1 year and 22,222 kms with my Force Gurkha

With every passing day as we encounter different terrains and challenging crossings, we always look back and wonder what a lucky break we got by opting for this vehicle

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Ownership update: July 2021

Mileage covered till date: 22,222 kms

Months of Ownership: 13

States Traveled: Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh & Uttarakhand.

Modifications: Rooftop LED Light Bar added and changed the ORVMs to the new Tempo Traveler ones.

Service Experience: Poor.

Support from Company: Excellent.

Vehicle Performance: Stupendous.

With every passing day, as we encounter different terrains and challenging crossings, we always look back and wonder what a lucky break we got by opting for this vehicle - the proverbial underdog turned out to be our Sea Biscuit munching away miles, sometimes in good health, sometimes in poor health, but no complaints, and always in comfort.

The last few months have had us traveling along the length and breadth of our country - a couple of times to escape into the wild away from the city just before it entered the second lockdown.

What started as a casual 1 week break to our Goa home in March, has turned into an adventure marathon which is still ongoing. You can read about that in more detail over here (Our Wild Classroom - Panna Tiger Reserve).

Long story short, we had to exit Goa to come to our camp in Panna, Madhya Pradesh before Goa went under lockdown, and I had to chalk a route which would bypass Maharashtra. After a lot of deliberation and planning, finally the route was set.

Day 1: Goa - Hyderabad 700+ kms

Day 2: Hyderabad - Panna 1100 kms

En route having lunch at Dandeli

This meant some real long hours driving and avoiding stops at all costs, as the 2nd wave had hit home and we could not take any chances. After getting our tests done, we set off from our home in Goa to an absolutely unknown adventure.

We left Goa at 7am and reached Hyderabad at 12:30 am, roads in Karnataka were a mess as there is no straight route through KA to enter TS.

The total drive for the day was 900kms done in 17.5hrs.

The next day, we left at 11:30 am due to the delay from the previous night, but this day it would be 4 lane highways until Jabalpur and with 1100kms to cover, I was really counting on it. Well, we were not disappointed at all, and made blazing progress (110-120 kph). The lockdown was really bearing down, and there were hardly any restaurants open, therefore our lunch was a few slices of bread and homemade prawn pickle. As we crossed into Maharashtra near Tipeshwar, the cops were helpful, and after a short chat with them, we moved on to cross Nagpur and enter Madhya Pradesh. This is again something which always happens with us. The vehicle gets a grand entry and is a great conversation starter, be it any border.

Long story short - We reached our camp at 1:45 am after a non-stop drive of 1100kms in under 15 hours.

2 days and 2000 kms later, we had finally reached our camp, the 15hr drive covering 1100kms is my fastest drive till date - never crossing 120 kph, and safety always on my mind. The fact remains that it was comfortable enough for us to push forward - both for me and the family.

Travels like these continue to strengthen our faith in the vehicle, it is a very integral part of our lives due to the nature of our travels, and that we are able to do so in comfort doubles the feeling incredibly.

Apart from this, we have just concluded our visit to Uttarakhand and added another 3000 kms of high mountain driving and plenty of off-roading too.

And of course the most interesting bit - no issues at all, the vehicle works and drives like a charm.

Now that the good part is over, lets deal with the part which makes me sad - The service experience.

For such an extraordinary vehicle, the service from the Dealer is appalling.

As mentioned in my first post, the company really needs to work on getting their errant dealers on track. They need to really understand the difference between selling a commercial vehicle vs selling a premium lifestyle vehicle.

The dealers need to put in that effort in just doing the basic things, nothing out of the extraordinary. The amount of effort put in by the Force officials is extraordinary and not something I have witnessed by any other auto manufacturer. I think this is the reason we have a vehicle like the Gurkha being sold in spite of poor sales and the usual negative response from people in general.

I will leave you now, with a video which gives a glimpse into the terrain we cross almost on a daily basis, the chief reason for having chosen the Gurkha! The terrain changes almost daily, and yet the Gurkha just glides over the obstacles with ease and leaves us in wonder every time.

Force Gurkha: Off-Road, River Crossing, Forests

Cheers

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