One of most genuine, reasonably critical and technically sound car show I have ever seen and that's coming from and industrial designer so blessings all the way
This is the best Gurkha review I have seen so far. All other channels have just told the highlights, and I had reached a saturation point in terms of details. I wonder if they deliberately avoided talking about details despite their videos beig over 15min in duration. Great video!
For the past 1-2 months since the launch of 5 door version, i have watched nearly all the review videos available on RU-vid. But i must say this was the most clarified and neatly done review without any kind of masala. The 6'2" man deserves an applause. 👏🏻
Haha thank you so much! There's a running joke here that you have to take a shot of whatever you are drinking every time I say 6'2". So DO NOT play that game while watching my Jimny Review 😂 Thank you for the kind words and support. Truly means a lot❤
This is how a review needs to be done, to the point, no pre-existing bias for or against the vehicle, zero hyperbole, just the facts, the usability, the quirks and what a prospective owner will need to consider owning this magnificent beast.
Great improvement with engine. What’s next for Gurkha ! - 2nd row captain seats and third row foldable bench seat for 2 - Interior - less use of hard plastic, soft touch and leather-stich materials - Design & Quality overhaul - Dashboard, gearbox, air blower reminds a vehicle from 90s Imagine an interior of Safari in Gurkha 5 door. I would have even picked it over Thar 5 door due to availability of third row and a rack+ladder to keep extra luggage.
Pajero SFX was PERFECT. Had they licensed that platform it would have been so awesome. Even otherwise, the Pajero is a lesson in interiors and space management, fit, finish and materials.
One of the best and honest review of Gurkha, you Point out important points to improve in Gurkha related to seat adjustment. and also atleast 4 airbags.
Thank you for noticing ❤ I don't like that manufacturers do this but, to be fair, when I asked them about it they told me it was not standard equipment. But I had to ask.
This vehicle is a perfect example of when the engineers and designers are trying to copy better vehicles but lack vision, appreciation, practicality and passion...i.e. typical Bharat entrepreneurs. Excellent review. Very detailed and technical. The reviewer definitely knows his automotive engineering and appreciation.
Thank you for your support ❤ I would counter that there are many Indian manufacturers who blaze their own trail with innovation. Ather, TVS, Royal Enfield, Mahindra, Tata and many more. I wouldn't paint them all with the same brush. I like to believe that each of them tries to do the best they can and there are some missteps and missed opportunities along the way. We, as consumers, need to sidestep the products that don't make the cut.
These are my comments: First of all this is the best review of the Gurkha I have come across so far ❤ 1. The seats could have been adjustable with sliding and tumble down foldable mechanism which alone will attract not only off-road enthusiasts but families as well. 2.Steering mount phone and infotainment controls. 3. A bit more decent daytime running light. 4. The rooftop carrier can have wide pannels on which Gurkha name is engraved. 5. Total aesthetic touch. Ruggedness with beauty will make the vehicle a formidable choice.
Excellent video. Clear and unbiased, while being respectful to the manufacturer as well. A great overlander / adventure tourer, with many aftermarket modifications needed to make it ergonomic and pleasurable to drive. Homologated accessories a key advantage for those planning to cross Chandigarh and Kerala especially 😅
Thank you so much ❤ Yes it is a distinct advantage. I just wish they had also given tinted uv cut glass from the factory like the Jimny. Makes a huge difference in summer.
I wish I could own this amazing offroader. Thanks for the most detailed and helpful review Guru, I have watched many Gurkha 5-Door video but your's is the best.
Very practically technically explained. Hope Gurkha listens to you and we waiting people could hop on to the best Force could deliver. Thanks for the wonderful review 😊
Made for Real Men. I am liking this gurkha more than all the previous generations. This car is a beast with heavy duty military ruggedness to the material. I needs no luxury flashy stupid things. I love the way it it. Its beast and its tough.
What I want in the new Gurkha is better leg room; in the second row seats with 60/40 seats; and also foldable for access to third row, AC climate control, adjustable third row seats, power windows control on the doors for driver and front passenger, steering buttons for better control for multimedia, 3 point seat belt for second row middle seat, better plastic quality, electrical height control for driver seats, electrically folding ORVMs.
