief review of my impression here on this thread.

[AdityaDeane]

Originally Posted by his-xc-lnc

I dont have the luxury of a dealer with test drive availability in dehradun. Hope FM addresses this issue soon.

Did you mean there is no Force Motors Showroom in Dehradun, or that the only showroom which is there doesn't have a Test Drive vehicle?

[his-xc-lnc]

Originally Posted by AdityaDeane

Attachment 2217992

Did you mean there is no Force Motors Showroom in Dehradun, or that the only showroom which is there doesn't have a Test Drive vehicle?

this is what i mean. The gurkha page menu does not show any dealer in doon. The dealer mentioned by you holds trucks and buses mostly.

[AdityaDeane]

Originally Posted by his-xc-lnc

this is what i mean. The gurkha page menu does not show any dealer in doon. The dealer mentioned by you holds trucks and buses mostly.Attachment 2218064

As far as I know even the dealer here in Mandi also sells only Trucks and Buses but also takes Gurkha orders and sells them on order basis. Maybe take a test drive with a dealer in Chandigarh or Delhi and order it through your nearest dealer and keep getting servicing done from them.

[Shekhar Rao]

Hi
Thank you for accepting me into the forum
I am planning to replace my 2011 Thar( which I bought used in 2018) with the new Gurkha. I have been following all the reviews and Team BHP threads A big thanks to Trojan for his posts and videos and also to Manuuj for sharing his thoughts
I too , like him have a 2012 Fortuner AWD which I have driven for over a lakh kms and although it is a great vehicle to own and drive long distances I find it a little too big and not providing the touring ,safari type of experience for some type of drives Also I dont feel like taking it off road like it seems so natural in the Thar Given that the new Fortuner cost is over 50 lakhs, I am planning to keep mine for as long as I can I also like the fact that it is a full time AWD and I feel that it gives greater pleasure driving it on curving highways because of that
I am expecting the following things from the new Gurkha as compared to my Thar I did test drive the new Thar in a limited way but I liked the space , ambience and view out of my old Thar more
1) The great seating position and view out for front and back seats
2) Noise control and dust protection of the hard top
3) The comfort of height and shoulder room and the feeling of a safari ,touring experience
4)Expected ride quality over broken roads and the go anywhere and as far as you want feel
5)Safety features
6) That it is an Indian product that has been progressively improved and the promise of catering to the enthusiast
7)The promise of ownership costs being in value range
8)The special looks and excitement factor that will make you want to take it to all kinds of places( like where the videos were made)
I have actually made a booking and am awaiting the test drive Hoping that my expectations will be fulfilled!
Thought it would be great to be a part of the potential Gurkha group and have an informed and enjoyable hobby experience

[Manuuj]

Originally Posted by AdityaDeane

As far as I know even the dealer here in Mandi also sells only Trucks and Buses but also takes Gurkha orders and sells them on order basis. Maybe take a test drive with a dealer in Chandigarh or Delhi and order it through your nearest dealer and keep getting servicing done from them.

I've taken a quote from the dealer in Mandi.



A very nice and friendly gentleman called Manoj is handling Gurkha sales there.


We have a residence in Himachal and I am trying to figure out if its better to get the vehicle from Mandi and have them take care of the Registration process or buy it in Delhi and have a Himachal Registration done myself.

This may be complicated as I may need to drive it to Solan on a TR number and I have been told that I may also need an NOC from the Delhi RTO for the same.

Himachal Registration has a few advantages.

A) It will be cheaper than Delhi.

B) Since I hope to keep the Gurkha for a while having the Registration renewed will be a lot simpler in Solan than the confused RTO of Delhi (wrt to NGT 10 year rule for Diesels)
C) It may just be fun to go to Mandi and pick up the vehicle.
D) I may get a bit more respect from the local populace on my overland trips to the Hills with a HP XX XXXX number rather than the dreaded DL XX XXXX number..

The complication is that I want to install BFG's to the vehicle straight away. If I do buy it from Mandi and drive it back to Delhi on the OE Apollo tyres then I will lose out on quite a bit of the resale value of the Apollo tyres. I will be ordering mine with stock steel alloys and if the BFG'S fit well I may just stick to them or buy Alloys or Steel wheels once I get to Delhi.

That too can also be sorted if I buy the tyres and simply take them along with me to Mandi and then find a good tyre shop to install and balance them for me there itself.

[Manuuj]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

Guys, if anyone in touch with the company can you clarify these two points for me:

1) Is Free Wheeling Hubs/Front Axle Disconnect part of the original equipment? If not will it be available as an accessory?

2) The brochure says cornering lights but shows the picture of ..

I am pretty sure the new sales person i have been in touch with will be unaware of these technical points and inquiries over the phone may not yeild a satisfactory answer.

I shall keep these points in mind when I visit the showroom for the test drive and meet Mr. Nitesh who is from Force Motors. He will be able to answer these questions.

