2021 FORCE GURKHA: Has Force done a THARough Job?

The 2021 Force Gurkha has been built on a ground up modular architecture platform with an all new wider and longer body, full new interiors, a new crash compliant, high strength C-in-C chassis and new coil spring suspension on all four wheels.

EXTERIOR

Since the body is a bit wider and longer, the new Force Gurkha looks big and with all the fresh changes on the body, it looks youthful, butch and very city-centric too. The silhouette, however, is similar to the outgoing Gurkha. After all, it’s legendary as this vehicle is inspired by the equally legendary G-Wagen from the Mercedes-Benz stable.

Coming to the front, it gets new a new badge. It’s no more the ‘F’ of Force Motors but ‘GURKHA’ in all chrome plating which looks kind of intimidating, yet stylish. I only wish they had a mesh grill or some sort of bold grille around it rather that keeping the area around the badge a bit bland.

The bonnet and the windshield styling look a bit aerodynamic and modern. The famous khukri and Gurkha badging that was there at the bottom right of the windshield on the metal has gone and now it’s just plain out there.

The new Gurkha gets full LED Force Pro Edge headlamps (pilot lamp, low-beam and high-beam), jewel like, broken circle DRLs and fender mounted L.E.D indicators. At the bottom, the vehicle gets fog lamps. The bumper design has been tweaked a bit. The new Gurkha continues to have its nose up in the air and yes, I am talking about the air intake snorkel. It now gets an all black exterior while the predecessor had a snorkel with a lot of chrome finish.

On the sides a new 4x4x4 mnemonic is added signifying its all-terrain and all-weather capability across mountains, rivers, deserts and jungles in all four seasons. The Khukri on the brand logo has been moved from the left to the right and aligned at the same angle as the air intake snorkel, in line with the new.

But what is very striking is the massive new horizontal windowpane which  stretches from B pillar all the way back to the C pillar. Earlier, it came in two distinct pieces. The new Gurkha gets a bigger but manually controlled ORVMs. The wheel arches remain prominent and the vehicle gets a new set of tyres. The tyre size is 245/70 R16.

There are a lot of changes at the rear too with the tailgate windowpane now a lot more aesthetically made. The tail lamp is now no more the plain Jane horizontal lamp but is now a brighter and good looking vertical one. The Khukiri and Force badging have been separated with the Khukri symbol on the left and the ‘FORCE’ badge on the right. The high mounted stop light too has come down a bit in the new Gurkha.

INTERIOR

Once you step inside the Gurkha, you are treated to ample space as well as brand new smartly stitched seats.  The seat upholstery has a dark grey theme. There is more than adequate padding on the sides and the seats are well cushioned too, providing ample support to your back and under thigh. The seats come with the Gurkha word and the image of the khukri knife stitched on them.

The door trims come with dark grey theme, the floor console has bottle holders and other tiny utility spaces, and for the floor it gets moulded mats.

The second row has captain seats with arm rests and the access to the area is not by bringing down the front seat, but opening the tail gate and walking towards the rear seats. In a way this is quite innovative and practical. You don’t’ have to pull down the front seat and make things inconvenient for the person sitting there. But having a provision of the front seat collapsing for entry to the second row is always a good idea, just in case the boot area of the vehicle is full and you are unable to exit or enter from the rear. You also get 500 litres of luggage space in the boot area.

The Gurkha has in the past been rather dull when it came to its interiors. The 2021 Gurkha is improved but it does have its sore points. But first let me tell you what this vehicle gets. It gets a hydraulically assisted power steering that can be adjusted for tilt and reach. But the steering wheel per se can definitely be improved in looks and feel and a couple of steering mounted controls could have been added.

The entire dash has been spruced up a bit with decent looking multi directional AC vents. A little more finesse could have been better. The 2021 Gukha gets a 7 inches touch screen and the infotainment is Android Auto and Apple Car play ready. There are four speakers. The system gets USB, Bluetooth music and calling, besides radio function. Though there is no rear camera, the vehicle gets rear parking sensor. There is a 12V accessories socket on the dash along with dual USB socket. The second row passengers also get dual USB sockets. Power windows and central locking come standard.

