News

My 2021 Force Gurkha: Observations after a 900 km road trip

The Gurkha was excellent to drive. There is almost no body roll and no understeer when you have to stick to your side through the bends.

BHPian Shekhar Rao recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hi everyone,

I had taken Nemo on a 900 km trip through the Western Ghats area. I particularly enjoyed the drive through the Bisle Ghats. There are multiple sharp curves with big elevation and camber changes as well as hair pins. Road surface is good but a bit narrow for two way traffic.

The Gurkha was excellent to drive. There is almost no body roll and no understeer when you have to stick to your side through the bends. The steering is quite accurate and confident, and the commanding driving position makes scanning around the bend more efficient. One can brake to quite a slow speed to allow a vehicle to cross in the opposite direction through a bend and let the torque keep you moving till you throttle again. Clutch and gear shifts are easy and accurate.

Rough roads and speed breakers are tackled with comfort. Going off the edge of the road to let a vehicle pass is done effortlessly. The drive is really fatigue and cramp free and one is quite fresh after 8 to 9 hours of driving.

One needs to plan overtakes in some situations, especially like going past a line of lorries as you may not get the acceleration to get past and come back into your lane. This is particularly noticeable in the hills where you can be surprised by sudden oncoming traffic.

There are small metallic squeaks from the tail gate that need attention at first service. Support from the regional Force personnel, Mr. Jesurajan (sales) and Mr. Shekhar Mudaliar (service) has been prompt, friendly and very encouraging for an enthusiastic ownership experience . Many people took interest and inquired about the Gurkha, and it really stands out wherever it goes. You enjoy coming back to it and looking at it from different angles.

I wanted to know from the forum about the role of hub lockers when there is already a differential lock on the axle.

In answer to an earlier question about comparison with the older Thar which I used, I would say there is a huge upgrade in ride quality, cabin noise, driving ease and dynamics, as well as fit and finish. In comparison to the older Fortuner , the pleasure of driving a short wheelbase vehicle over varied terrain , the better ride over broken roads, minimal body roll and the better seating position and view out are my observations.

Here's what BHPian Manuuj had to say on the matter:

Thank you for your observations and writeup. It will answer a lot of questions that many people do have regarding the usability and drivability of the Gurkha.


To answer your Q. The differential lockers and hub lockers are two completely different things.

While diff lockers lock or unlock the axles on each wheel through locking the differential, hub lockers are used to unlock the front hubs from the axles shaft when in two wheel drive to reduce wear and tear on the hub bearings. When shifting to 4 wheel drive, hub lockers can engage automatically to lock the hubs with the axle on each wheel.

In the Gurkha, the hub is permanently engaged with the axles in 2wd and 4wd modes. Any good YouTube video regarding this subject will make things much clearer than my inadequate reply above.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

 
Love Cars Live Cars