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-   -   New Force Gurkha Extreme vs Used Mitsubishi Pajero Sport (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/suvs-muvs-4x4s/204939-new-force-gurkha-extreme-vs-used-mitsubishi-pajero-sport.html)

Hi Folks,

Please share your views / thoughts on my predicament described in detail below. Apologies for the long post.

I already own a Renault Duster AWD, August 2016 model, and I love it. I did the Spiti Circuit in October 2018 (post-September snow) and the Duster performed brilliantly with no trouble at all. Link to videos and some pictures from the trip here:

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offic...ml#post4506203

However, I have this itch of owning a SUV with Transfer Case (4L option) for even tougher off-road conditions, and also for the fun of it.:D

While I have been considering buying a pre-owned Pajero Sport (Manual Gearbox) for some time, the recent launch of the Force Gurkha Extreme has raised some doubts in my mind.

Let me note down the points for consideration:

1. Pre-owned Pajero Sport (about 5 years old, 60000 Kms run) would cost around 12-13 Lakhs in Delhi NCR; Force Gurkha Extreme would cost around 15 Lakhs on road in Delhi NCR.

2. Considering that I am based in NCR, I would be able to use the Pajero Sport for about 5 years, while I would be able to use the new Force Gurkha Extreme for 10 years (theoretically).

3. While there may be certain doubts about the availability of spare parts of Pajero Sport in future (doubts about Mitsubishi staying put in Indian Market, this particular model being discontinued etc.), same may not be true for Force Gurkha Extreme considering it is manufactured by an Indian Company, and hence chances of longer availability of parts (Please correct me if you think is a wrong assumption to work on).

4. My another assumption is that the running and maintenance cost of new Gurkha Extreme would be less as compared to a pre-owned Pajero Sport.

5. The peace of mind of owning a new vehicle would be more than that of owning a pre-owned vehicle. Also, no immediate expense on tyres, battery etc.

6. I like the looks of the Pajero Sport, but somehow I like the looks of the Force Gurkha Extreme even more (having looked just at the brochure).

7. I understand that Pajero Sport would have better security features as compared to Force Gurkha Extreme.

The one point which I have no idea about and would be my most important consideration would be which of the two vehicles would be a more competent off-roader.

From its brochure which is now available on Force Motors website, I understand that Force Gurkha Extreme comes with following features:

1. A factory fitted Snorkel (550 mm Water Wading Capability).
2. Front and Rear Manually Lockable Differentials (I do not think this is available on any other SUV in India - Please correct me if I am wrong - though I haven't checked the higher end SUVs like Land Cruiser and Jeep Wrangler etc.)
3. Newer and Better engine which produces 140 HP Power and 321 NM Torque @ 1600-2400 RPM
4. 44 degree approach angle, 40 degree departure angle (without footstep), 30 degree ramp over angle (I believe these are better than Pajero Sport and also better than any other SUV sold in India)
5. 210 mm Ground Clearance
6. Multi Link Coil Spring Suspension on all wheels.

Would be glad to hear all views from fellow BHPians about which of the two vehicles, Pre-Owned Pajero Sport or the New Force Gurkha Extreme should I go for and why. If you think I should consider any other Manual SUV with Transfer Case (new or old), in the range of 15 Lakhs on the road, then please do share that also along with reasons for the same.

My only request: For the purposes of this discussion please limit your advice only to Manual 4x4 SUVs with Transfer Case. I am already sold on the Ford Endeavour 3.2 Automatic with Transfer Case and that would be separate buy (New or Pre-Owned) as and when it happens.

Thank you.

The Gurkha will be a more competent offroader plus significantly cheaper to maintain. It will also last longer then the already 5 Yr old Pajero Sport.

If you are itching for a 4x4 with low range gearbox and are okay with less or no creature comforts then I would suggest the Gurkha.

I own a Pajero SFX and believe me it's not that simple to maintain a Mitsubishi in India. You need significant time and money to really maintain a Pajero in the true sense.

The specs on paper really don't tell the true story of any car. Real life conditions change the whole game.

There is really no replacement for displacement and a lower rpm but high torque engine is way better in offloading than a high revving high torque engine.

Similarly the water wading depth is really a misnomer unless you plan to do boating in your 4x4. I highly doubt that, but then it could be an important consideration for you.

If this is not your primary vehicle then the Gurkha makes a strong case.

Service experience will be pathetic for both the Gurkha and Pajero but at least with the Gurkha it may be cheaper to get it fixed.

