First impressions of the new Force Gurkha

A five-door Gurkha with an automatic and 6 airbags would be the perfect next vehicle for me.

BHPian neil.jericho recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Today, I happened to be passing by the Cochin Force Motors dealership when I saw a bright red Force Gurkha! I had to drop in and check out this much-anticipated SUV. It has just reached the showroom today and the staff were also quite excited to get a closer look at it.

First impressions:

• It's massive! There is no other way to put it. The presence on the road will be unmistakable. This is not the vehicle to buy if you love to be discreet and want to maintain a low profile in society.
• You have to climb up into the SUV to be seated. In comfort. I loved the huge seats.
• On the quality of the interiors, it is what it is. From this thread and all the videos that I had watched, I knew what to expect and if I had to give it a rating, it would be somewhere between Meets Expectations and Exceeds Expectations.
• Climbing in through the rear door will take some getting used to, but the back seats are super comfortable.
• The space inside is huge! Once people get into this SUV, they will love the sense of airiness.
• Audio quality was basic but fine.
• The more carefully I looked at it, the more I started liking and appreciating what Force Motors has done with the Gurkha. I remember seeing the Harrier when it first came out and finding mismatched panels that had enough space to put a finger through, poorly aligned rubber beading etc. On the Force Gurkha, there was none of that.

Three mandatory accessories are the chunky alloys (all 5), the Kenwood audio system, and the roof rails.

• The display vehicle had done 1,883 kilometres IIRC.

Overall, the strengths of the Gurkha are really impressive while the much-touted weaknesses like interior quality, are not all that bad. At least in my books. This feels like a back to basics SUV but it isn't one that feels cheap. Others might feel like back to basics is a fancy way to say bargain basement or cheap, but there is a clear difference to me.

A few months ago, I had taken a close look at the Mahindra Thar, and to me, the Thar and the Gurkha are two complementary products. Neither one is perfect. Nor is there an obvious choice between the two. In fact, the ideal SUV in the sub Rs 20 Lakh segment would have the best bits of both the SUVs:

• Space and commanding position of the Gurkha
• Premium finish of the Thar
• Seats of the Gurkha
• Engine and automatic gearbox of the Thar
• Ride quality of the Gurkha
• Service network of the Thar
• 4* GNCAP rating of the Thar etc.

A five-door Gurkha with an automatic and 6 airbags would be the perfect next vehicle for me. In the darkest shade of black paint that Force Motors can manufacture.

P.S - this was the first time that I have ever stepped foot into a Force Motors showroom. I have never driven a 4x4 off-road, or on road for that matter. Nor have I ever considered wanting to buy a proper old school SUV. I'm impressed enough with the Gurkha, to take a test drive and contemplate my options.

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