Force Gurkha 5-door: Your FIRST LOOK Ahead Of Its Launch In Early May

• Force Gurkha 5-door revealed, to launch in early May. 
• Bookings open from today (April 29) onwards, deliveries to commence in mid-May. 
• Apart from its added length, the Gurkha 5-door also gets bespoke alloys.
• Inside, it now gets a digital driver’s display and a larger 9-inch touchscreen infotainment system. 
• The 2.6-litre diesel engine now produces 140PS and 320Nm. 
• Off-road wizardry includes manual locking differentials, a snorkel and shift-on-the-fly four-wheel drive system. 
• All of these upgrades will be made to the smaller three-door model as well.

This is it! After months of waiting, spy shots, and a relatively short teaser campaign, the Force Gurkha 5-door has been revealed in all its glory. That said, if you had your eyes on one, you’d have to wait for a bit more as its launch is early May, followed by deliveries, which will also commence in the middle of next month. You can join the queue from today, with bookings opened for a token deposit of Rs 25,000.

Exterior Design 

With the introduction of the elongated model, the Gurkha 5-door now clearly takes the tag as the ‘sasta’ G-Wagen! The design up front is more or less similar to the smaller Gurkha three-door with the grille and its bold ‘GURKHA’ badging, flanked by a pair of round LED headlights. Right below it is the chunky bumper housing a pair of halogen fog lamps. 

In profile, the obvious thing that you’ll notice is the increased length and extra set of doors. Force Motors has also slapped on a new set of 10-spoke alloys to differentiate it from the three-door model. The rear, with its vertically stacked tail lamps and tailgate-mounted spare wheel, exudes a tough look. 

As for colour options, you get to choose from four hues: green, red, white and black. 

Interior Design 

Inside, things are more or less similar to the Force Gurkha 3-door, except for two major upgrades: a larger 9-inch touchscreen infotainment system and a 7-inch digital driver’s display. The former, even though supporting Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, is still an aftermarket unit and sticks out like a sore thumb. 

The Gurkha 5-door gets a 2+3+2 seating layout, with the last row featuring forward facing captain seats for added safety. 

Features On board 

Apart from the aforementioned equipment, the Gurkha 5-door comes packing just the bare essentials, including a manual AC (with roof-mounted rear AC vents), power windows, remote locking, a tilt and telescopic steering wheel and cornering lamps. 

As for safety, you just get dual airbags, ABS with EBD, rear parking sensors and a tyre pressure monitoring system. At this price point, a minimum of six airbags should have been a must for increased occupant protection. 

Engine And Off-road Capability 

Powering the Gurkha 5-door is the same 2.6-litre diesel engine as the old three-door model, but in a more powerful 140PS and 320Nm tune. Like before, you get a 5-speed manual transmission and a shift-on-the-fly four-wheel drive system. Here’s a quick comparison between the three-door and five-door Gurkha:

The Gurkha 5-door gets all the off-road wizardry expected from its 3-door predecessor. That includes manual locking front and rear differentials and a snorkel (factory-fitted, by the way). As for its off-roading stats, the Gurkha 5-door has a 700mm water wading capability, 233mm ground clearance, and a 35-degree gradeability. 

Expected Price And Rivals 

You can expect the Force Gurkha 5-door to cost a tad more than the older model, which was priced from Rs 15.09 lakh (ex-showroom). It will be a larger alternative to the Maruti Suzuki Jimny, while locking horns with the upcoming Mahindra Thar 5-door.