I think you have a long wait ahead of you 🥹 Seriously though, these should have been their Target for 2024. Indians have moved on. The lifestyle customers have options now.
The middle row seats seems to be the deal breaker. Perhaps if the production team considers installing equipment in it as a mutiutility overlanding vehicle.
Best review! you have mentioned all the necessary information for the potential buyers. The main thing that set me off is non adjustable and non reclining 2nd row seat, no leg room. Reclining seat is a must for carrying long materials and for camping. We will buy Gurkha for its off-roading ability and to go to some rough road where MUV will not go. We don`t need extra third row. It should be for luggage. I personally will remove the third row. Who really cares about the third row? Those who used third row will buy MUV...I guess Force motor are not sure on their target market? We will have to wait for Thar 5 door if Force doesn't make adjustment on the 2nd row seat. And for the sake of FORCE....i hope they are more serious on their approached to SUV buyers. With some few minor changes and update, they can really take this segment.
I think the commercial vehicle "people carrier" mentality won the battle against the lifestyle vehicle segment. They should have stopped with 4 or 5 wonderfully spacious, comfortable and flexible seats.
Gurkha: I like the design but i dont like the interiors, comfort & convenience thing. Thar Roxx: I didn't like the design but i like the interior, comfort & convenience thing. PS: Will wait, when Gurkha got its updated.
Ah the eternal wait commences. Grass is always greener on the other side. Pick one and run to the hills before the government forces us all into electric shavers!
Real Off road vehicle from India. A pure one derived from Mercedes. You don't need stylish interiors for this, engines and build straight to the point.
Yes bro as automobile mechanic new Gurkha would be better than bolero and thar is ride comfort is awesome and 4wd 5 door it is gem for offroad and touring youth, or else forget it buy suzuki uncle cars or municipality vehicle bolero
@motoroids well I guess mine and your dimensions are not in alignment to a Gurkha. BTW it’s probably the best review of a Gurkha yet. Cheers!! to your eye for detail and fine sense of judgement. Full marks to the team of Gurkha
Good observation on small things. Very few channels including you talk about middle row AC vents being a blower and not connected to compressor. Good review
Thank you! I obviously wanted to say evaporator but I'm not sure how many would associate evaporator with the ac so I went with "compressor" as it is an instant connect.
Thank you for your support and encouragement ❤ Truly means a lot. We have been working on back to back shoots for Gurkha, 3XO, Pulsar 400 and we are a small passionate team. We may be late but we hope the content makes up for it! ❤
Yes the product team mentioned this as an option. Now I don't know how easy or hard it will be. I don't know if it will be as easy as undoing and redoing bolts. You may need to drill holes to line up and close the holes that you aren't using anymore. A decent fabricator should be able to execute this and any other mods with ease.
Hi. I have read your review of the 2024 Gurkha with particular interest since I am a prospective buyer. I also had a short drive in the vehicle last week. Whilst I can live with the very basic interiors, the vehicle is spacious and comfortable to ride. As such, what’s on offer ticks most of the other boxes on my list. The fly in the ointment, though, is 4WD shifter that has been replaced with a rotary knob. you have described the knob as cheap plastic in the review. Will appreciate your thoughts regarding this component. In this context, I want to clarify that I am not into hardcore off road; the Gurkha will be used primarily for over-landing and the 4WD will be activated, when necessary, depending on the terrain.
