Team-BHP - Force Gurkha Review

Vivek Malik drops in a query via this Team-BHP share page.

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Hi Team-BHP,

Hope all is going well with you.

I just bought the new Gurkha, after selling my 2007 Pajero due to the completion of its road life in NCR.

I took the Pajero to my village many times and did proper sand dune safaris very comfortably. With the same enthusiasm, I took the Gurkha on the same terrain expecting better results and fun, but it disappointed me. It couldn't climb any of the dunes that the Pajero did comfortably. I tried it in both low ratio and high ratio options.

Also the ground clearance between the front tyres is damn less. Not feeling as confident as I did with with Pajero. Either I am not used to it, or it's underpowered, or I am not using the 4x4 controls properly.

Kindly suggest.

Regards,

Vivek Malik

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Originally Posted by PaddleShifter (Post 5234727)

While the 5 door Gurkha is more practical, it looks too desi and cab like compared to the three door version.

I think the three door version is still better for those who will be driving either solo or with one co-passenger most of the times.

The shorter wheelbase would be more suitable for the off road use as well.

My thoughts as well. I assume the 5 door version Wil be officially 7 seater (3 middle row and 2 jump seats) with limited boot space. This will be a good touring vehicle for big family. But have some reservations on this if we want to use this as a daily driver (in city) due to its expected longest wheel base and turning radius.

The 3 door is officially a comfortable 4 seater with 500 boot space which is good for a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 kids). Smaller footprint means easy to navigate in city traffic and can be a good daily driver. Also the panaromic window provides a richness to the entire look of the vehicle. Looks the interiors can be modded as much as we want.

I am waiting for the Omicron wave to close as there is no point in getting a new one and keeping it parked. Saw an video in YouTube on the grey colour with black seats and it looked smashing.

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Originally Posted by Aditya (Post 5234931)

Vivek Malik drops in a query via this Team-BHP share page.

Hey Vivek,

I am no pro in off-roading, though i have done couple of OTR trails in my 2018 Thar CRDe (sold). As per what i have read in the numerous posts and seen in you tube videos, the Gurkha is a very capable offroader and is great on various terrains including sand.

Needless to say, i am sure you must have done the basic stuff like reducing tire pressure, maintaining constant speed etc in your Gurkha while climbing the sand dunes. Also i feel it takes some time getting used to a new vehicle and it's 4x4 capabilities. Once you start understanding your vehicle better, i am sure you will love sand dune bashing in your Gurkha :Cheering:

PS: Could you please explain what you meant by "ground clearance between the front tyres is damn less"?

Regards,

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Originally Posted by Aditya (Post 5234931)

Vivek Malik drops in a query via this Team-BHP share page.

Kind of difficult to answer with nothing to base it upon.

If there are any videos of the failed climb viz-a-viz a successful Pajero climb, it will be provide some base to analyze and suggest.

Lastly, if you are off-roading since 2007, I would think you should be able to deduce or at least give additional information on vehicle behavior during those attempts.

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Originally Posted by amol4184 (Post 5235199)

I am smitten by 5 door Gurkha. Just going by the looks, I will prefer it over Thar 5D.
By the way what is the white no-window SUV in the background of black Gurkha's picture?

Same here, waiting for the 5 door launch!

Interesting observation, seems like the armored cash van to me, the wheel looks similar to the ones used in the 5 door Gurkha!

Cheers,

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Originally Posted by procrj (Post 5235831)

IMO looks like the owner has landed himself a lemon. What surprises me is his decision to take delivery even after he has observed rusting on various parts and oil leakage at multiple points. I am even more surprised that he decided to risk a multi state journey across india with his family. Hope Force motors can fix many if not most of these issues.

That is a budding youtuber trying to get maximum attention to his channel through prospective Gurkha customers. Nevertheless it does not matter if the vehicle is fixed or not, as far there is enough content for new videos, this is likely to continue.

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Originally Posted by msk_kapoor (Post 5235809)

Absolutely disheartening to see such issues in Gurkha. Hope this is a one off issue and all these are one time issues with a permanent fix and wont reoccur again. With limited service centres we cant travel regularly to fix issues. Hope proper action and effort to be taken from Force to make the ownership experience a smooth

Looks like he's got a vehicle which has all the issues a car can have!! He also mentions about other gurkha owners facing similar problems on one or two issues he had listed.

I am looking to buy this vehicle in the near future and sincerely hope Force takes immediate action to resolve these and I hope it is just a one off instance of a bad car getting off the assembly line. Else, a lot of prospective customers like me will be deterred from owning such a beautiful machine.

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Originally Posted by Kosfactor (Post 5235873)

I sincerely doubt if someone would spend such huge sum of money on a bad car just to garner some views on the YouTube channel. Looks like he's got genuine issues. Hope it's just bad luck and it gets resolved soon.

Praveen

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Originally Posted by thepilgrim1424 (Post 5236051)

I am looking to buy this vehicle in the near future ... Else, a lot of prospective customers like me will be deterred from owning such a beautiful machine.

I sincerely doubt if someone would spend such huge sum of money on a bad car just to garner some views on the YouTube channel. Looks like he's got genuine issues. Hope it's just bad luck and it gets resolved soon.

