Ownership review: Asterix, my 2021 Force Gurkha 4x4

The interiors looked modern (By Gurkha standards), the seats looked comfortable and the Gurkha looked stunning from every angle.

BHPian Manuuj recent shared this with other enthusiasts.

Prologue:

We had all heard about it back then. There was a new kid on the block!

The year was 2007 or 2008 and the Gurkha a 4x4 vehicle had been launched by Force Motors known as Bajaj Tempo at that time.
It supposedly looked like a Mercedes Gwagen and even had a Mercedes engine. It also had Front and Rear locking Differentials! Now back then my knowledge of these things was quite limited but i knew i just wanted one.

Back in 1994 I owned a Mahindra MM540 DP (soft top) when i was in college and ever since then my love for SUV'S had begun.
The harsh North Indian summer necessitated getting a Hardtop and a Sanden Air Conditioner retrofitted. Members here of the appropriate vintage may recollect these exertions we carried out in those much simpler times.

Thus when I heard about the Gurkha around 2008 i was suitability intrigued and wanted to get my palms around its steering wheel as soon as I could.
The problem was that the Gurkha was akin to some fabled beast, almost like the Tigers of Corbett Park; widely talked about but rarely ever spotted.. "It was just here Saar..you missed it by a fraction Saar..look at these fresh pug marks Saar!!.."

Many visits to near abandoned showrooms resulted in my interest fading and by then news of the Fortuner had also started doing the rounds. I remember once walking into the showroom and having to actually explain to the ill informed salesperson about the Gurkha as he wasn't even aware of it existence!

For a while I only had heard about it but never saw one and i started losing interest.

Eventually with the advent of Obelix, my Fortuner, I forgot all about the Gurkha and Force Motors.

The fabled beast made a comeback on a few occasions. In 2013 and then again in 2017.

Every time i crossed a Force Showroom i would crane my neck and look in as i drove past, hoping to catch a glimpse. There was something about the Gurkha that just drew me to it.

On 26th November 2014 I posted my first ever review about the Gurkha. I had decided to walk into a Force Motors showroom and take a test drive on a whim. I was looking for a car and while crossing the Force showroom just parked up outside and walked in.

What was that old saying?: "Its better not to meet your heroes in person"?

The link is pasted below. It will reveal how disappointed i truly was with the Gurkha /Force Motors back then.

Review: The Force Gurkha 4x4

My first test drive had been a complete disaster. Gears would not engage, the interiors looked agricultural and the cabin was noisy and uncomfortable. I remember clearly that the gear boot was torn on a new car and i was quite disgusted. If there was anything that could have gone wrong on that first test drive, it did! I was so disappointed and angry.

This vehicle deserved better. It had the looks, it had the mechanicals and the engine. Where it lacked was quality and attention to detail. It looked like a lazy attempt by Force and i couldn't bring myself to buy one.

I walked away. Literally. I stopped the car and got off and walked to the showroom about 200 meters away to collect Obelix and leave.

That was the end. Or so i thought..Little did i know that 7 years to the day (26th November 2021) I would be boarding a bus to go take Delivery of my Gurkha Asterix !!

Then came 2019 and the Gurkha Extreme was launched.

My Fortuner Obelix and I had just parted ways due to the NGT order in NCR and I was looking for a new 4x4:

I considered the Ford Endeavour, Isuzu V Cross and Mahindra Alturas. Multiple test drives later I had pretty much decided on the Endeavour 3.2 4x4 (facelift).

On the way to pay my deposit for the Endeavour at the Harpreet Ford showroom I crossed the Force Motors showroom on Rama Road in Delhi and as usual I craned my neck again to catch a glimpse of the fabled beast.

Stop! Stop! Stop!!..from the corner of my eyes I had caught a glimpse of a snorkel. Before i knew it i had parked up and almost was jogging into the courtyard as though I'd caught sight of a long lost friend.

I walked in and stared at it. It looked so handsome:

The excitement welled up inside me again. A smiling gentleman came , stood next to me and asked if I'd like to drive it? My past experience made me apprehensive. Would i be let down again?

Why even drive one if i want to get the Endeavour? But then i thought why not. He told me this one had a new 2.2 liter engine producing 140 bhp! That was that. I handed over my license and we piled in.

First impression was that it wasn't much different from the earlier ones. Atleast in the interiors. There were some minor barely noticeable improvements but it was still really really basic. I was able to engage gears smoothly though and that was a good start. The engine was amazing. Lots of grunt and power!