Hi and thanks for writing in ❤ The component in question is made of cheap plastic. It will serve the purpose but I would have preferred a button actuated diff-lock over this rotary switch actuated TC case shifter. As it stands, it shifts without fuss between 2H - 4H - 4L. It could have been a better quality component. Yes the 5-door is spacious and rides so much better than the 3-door. Internal space is great for building an overlanding vehicle. Let us know what you decide and happy motoring! ❤
@@gsrox2007 Hi Guru. Took another test drive of the 3 door Gurkha yesterday, albeit in traffic. Observed that the brakes are spongy or sluggish. The sales executive accompanying, while admitting that the brakes could have been better with both the front and rear having drum brakes, also mentioned that the brake pedal has to be depressed fully for the braking to be effective. Suggested that after a couple of drives, one would be able to overcome the issue. If fact, he has offered me another test drive on a nearby highway to put the Gurkha through its paces. Impressed with the keenness to make a sale, after reading reports of disinterested dealers. Also had an online interaction with someone who has taken delivery of the 4 door Gurkha. He too agrees that the brakes are not the greatest but at the same time stated that "if you drive your own vehicle instead of comparing it to others on the road you will not face any problem........you cannot compare it to your hatchbacks or sedans, you will have to make to adjustment and be a bit more careful....." Will appreciate your thoughts in this regard, especially since I a leaning towards ordering the 3 door version.
I was traveling all India tour may 1998 in this first version "challenger" I think verey good road grip and engine performance I like buy a new one Gurkha and plan next trip....
Very good and technically focussed review. Very few have covered the minute details that you did. Especially on the space management and the Companys willingness to assist in aftermarket mods to increase leg space in the middle row. Dont understand what Force Motors design team was doing. Competent product wasted by poor planning in interior space management. I have been waiting for the 5 door version since last 3 years and have been in constant touch with Mr Antarkar of Force motors. Hope they do something on sliding and reclining second row seats.... If they do, I am willing to plonk my 21 grands to buy this tank.
Absolutely Superb review, touched almost all the points one buyer needs to understand, I am hesitant to buy due the same concerns you have indicated and given the feedback to force. NewGen buyers Definity looking for quality in fit and finish.
Thank you for your support and encouragement! ❤ Drop in at a Force showroom and check out the vehicle in the flesh. You never know what aspect of it may captivate you and render my minor quibbles irrelevant. 👍🏽
Good review Guru. Will this prove a hit I wonder. There is no doubt that it is a functional vehicle. But I wish they had considered the options of Captain Seats in the middle row, and if the bench seat option were foldable, reclinable and moveable and if the rear most seats were also foldable and removable. These little touches would have made it very useable as a passenger plus luggage carrying ute. Good point you made about Factory tinted glasses which sadly, arent on offer as a factory option. It’s always the small pieces of detail that these fellows compromise on.
Thank you Shankar ❤ They seem reluctant to make a world class product for actual users rather than spec sheets. That's the difference between them and the Koreans. Mahindra caught on and play the Korean model now with great success.
If you are 5'8" or 5'9" you will just about be ok. Best to take a nice test drive and ask them to drive you when you are sat in the middle row. Much more comfortable than the 3 door just because of the improved ride quality of the long wheelbase.
Agree with you with regards to seating issue. Right now 1 has to do after market modification for seats. This should have been with sliding bench and last seats to be removable side seats. This would have been perfect 5 seater. After market modification would also be required for interior.
Yes Naman ji, sadly the layout is compromised and has to be corrected at the owners expenses. Based on my interaction with the product team they seem keen to listen to feedback and I hope they react quickly to fix this.
You should still consider visiting the showroom and checking it out in person. Take a test drive. Cars affect people in unique ways which is why I'm not surprised to see people driving certain cars that I wouldn't be caught dead in. So give it a shot and see for yourself 👍🏽
Are the front and rear windows power control? Is there any features like Hill stop assist and Hill decent control? Is it available in a press starter? Is there any child safety lock? Is there an automatic headlight sensors for the tunnel and night time? Are the middle seats and two rear seats foldable?