Overall I would say you should consider the Gurkha.

Answer is easy = NONE.

- You own a ~2 year old Duster AWD which is a very good AWD crossover. Keep it. Else, you stand to lose a LOT of money - related thread.

- The Gurkha Extreme is competent on a good day, but it is put together like a piece of junk. The sales network is tiny and after-sales is inexistent. You'd really have to be related to the Firodias to spend 15 lakhs on it.

- If you are very keen on an MT SUV with a transfer case, sure, the Pajero Sport is an option. There is also the V-Cross (check out Anshuman\'s posts like this one) and a used Fortuner. But there are seriously better things you can do to your garage. How about adding a used Thar for the offroading? That way, you have a great onroad AWD (Duster) and a very good offroad beast (Thar). The Thar is also very mod-friendly and will easily meet your 4x4 expectations. Get one pre-owned.

Related Thread

That's like saying a Maruti Swift will be cheaper to own than a Skoda Octavia. You are comparing vehicles from two entirely different segments.

In stock form, hard to justify either.
But, if the itch to make an overlander type vehicle would arise, I would imagine the new Gurkha would be a better platform to start with.
Bear in mind that the Gurkha is like a Unicorn even for some Force dealers, so any expectations of normal vehicle ownership experience might be disappointing.

Cheers

As a current Pajero Sports owner, let me give my perspective on the vehicle. I own a 2015 September PS, which I brought when it had just 12000 kms on ODO in August 2016. Its a manual 4X4 version. Since then I have clocked 68000 kms in a little more than 2 yrs. So my vehicle is around 80k KMs now.

I wont talk about Force Gurkha as I dont know anything about it. Here are few points about PS based on my ownership experience.

1. Build quality of the vehicle is amazing, its built to last.
2. Fit and finish of interirors is top grade, everyday when I get in to my car it feels like new even though its been with me for more than 2 yrs and run around 80k KMs.
3. Ride quality and drive is amazing, bunch of Fortuner owners and people who have been driven in Fortuner were surprised by the ride and handling.
4. Its a mile cruncher, last month on November 7th, like every year I traveled to Girnar near Junagadh in Gujarat from Bangalore. Started from Marathahalli in Bangalore at 1:00 AM in night, met a friend in Belgaum, picked couple of more friends en-route and reached Dahanu near Gujarat border around 7:30 in the evening, still was feeling fresh and wanting to driving more. If I hadnt spent 1 hr in Belgaum and hadnt gone to Kharadi in Pune to pick up my friend (almost 2 hrs wasted), I would have probably reached Baroda and halted there. This should give you an idea of the comfort of this vehicle.
5. The ride and handling is so comfortable that its normal for me to start from Bangalore and take a first halt around Maharashtra border, that too just to fill the diesel, not even a nature break (This is when I am driving alone, otherwise when with family or friends, breaks are earlier).
6. Its a capable 4X4 vehicle and on couple of occasions has come out of knee high trenches with ease when put in 4X4 low mode that has locked differential. Having said this, this is not a vehicle one would throw around the way one would do it with a Thar or MM550. Cost of any repairs will obviously be higher and also weight of the vehicle being around 2 tons doesn't help either. But what I get in return is almost go anywhere vehicle if proper precautions are exercised.
7. Difficulty in getting spare parts or non availability of them in India is a myth. There is a huge supplier network and network of Pajero owners who help each other, just join the POCIN group of Facebook. Its just that its takes a bit of time to procure them. Nothing breaks, but even if it breaks there are parts available.
8. Only thing to note is that the authorized service centers are not of much help, so need to find a competent mechanic who can take care of things for you. From the discussion on POCIN, I can infer that there is no shortage of capable mechanics in NCR area.
9. Mine is stock vehicle, havent done any modifications. It just has Michelin LTX Force AT tires which I changed few months back. But with relevant modifications one can certainly increase the capability of this vehicle. Haven't seen any one doing the same with Fortuners or Endeavors, its a true blue blood SUV with a offroading DNA, as compared to the former two.
10. Another thing to note that the first gear is really tall and torque doesn't come through until engine RPM gets past 1500 RPM, this could be a bit irritating in city drives or certain 4X4 off-road situations. One needs to rev the engine a bit and keep it in the power band of 1500 RPM to 3500 RPM. Its a monster and fun to drive this vehicle when one is able to maintain the earlier said engine RPM.
11. One can see people turning their heads when my vehicle is passing by, especially from people who know a bit about vehicles and offroading. There is some exclusivity factor there.