He sat back relaxed..i was grinning from ear to ear as i drove around parting traffic like Moses. It was much higher too i felt.

"Yes" he said trying to sound nonchalant "3 inch body lift from factory you see". I drove back parked up and quietly left. What a quandary i was in!

This was perfect. Less than half the price of my Endeavour and with a couple of lakhs i could make it perfectly comfortable inside and an absolute stunner from outside.

I did not go to the Ford showroom that day to make my deposit. Instead i came home and discussed the Gurkha with my parents but they were far from convinced.

Not that we needed a car for them. There were many at home that ferried them about with ease and comfort. They just felt that the Endeavour was more suited to me at the time. In some ways i felt the same.

The Endeavour thus arrived in June 2019 to cut a long story short:

Thus the Gurkha dream had once gain remained a dream.

From 2008 it was now 2019 and multiple attempts later i had failed to own a Gurkha once more..

Then came the photos of the all new 2020 Gurkha at the Auto Expo. My eyes lit up and i decided to go see it even though i wouldn't actually buy one. As I reached the stall i was amazed to see a huge Green behemoth and next to it a tasty metallic Orange example. I peered in and saw the fully revamped interiors. Now this was something! It looked modern and I was told it had been completely newly developed from ground up.

I just stood and stared.

The one grouse I had with the Gurkha had been addressed. The interiors looked modern (By Gurkha standards) the seats looked comfortable and the Gurkha looked stunning from every angle.

I walked away wistfully thinking it was again a dream which would be left unfulfilled since i had just bought the Endeavour recently.

The pandemic hit by the end of 2020 and life's priorities changed. For everyone.

The world changed for me too on a deeply personal level and a new 4x4 was the last thing on my mind.

Until September 2021..

September 2021- Present Day.:

News trickled in about the impending launch of the new Gurkha. I was happy to hear about it. But the Gurkha had intrigued me and frustrated me in equal measure in the past few years. I pushed any thoughts of owning one away.

Until one night around 12:30 AM when the algorithm of Youtube decided that a newly released video about the 2021 Gurkha is something I must watch and it came up in my recommendations.

That video was from Autocar India and the first reveal of the 2021 Gurkha online. I watched that video three times over. As I finished watching it for the third time I realised I was hooked again.

This was soon followed by another great video review by fellow Bhpian Trojan around 20th September which I watched over and over again. It even featured a Green Gurkha and trust me I was equally green with envy!

Gurkha Fever was back and with a vengeance!

In a few days after that the Gurkha debuted on Team Bhp also and I read every word and relished every photograph. The next few days were spent hunting down every video, every reel and every snippet of information i could gather. I can firmly state that there is no video of the Gurkha on YouTube that i haven't watched by now.

Even videos in languages i did not understand were watched over and over again. I may not have understood the language but what i could easily gather was that they all were quite impressed with the 2021 Gurkha.

I had always liked the exterior design of the Gurkha. An old school off-road vehicle with design elements from the Mercedes G-Wagen and the Land Rover Defender. Both great looking legends.

My main grouse with Force Motors had always been the level of refinement and interiors they had given in earlier iterations of the Gurkha.

Even the 2019 Extreme model that i had test driven had very very poor interiors. I knew I would have to invest a lot of time and money modifying its interiors to get it to an acceptable level of comfort and refinement.

In 2021 Force Motors had addressed that grouse comprehensively. The interiors looked nothing like the Gurkhas of the past

The seats looked large and comfortable. The dashboard extended all the way to the floor. The tachometer was in the instrument cluster, there was a touchscreen music system, twin airbags, LED headlights with daytime running lights, Tyre Pressure Monitoring System and many, many more touches that told me in no uncertain terms that Force Motors meant business and wasn't treating the Gurkha as an experimental/hobby project any longer but was giving it the respect and attention it truly deserved.

They had done their job and now I had to keep up my end of the bargain.

I decided it was time. The Gurkha is coming home.

I started calling up dealerships around 16th 17th September in my area and was told that vehicles would soon be available for viewings at the dealership and even test drives very soon.

The price of 13.59 lakhs was revealed around 27th September around 7 pm and it received a very mixed response. Many people thought it was overpriced and I could not fathom why.

The 2019 Gurkha Extreme had an ex showroom price of 12.99 lacs in Delhi. Compared to the 2021 model it was archaic. It may have had the goodies like a 140 bhp 2.2 crdi engine and solid front axles which are a dream for any offroad enthusiast but essentially it was still the same body and interiors as the 2007 model with some minor cosmetic upgrades.