1. All windows are power windows but no one touch operation. 2. Hill descent control baked into ecu. No need for a separate button. 3. Push button start only. These features have not changed from the previous versions of Gurkha so we didn't focus on them. 4. No child safety window deactivation. Need to check on child safety doors. 5 door middle row has two isofix mounts. 5. None of the middle/third row seats are adjustable
Good engine power. The only two things that is not good is the infotainment and seating space. If these two are met then Thar and Jimny will be out of the equation. It would be a G-Wagon from Force 💪
Gurkha I’m extremely happy to see that they have improved things by listening to critics . Like engine “power upgrade” with an option to economise when you want . Lovely idea. ”suspension arms” redesigned for ground clearance. digital front console and an info system with google maps BTW only if the ey could have introduced a vertical screen just like MG hector it would have made the phone mimicking idea much more resolved and well thought off . I know budget of a Gurkha is always on the mind of force Moters , may be in the coming versions . 😊(Toyota still needs this upgrade) The issues still linger on non adjustable middle row seat back angle. Why can’t they just swap the middle row and the back row exactly like the Innova crysta ? It’s an extremely convenient setting. If I buy this 5door I’ll surly get it done as an after market thing… captain seats in the middle and 50:50 flat bed seat as the last-row with detachable and foldable option . Exactly like Citron C3Aircross . ❤❤ I’m extremely happy to see them work on the product and upgrade it with mindful inputs. All that is left now are the showrooms and silly sluggish sales agents who are least interested in selling . Lena hai lo varna Aage badho…. Sawal mat poocho.
@@gsrox2007 yes sir. Thats what i meant 2021 BS6 model, which is the same as the 2022 and 2023 model. They stopped production in Feb 2023. Regarding the dashboard plastic. Though it may look and feel cheap it has ZERO rattles and squeaks after 2.5 years and 40,000 kilometers of use onroad and abuse offroad. As a Gurkha owner i can safely say that plastic quality and dashboard design is pretty much the last thing on our minds when getting a Gurkha. You may have us confused with Thar/Creta owners. Lovely review by the way 🙏🙂
Thank you for your support and encouragement ❤ I did the xuv700 review first here on Motoroids as my debut 😁 After that I did a few videos on the Jimny right here on Motoroids. Please watch them when you can 🙏🏽
Agreed! I did ask them but didn't really get an answer. In my Jimny I use the steering controls for telephony, audio, cruise control and playing Tabla 😁
Only saw till Middle ! I would have bought this 5 door if the interior was more appealing user friendly and with better ergonomics! People need to wait for force to improve ! Still do not know about the engine quality or driving experience! But with what I have seen till now there is a big room for improvement and interior body control team and infotainment team at force need to be provided with a good training on how this works in market 😂
Such a fantastic package like the Gurkha could have been executed better in terms of industrial design. I see it as a personal challenge to enhance its design . The interiors need to match the excellence of the vehicle. Also, considering the quality of plastics, 18 lakhs seems excessive; I'd say 13-14 lakhs would be more appropriate. This package truly deserves a refined industrial design @koi motors . Have patience forks , I’ll work on it ..
I typed out a long reply but it didn't get registered 😭 I can't wait to see what you do with the 5-door Gurkha. I believe it has promise as an overlanding platform. Shame you can't buy it without the seats, entertainment HU and speakers. I didn't comment about this in the video but the reverse camera is so 80s! Please get in touch when your build is ready. I would love to feature it.
Dude someone spending 18L ex showroom deserves better material quality & comfort... I was shocked to know the legroom in the 2nd row and the quality of plastics as mentioned... I was eagerly waiting for a 5 door version of Gurkha, but after this review, seems I'll wait for a 5 door Thar...
It was a bit disappointing for me personally. I love how the Gurkha looks. The big advantage is it is basically a van shape which is far more suitable for building overlanding and touring rigs. The Jimny and Thar have no vertical room which limits their practicality for the purpose of proper multi-day outdoor adventures with camping and off-road trails.
@@gsrox2007 exactly that's why I was waiting for a 5 door version... Was happy to know the increase in ground clearance... But then other things... Like we can do without Android auto or apple car play ... But leg room, plastic quality, space between steering and door ..
I don't know why they cannot hold back. A basic 5 seater with 60-40 split middle row on rails and no third row would have been ideal. They have the Toofan etc anyway for carrying people. Now I need to see what Mahindra do to the Thar 5-door! 😂
Very good, honest, forthright and all-covering evaluation done, Guru. My compliments. I'd like your feedback if Mahindra Bolero Neo Plus (the promised extraaa long variant) is coming anytime soon.