I would like to reiterate that the new Force Gurkha 2021 R&D, testing were not properly completed and FM might have hurriedly launched the vehicle. And hence initial batch owners are suffering- spending time in service centre with their new vehicle and a total wastage of energy, anxiety, tension about the well being of their loved vehicle.

Nobody would have bought a Force Gurkha just like "let's buy a car/ I need a car". They would have taken test drives, gone through the wonderful mechanical details, spec sheets, understood the vehicle and loved the Gurkha. Hence, if all these problems occurred with them, it's not acceptable at all.

I would love to see the Gurkha and FM succeed in market. Let's hope initial niggles are sorted out by the manufacturer at the earliest.

Attaching here the list of problems this gentleman reported in his YouTube video.

My wife thoroughly enjoyed the YouTube videos of Gurkha driven and reviewed by the lady. However, she says the second row should have three seater arrangement instead of two separate individual seats so that she can stretch/ take rest during long journeys. Any such retrofit is possible in this 3 door model?

The issues that the gentleman posted on his YouTube Channel are genuine. Many of the first batches of Gurkhas have had some gear oil leak issue. Some even had Oil leakage from the differentials seals. The problem has been identified and a fix has been applied as shown on my own review of Asterix for the gear box leak on Asterix. So far it seems to be working. But repeated visits to the company workshop does sour the ownership experience especially if the vehicle is brand new.

The second issue i faced was steering fluid leakage. The cause was quickly identified and a fix applied. This has also been explained on my ownership review. This was then repeated in the earlier Gurkhas by the company itself. A sort of informal recall to check if the pipes have adequate clearance so as to prevent the issue from coming up beforehand. For the newer batches it was taken care at the factory itself.

The TPMS sensors not working are a recurring issue with most Gurkhas i know of. They are in the process of finding a permanent fix for this. I have also brought this up with Force Motors.

Another reason for gear oil leak was that the breather pipes would carry oil fumes from the gear box to the breather box where these fumes would condense and leak out. A change has now been made to the inner design of the breather box that is situated high in the engine bay on the firewall. This change should prevent the problem from reoccurring.

My FE remains a cause for concern. Have not crossed 9 kmpl within the city so far.

I too feel a little let down that so many issues have come up in the all new Gurkha especially the earlier batch ones. To their credit the company is also working hard to rectify all issues and being receptive to complaints. I just wish these issues had been identified and ironed out much before the launch so that us wide eyed eager customers were not suddenly in doubt over their decision. So far the issues we have faced are not very serious but still it made me pull out of the Gurkha Spiti Drive currently underway, since i want to test the vehicle for a few thousand kilometers before undertaking any extensive trips in it.

I guess not everyone can be a Toyota. :disappointed

Fellow T-BHP'ians, went for checking out the Gurkha at the nearby showroom, and ended up test driving the vehicle. As soon as I parked my Turbo Duster in the drive way, the Sales Rep (SR) came out with the key as if he knew I was there for the Test Drive (TD), perhaps noticing the grin on my face. It was the Grey coloured vehicle which was the Test Mule. (Pic 1)

Some personal observations (purely subjective, not meant to offend anyone)

1. Takes some effort to climb into the cabin, whether in the front or at the back. I'm 5'10" and stockily built. So if you're thinking it as a "complete" family vehicle, it "may" not be suitable for the eldest or aged family members. Please take a TD and then decide.

2. The steering wheel (although tilt and telescopic) impedes with the ingress and egress as your thighs hit the bottom of the steering wheel (for my build atleast), and the huge diameter of the steering wheel doesn't help. Hope they atleast think of coming up with a smaller dia steering wheel in its next iteration.

3. Fixed height of driver's seat may not be to everyone's liking.

4. The Diesel motor does make its presence felt inside the cabin in terms of NVH (subjective, I drive and have mostly driven petrol vehicles)

5. Very very light clutch (again subjective, some may like it, some won't, for me it was a complete surprise for a vehicle of such proportions)

6. The spare wheel bracket on the rear door would need tightening regularly, to avoid the rattling sound of the loose spare wheel. The one on the TD mule rattled when the rear door was closed.

7. Airy/Roomy cabin for 3 passengers + 1 Driver

8. Road presence like none other

Rest of the things have been already discussed and dissected at length in various ownership threads here and I would not be able to do justice to those write ups.

The SR stated Black color is going to replace Orange (his words). Also, the alloys, roof rails, and ICE system are "mandatory" accessories. Breakdown of costs attached (Pic 2). I've omitted the contact details for obvious reasons.

Financing options available upto 90% of ex-showroom price. Based on your credit score (if it is good) you can pay 4 lakhs INR as a down payment, and the rest can be paid on EMI basis for 25,000 INR per month for 5 years approximately, as per the SR.

For now, the on-road price of 17 Lakhs INR, which rises up to 19-20 Lakhs INR if one goes for the financing option, looks justifiable only if one is solely buying it for the purpose it's built for, and utilizes it for that, atleast once a year!

Don't get me wrong, this will look great on the road, or parked in your driveway too. But then, would you buy a Bazooka where a Colt would suffice? I leave it for the readers to decide...