The Force Gurkha 5-Door is being frequently spotted of late
Soon after Force Motors introduced the 3-door Gurkha to the market, 5-door development mules of the SUV were almost immediately spotted in the country.
While the new generation Gurkha 3-door (priced at Rs. 14.10 lakhs, ex-showroom) comes with 4 captain chairs, its long wheelbase version will come with 6 captain chairs.
This has come to light thanks to the recently spotted Force Gurkha 5-door test mule sporting the said seating arrangement. For now, it is not known if Force will offer a 7-seat version (bench seat for the second row) of its 5-door Gurkha.
In order to be able to fit an extra pair of doors and seats, Force is said to have extended the 3-door Gurkha’s wheelbase (2400 mm) by around 400 mm to create the 5-door model.
Thus, the SUV will be over 4.5 metres long, while still retaining the short wheelbase model’s overall width (1812 mm) and height (2075 mm). Naturally, it will weigh more than the 3-door model.
The recently spotted development mule of the Gurkha 5-door had steel wheels, snorkel intake, and mud flaps too. When looked head-on, the car looks identical to the 3-door model, except for the fact that its bonnet has been restyled.
Along the sides though, the car looks markedly different with its extra pair of doors and windows and a shortened rear quarter glass. But, the square and flared fenders have been retained.
There seem to be no changes to the back of the off-roader and even the step to climb into the car has been retained. If this is how the SUV’s third row can be accessed, then Force offering a bench seat in the second row is quite a possibility.
No changes are expected to be made to the dashboard and the same level of equipment offered with the 3-door Gurkha is expected in the 5-door model as well.
What could change, however, is the power output of the 2.6-litre diesel motor that is currently tuned to produce 91 HP and 250 Nm. More power is always welcome, eh! The 5-speed manual transmission and 4-wheel drive system and the associated off-road equipment will be carried forward as is.
Expected to be launched later this year, the 5-door Gurkha will beat the 5-door Mahindra Thar to the market. These cars will be joined by the 5-door Maruti Suzuki Jimny in the future.
