It’s finally here!
A product that had been in anticipation for a long time, the five-door Force Gurkha, is finally here and it is exactly what we expected - a LWB version of the three-door car with some added features and also all the hardcore 4WD hardware included.
Design and features
On the outside, it gets a revised face with some very swanky-looking circular LED DRLs, while on the side you can see some new alloy wheels and, of course, the added length over the three-door model. For reference, the three-door Gurkha is 3.95 metres, while the five-door Gurkha is 4.3 metres putting it in the same size category that of the Hyundai Creta and the Kia Seltos.
Overall, the cabin has not been changed but Force added a bigger touchscreen infotainment system and, for the first time, a fully digital instrument cluster. Other than these, the feature list remains unchanged with the tilt and telescope adjustment for the steering, TPMS, dual front airbags, and new dual-tone seat upholstery.
Hardcore off-road tech
The Gurkha’s real power comes from its powertrain and 4x4 hardware. The former is the Mercedes-sourced 2.6-litre diesel producing a now uprated 138bhp/320Nm and comes mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. Meanwhile, the latter includes shift-on-the-fly 4WD and locking differentials. The Gurkha 5 door gets a ground clearance of 233mm and has a water-wading capacity of up to 700mm.
Value addition is the key move
The overall package of the Gurkha remains unchanged, losing none of its ability yet gaining two more doors that will widen its appeal. We also suspect that Force has some export ambitions for the Gurkha and adding the extra doors should help that cause. The last pricing of the three-door Gurkha was Rs. 15.10 lakh (ex-showroom) and we expect the new range to fit in the price bracket of Rs. 16 lakh to Rs. 18 lakh.