[AdityaDeane]

Originally Posted by Manuuj

I've taken a quote from the dealer in Mandi.

We have a residence in Himachal and I am trying to figure out if its better to get the vehicle from Mandi and have them take care of the Registration process or buy it in Delhi and have a Himachal Registration done myself.

This may be complicated as I may need to drive it to Solan on a TR number and I have been told that I may also need an NOC from the Delhi RTO for the same.

Himachal Registration has a few advantages.

The complication is that I want to install BFG's to the vehicle straight away. If I do buy it from Mandi and drive it back to Delhi on the OE Apollo tyres then I will lose out on quite a bit of the resale value of the Apollo tyres. I will be ordering mine with stock steel alloys and if the BFG'S fit well I may just stick to them or buy Alloys or Steel wheels once I get to Delhi.

That too can also be sorted if I buy the tyres and simply take them along with me to Mandi and then find a good tyre shop to install and balance them for me there itself.

May I know where in Himachal Pradesh is your residence? Cause I'm sure there is more than a single Force dealer in all of Himachal Pradesh, and the one closest to your residence may be the best choice for servicing and other requirements in the future.

I bought my Triber from Dehradun with a Temporary Registration in November 2019, and did not have to get any NOC from Dehradun RTO for getting my car registered in Manali. Still, getting a Himachal Pradesh registration will be the better decision as it'll save you upfront money, will be exempt from the 10 year Diesel vehicles rule of NCT-Delhi and you will enjoy a better response from Himachali drivers when you're back in the State (personal experiences when I had my UK07 Nano in Manali for 6 months, it's a nightmare!).

Better would be to bring the BFG with you and get them installed at the dealership while taking delivery itself with Balancing and Alignment checked at the same time. Also, they can either buy back the original tyres, or you can sell them off to one of the Tyre shops in Mandi and be free of carrying them with you everywhere from the time of taking delivery of your car.

Do let us know when you have the car, and start an ownership review as well! I love this new Gurkha, but will wait for the 5 door version to take the plunge, even though it may cost me more than a lakh in price difference by then, from the present launch prices. All the very best.

[Manuuj]

Originally Posted by AdityaDeane

May I know where in Himachal Pradesh is your residence? Cause I'm sure there is more than a single Force dealer in all of Himachal Pradesh, and the one closest to your residence may be the best choice..
Do let us know when you have the car, and start an ownership review as well! I love this new Gurkha, but will wait for the 5 door version to take the plunge..All the very best.

Thank you for your good wishes! We have a house in Solan though we only go once a year. I would like to use that address for registration of the Gurkha.

Can you suggest a Dealer close to Solan? I saw a post here on this thread with a quote from a dealer in Simla also.
Though for some reason that quote was higher than what the Mandi dealer has quoted me, 13.59 lacs being the basic price all over India.

Service etc will all be carried out in Delhi since this is where i reside permanently.

Buying the car totally depends on when the tyres will be available. I've spoken to a few contacts here in Delhi and they all say -"not before a month or even two atleast."

Since the Thar is on 18 inch Alloys most of the importers are getting 18 inch tyres.
BFG'S in 265/75/R16 size and even 16 inch wheels in the 160x5 PCD are not easy to source. (don't we just love the Babus who came up with the tyre import ban idea!)

If the BFG fit the original steel wheels properly i will just have them painted in the same Green body color or Black and use them till i can find the perfect set of wheels.

I doubt the BFG'S will fit into the OE Steel rims since the rims may only be 6 inches wide and 7 inches to 8 inches wide wheels would be ideal.
Will only know the exact specifications of the steel wheels when i see them in person at the showroom.

Even i was thinking of waiting for the 5 door version but since I already currently have a 5 door 4x4 I thought why not go for a more nimble, shorter wheelbase 3 door.
Though for a proper, practical overlander the 5 door version will be better suited due to all that extra space.

Even if I am a bit late in getting my 2021 Gurkha when compared to other Bhpians I surely will begin a very indepth and comprehensive ownership review.

Hopefully it will be a happy story

[AdityaDeane]

Here is a list of all the Force Motors showrooms and service centres in Himachal Pradesh, as per the Force Motors website.


Locations List


Kullu


Kangra


Shimla


Joginder Nagar


Hamirpur


Manali


Rohru


Mandi


Baddi

You can try and get the quotations from the dealers closest to your house. Hope this helps.

[Trojan]

Not all Force Motors showrooms are going to get to sell the Gurkha by default.

Here are contact details of the Pan India Sales team, you may reach out to them for your respective states for information and booking. I thought it might be helpful.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by Trojan

Here are contact details of the Pan India Sales team, you may reach out to them for your respective states for information and booking

You know you are buying an absolutely niche vehicle when the pan-India sales team can be tracked in 10 rows of Excel

On a serious note, wish Force Motors scales up their sales/service network for the Gurkha. Such a darn capable vehicle deserves it, to say the least.