Force Motors has teased an image of the new Gurkha SUV, indicating that the 5-door model will launch in the coming months, likely to be in the first quarter of FY2024-25. The off-roader will take on the upcoming Mahindra Thar 5-door, which could use the 'Thar Armada' moniker upon arrival in the country. Going by the teaser image, the Force Gurkha 5-door will retain the boxy silhouette and body lines of the Gurkha 3-door but will have a longer wheelbase. Meanwhile, the spy photos of the 5-door SUV that surfaced last month give additional cues, hinting at the square headlights, sleeker 18-inch dual-tone alloy wheels, a roof rack, and reworked front and rear bumpers. Also expected is the two-slat grille at the front.
On the inside, the biggest change could be in the form of its off-road gear. The Force Gurkha 5-door is expected to come equipped with an electronically controlled shift-on-the-fly four-wheel-drive selector enabling you to shift from two-wheel-drive to four-wheel-drive with the turn of a knob. Other expected changes include a bench seat for the second row and captain seats for the third row. The 5-door Gurkha could offer buyers the choice of multiple seating arrangements: a 5-seater two-row, a 6-seater three-row, and a 7-seater three-row version.
Force Gurkha 5-door: Powertrain
Under the hood, the Force Gurkha 5-door is expected to feature the same Mercedes-sourced 2.6-litre diesel engine as the Gurkha 3-door. This engine comes mated to a 5-speed manual transmission. Like the Gurkha 3-door, the 5-door lifestyle SUV will likely receive a snorkel for deeper water wading.
Force Gurkha 5-door: Availability, Price
Though the company offers no details on its pricing, we expect the Gurkha 5-door to command a premium of over Rs 1 lakh. For reference, the price of the Gurkha 3-door starts at Rs 14.75 lakh (ex-showroom). The upcoming Gurkha will rival the Mahindra Thar 5-door and act as a bigger alternative to the Maruti Suzuki Jimny.
Speaking of the competition, the Mahindra Thar 5-door will be launched in the Indian market by the middle of this year. According to Rajesh Jejurikar, Executive Director and CEO, Mahindra, the new Thar will arrive on our shores "sometime in the middle of this calendar year". Mechanical specifications for the 5-door Thar are expected to remain unchanged, meaning that the three-door model's 2.0-litre turbo-petrol and 2.2-litre diesel engine options will be carried over. The latter develops 130bhp of maximum power and 300Nm of peak torque, while the former churns out 150bhp of peak power and 320Nm of torque.
Nevertheless, what the Indian automaker already has on offer is the special edition of the Mahindra Thar 3-door. Launched last month, the Mahindra Thar Earth Edition ranges from Rs 15.40 lakh to Rs 17.60 lakh (ex-showroom). It comes only in the LX Hard Top version and is offered in diesel and gasoline engines with manual or automatic transmission options.
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