I personally feel that the fitments within the dashboard area could have been a bit more aesthetically placed and the screens used could have been a little more contemporary. The Mahindra Thar has set itself the right benchmark for a three-door interior class. The instrument panel gets analogue tachometer and speedometer, besides a small digital screen that reflects fuel position, temperature, time and odometer reading. There is also a tyre pressure monitoring system with the digital display at the right side of the steering on the dashboard.

ENGINE & PERFORMANCE

The Gurkha is a proven vehicle when it comes to performance.  Its 4x4 prowess and capabilities with its diff locks are legendary and in the new Gurkha it’s still brilliant. The Gurkha gets a 2.6 litre BS VI, four cylinder, common rail diesel engine with a displacement of 2596cc. It churns out 91hp @ 3200rpm and a peak torque of 250Nm@1400 to 2400 rpm.

Though we did not try out the differential locking mechanism as the terrain we drove on was slushy and the rains were relentless, we did experience a lot of four wheel drive mode. The company is now trying to woo city dwellers into buying the Gurkha, rather than being dependent only on the armed forces and the hard core off roaders.  It’s with this in mind that the Gurkha looks smart and drives a lot easier too, providing immense comfort. The ride and handling is a lot better now, the suspension has been tweaked to soak in the road bumps and acceleration too is a lot improved. The turning radius of the vehicle is a mere 5.65 metres.

If the company wants city bed boys and girls to buy the new Force Gurkha, then it should make its 4x4 mechanism a lot friendlier. It’s not easy to change from 4x2 into 4x4H or 4x4L. The shifting does not come easy and for those city drivers, especially the Gen X, Y and Z who have been brought up on a diet of voice commands and electrical and electronic pampering with soft touch buttons, driving a Gurkha may not be very appealing. The company has to make its gear shifts and drive mode changes a lot smoother.

Talking of suspension, the new Gurkha has independent double wishbone with coil spring in front, multi link with pan hard rod and coil spring at the rear. It has a front anti roll bar and shock absorber in front while it has an anti roll bar at the rear too

The new Gurkha proved to be very capable on the highways. NVH levels are now comparable to a good city bred vehicle. But since the Gurkha is a hard core off roader, we spent most of our time on some very rough terrains to enjoy its great abilities. The constant rain had made the path slushy, slippery and deep. Yet, the vehicle managed to get itself out of the mess.

As we went up a steep incline, the vehicle proved its crawling abilities. Just by slotting it into the first gear and accelerating it a bit and then finally taking my foot off all the pedals, the vehicle inched its way up without a fuss, In the 4x4 mode, it gets a gradeability of 35 degrees. And since this vehicle comes with a air intake snorkel,, water wading capacity too stands at 700mm. The journey downhill too was extremely confident and though this vehicle does not have a hill descent function, the vehicle does manage to roll down in the first gear without having to step on the accelerator or the clutch. The low end torque ensures the vehicle keeps moving with adequate power.

As for safety features, the new Gurkha comes with airbags for the front seat occupants. Speed sensing auto door lock, besides disc brakes in front and drum brakes at the rear, ABS and EBD too are there in this vehicle.

VERDICT

No one has ever had any doubt about the off roading capability of the Gurkha. Its reputation in the off road segment is legendary. But now the company wants urban city dwellers to also go in for the Gurkha, a vehicle they can drive on normal roads on a daily basis. To woo them the company has spruced up the interiors too. But we feel that there are a few areas where the company has to really work hard on. They should immediately start with the entire area in and around the dashboard so as to get the oomph looks and feel. And as for the manual shifting of modes, these too need to be a lot easier to operate. Because at the end of the day, the new Gurkha will definitely be compared to and pitted against the Mahindra Thar!

SPECIFICATIONS