Here for 60 thousand extra you are getting an all new vehicle that has been developed ground up and shared nothing but its legendary name, silhouette & engine with the outgoing model.

It has 2 Airbags, and specially developed LED headlights which alone could cover the Rupees 60,000 difference in cost! All new chassis, all new seats and interior design every single body panel in new, NVH levels are far improved, suspension is much better, touchscreen music system, the list of improvements is endless..

But still people would compare it to the Thar and say why is it priced so close to the Thar?

In my opinion these are two similar but yet completely different products. Both born out of a mix of passion and necessity.

The Gurkha in my opinion trumps the Thar in some areas like like having a full metal hardtop, front and rear locking differentials, huge cabin space, lots of head and shoulder room for all passengers, very comfortable and wide seats, more luggage space and importantly a very capable suspension designed to soak up bumps and keep all passengers comfortable.

The Thar does the same too with the Gurkha in some areas..like engine performance, interior design and quality of plastics used.

Ride isn't very good in the Thar, rear passengers will feel cramped, and if there are 4 people loaded up the only space left will be enough to hold a plastic folder or maybe even a happy meal from McDonald's (I am exaggerating ofcourse).

It can take two Happy Meals atleast.

On road the Gurkha trumps the Thar in ride comfort. In off-road ability I'd say they are about equal for most off-road situations unless things get truly hairy. Then the extra tricks up the sleeve of the Gurkha will have it come out the clear winner here as well.

It is wrong to compare the two anyway. They should only be compared to their respective predecessors. Both the All New Thar and All New Gurkha are tremendously improved over their aging ancestors.

In light of all this i felt that a price of 13.59 lacs is absolutely justified and fair. One must also consider that 13.59 lakhs includes GST. The actual billed value is 8.9 lakhs only!

I had made up my mind about getting one and hounded the dealerships for information about seeing one in the flesh and test driving it.

There was no way i was going to put a deposit down without a test drive.

Finally after what seemed like ages, on 23rd October I received a call telling me that a vehicle was available at the dealership and I could go and take a look..but no test drives yet.

My initial impression after I first sat in the All New Gurkha are there for all to see in the Official Review of Force Gurkha here.

I was very happy with the way the Gurkha looked and felt but I was yet to drive one and therefore had not booked.

This was just a formality ofcourse. I had already managed to source the Alloy Wheels and Tyres. There was urgency in sourcing these since due to an Order passed by the Director General of Foreign Trade all tyre imports had severe restrictions and supplies of the kind of tyres I wanted was desperately low.

I tried very hard to source BFG in the size 245/75R16 but failed. I wanted 245/75R16 because I wanted only and increase in ground clearance and no disadvantages created by a wider tyre.
I found Radar Renegade Rugged Terrain Tyres on Instagram of a Jeep Tyre Dealer based in Bombay,. which to me were a perfect fit and type of tyre I wanted for Asterix. I asked Jitesh at BK tyres to source them for me which he immediately did.

Alloy wheels had a similar story, 160x5 PCD were difficult to come by in designs that I liked. At one point these were a common PCD with vehicles like the Tata Sumo, Tata Safari, Mahindra Scorpio and a few more using Alloys wheels in 16 inch size with 160X5 PCD but now most of these vehicles had been discontinued and everyone was now using 17 and 18 inch wheels.

Jitesh at BK Tyres did show me one 160X5 PCD, Zero offset, 8 Inches wide Plati design that I liked and I placed the order for them too with him.

Eventually i did manage to source 5 Alloy wheels and 5 tyres through BK Tyres in Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi all before even turning a key on the test drive vehicle.

Thus in some ways i had already booked the Gurkha in my mind. By buying up all kind of small accessories I started letting my excitement build too and it helped me cope with the wait.

The first thing was a badge with Indian Flag like I had in My Fortuner Obelix, then a net for keeping things in the area between the front seats, followed by two black 4X4 metal badges, rubber beading for doors edges, front dash anti slip mat, then another " Trail Rated 4x4 round red badge *(which I have now decided against using), and of course the wheels and tyres among many other things.

Finally the day dawned when a test drive was made possible and I rushed to the dealer to take one.

Happily there was abundant interest in the Gurkha and the erstwhile abandoned Bajaj Tempo/ Force Motors showrooms wore a busy look.

The link to my initial impression of the first test drive in the Force Gurkha is given here.

Continue reading BHPian Manuuj's review of his 2021 Force Gurkha for BHPian comments, insights and more information.