Compared this to Force Gurka, both are vehicles in a different league and meant for different situations. Gurkha is more targeted for off-road usage with some amount of road usage thrown in, its meant more for tea and coffee estate usage. Its the other way around with Pajero Sports, but certainly with space permitting for the vehicles size, I don't think Pajero would disappoint you even in tea and coffee gardens:D:D.

If you are not getting into moderate offroading every time you take out the vehicle then go for Pajero Sports, its better than last gen fortuner. Though Gurkha has cool offroading features but how many times are you going to put your car in river (NCR dont have too many waterbodies anyways), engage diff locks (until you go out with offroad groups like NIOC to proper terrains).
There is no dearth of spares in big cities but smaller cities have issues. Just to give you example: while our trip from Bombay to Kashmir, we had a hard time procuring clutch plate/pressure plate kit in Indore (even ASS didnt have them handy). But with better contacts we could have managed it and we actually found it in a shop in few hours though.

You pretty much nailed it. Its a very underrated vehicle. During our Kashmir trip (6500 kms), we were two vehicle (Fortuner and Pajero S) and Pajero S offered better ride and handling throughout the trip.

@Touringlawyer, just read this thread (though it is not a Pajero Sport, the 3 diamonds logo does mean something) and you would not need a second opinion.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...sandakphu.html

End of Matter.

Congrats on the future acquisition of a timeless legend!

Well you own Duster AWD so the other alternative is easy, go for Gurkha. Duster AWD is a very competent vehicle and a comfortable mile muncher. Since you mention you want to get into tougher offroading it makes sense to own a rig which gives you all the wherewithal. low ratio 4x4 and mechanically locking differentials , lovely approach , ramp-over and departure angles, metal bumpers, beautiful crawl ability, affordable price range and service are some of the points in it's favour. Tougher offroading will demand something that can take abuse, isn't too costly to repair. I feel Pajero Sport would be excellent as a touring vehicle. For offroading why not get something that is built exclusively for that. Gurkha is a dedicated offroader. And it still has that old world charm about it that i think people look for in offroaders. Two things that went against Gurkha were it's weight and poor quality. With new engine i think the weight part is taken care of, since 140 bhp is sufficient. Hope it still maintains the low end grunt which previous engine had. My only worry is the quality. Do a bit of research on the quality aspect, talk to owners, tourers ,overlanders etc. I still feel Duster and Gurkha would be an excellent combination in your Garage. I own a duster in Himachal and i am looking to buy Gurkha next year. Havn't test driven the Gurkha extreme.

Well, interesting conundrum to be in. :)

Personally, I don't have a personal experience with either, but am all too familiar with that itch for something more :D

Financials aside, I would vote for the Gurkha. You can DM members like rhandle and roy_libran for more guidance about the Gurkha. I believe they did own one for some time in the past.

As some members already pointed out, you are comparing apples to oranges. These two vehicles are as different as chalk and cheese - one is an excellent cruiser/expedition vehicle with state of the art tech/mechanicals as well as a pedigree to reckon with, while the other is a purpose built off-road rig with bare minimum creature comforts. Pick the one that suits your need, if you want to go by your head. Pick the one that comes in your dreams, if you want to go by your heart :)

That said, are you planning to retain your Duster as well? If not, sell it and pick up a used PS and a used Thar/Gypsy. That way, you'll get best of both worlds. I'd stay away from the Gurkha if I were you, knowing Force Motors.

I think GTO has summed it up perfectly!

What you need right now to satisfy the itch is a used Thar! IMO, the Thar ages well, especially since its only the mechanicals you need to look and the body is already decades old when buying new. And for that reason, its pretty easy to get hold of a good used example. In Delhi, I guess with a budget of around 5 lacs you can easily get hold of Thar's with new dashboard.

Well, I would like to concur with GTO here.

A used last gen Toyota Fortuner is reliable. Period. It will do all the hardcore offroading stuff you want it to do and would still be your primary car. Cheap service at the Toyota A.S.C is top notch and gives you a feeling of security on your out of state excursions. Gurkha, on the other hand, isn't a vehicle you can take your family to a 14 day Leh trip for all reasons like reliability, ASS, parts, comfort etc. Also, in Fortuner you will get a 4x4 manual transfer case instead of an electric one which is prone to niggles.