The Force Gurkha was spotted testing recently by our eagle eyed reader Rohan Salgarkar. The Gurkha SUV was spotted uncamouflaged in a bright red shade. Force Motors will be launching the Gurkha next week to compete head on with the Mahindra Thar. It is a revamped three door SUV with updated styling, features and tech specs. The updates include new projector headlamps, revised bumpers, fresh set of alloys and improved interiors. The vehicle is under 4-metres in length but won’t get excise duty benefits.
The Force Gurkha is powered by a 4-cylinder 2.6-litre turbo diesel engine capable of producing a maximum power output of 75 BHP with a maximum torque figure of 195 Nm coupled with a 5-speed manual gearbox with revised gear ratios. The Gurkha SUV will offer 4-wheel drive system with low and high ratios and gets a manual shifter for the 4×4 system so we expect to be a capable off-roader. Its direct rival, the Mahindra Thar is also a very good off-road vehicle so the competition is going to be intese between the two.
The Force Gurkha has an A-pillar mounted snorkel to take its off-roading capabilities to a great extent. The Gurkha SUV is based on the underpinnings of the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen under license from Daimler. The Force Gurkha will be a hard top SUV unlike the Mahindra Thar with improved NVH levels over its predecessor. The SUV will be sold through new Force Motors dealerships and we expect the manufacturer to introduce the SUV with a starting price of Rs. 6.5 lakhs for the base variant.