Thank you so much for your support Suntosh Ji ❤ The Bolero Neo will be reviewed by Amit bhai as he has extensive experience with that platform. I'll hopefully see you again for the Thar 5-door launch 🍻
I don't think so. Shame because they could have launched it now. Jimny and Thar both have automatic gearboxes. Maybe they will wait to see Thar 5-door AT pricing and then release an Automatic version. Fingers crossed!
Gurkha 5door exterior looks much more nice, aggressive,etc etc than 3door..Thar 3door looks much more nice than 5door ..That is a big difference between Gurkha and Thar..Now that most people will go for Gurkha 5 door...
Good analysis! Thar 3-door looks good because of the low roofline. The Jimny also has a low roofline and the 3-door looks much better than the 5-door. Gurkha's high roofline looks better in 5-door guise. It is really impressive in person.
I did take the test drive of 5 door and 3 door. 3 door is bit fun and the repsonse is good but in 5 door i felt like its aksing for more power. Whats your opinion . 5 door is better or 3 door ?
With all these updates, still the gurkha is ages behind...The middle row ac from the qualis, safari era. Absence of steering controls which are even there in current day entry level cars. Aftermarket android unit, no adjustable middle row, no auto gear box and on top of all rust prone age old body...
This 5-door has nearly the same wheelbase as the 110. What I meant is qualitative, not necessarily quantitative. The defender 90 looks better than the 110. It looks more "apt". The Gurkha 5 door looks more "right" than the 3-door.
I guess so. My confusion is they still mention Android Auto and Apple Carplay in the press release and marketing materials. I asked for clarification before releasing the video and got none. I stick to my observations that this is a mirroring behaviour and not true AA/ACP.
One review mentioned force is open to customer wanting to customise seats and such. So if the customer wants to remove second row bench and put the captain seats as the only second row but with rather good space between front and second, is that possible? Similar to previous gen 3 door gurkha, only that the boot will be bigger.
I address the same topic in my review. Look anything is possible these days with custom fabricators. How do these things impact crash safety? What about insurance? There's a difference between a factory designed and tested car vs a diy effort. Not everyone will have the appetite, time or even funds for these endeavours. The base configuration needs to be refined from the factory with captain seats in the middle and bench seat in the back as a 6 seater as well as a bench seat in the middle as a five seater with more legroom, 50-50 or 60-40 split and recline adjustable seat back. Jump seats optional for the 3rd row.
@@gsrox2007 do you expect this to become a reality in further iterations probably post 2026? Coz it doesn't seem like force will do anything now. And God only knows what kind of issues start in this iteration because even though the engine is good, previous gen Gurkha had wheel bearing issues and leakage issues and what not. Also, what fuel efficiency did you see in your tests of both 3 and 5 door Gurkha?
Force design team should be sacked immediately. Don't they drive other cars? The 2015 pajero sport is far better than this car.... They are making mockery of their name as a car manufacturer 🤦♂️
Time has come for Tata to relaunch Sumo in 4x4 avatar....and hey...you did not speak about the gearbox feel and the presence of the rear defogger ....Thanx
Gearbox felt the same so I didn't spend too much time on it. We didn't have too much time with the cars and I wanted to focus on the updates. The gearbox is rubbery with long throws. The clutch is heavy and also long. Gotta man up to drive this in traffic 😁
Oooh I loved the original Sumo before they botoxed the heck out of it. What will work is a 5 seater Sumo 4x4 with the old looks but modern underpinnings. Solid front axle please and 4 wheel disc brakes like the old Pajeros.
@@gsrox2007Yes I used to own the original Tata Sumo Dx version 1999 model..Yes you are absolutely right brother, the Original Sumo was a good looking car. Tata should bring the old Sumo back with all the modern glories as you said.
2nd row seat is as good it’s reliability . However this vechilce has great potential …. Once and if they get it right ( read reliability ) , which is not very difficult to achieve in today’s time !
Fingers crossed! They should go after the international market with a redesign if needed to avoid issues with Mercedes. Why should Mahindra have all the export fun!?
