Force Gurkha 5-door Interior Teased Ahead of India Launch, Shows Big Infotainment and Second-row Bench Seat
While the exact launch date is yet to be announced, Force Motors is expected to bring the new 5-door Gurkha alongside the updated 3-door version later this month.
By Kanika Sachdeva
Following a teaser a few days ago, the Force Gurkha 5-door is back to offer us a first glimpse into its interior. The dashboard layout looks quite familiar, albeit with a big infotainment touchscreen. We expect the display to be larger than the one currently available. The teaser also reveals a new digital instrument cluster, providing access to information such as speed and tyre pressure. Another update is in the form of a revamped centre console, ditching the traditional 4x4 selector in favour of a knob and therefore offering more space.
A second-row bench seat along with two individual chairs for the rear occupants can also be seen, indicating that the upcoming Force Gurkha 5-door will be available in different seating configurations, whereas the 3-door Gurkha will continue with a four-seater arrangement. For off-roading, the 5-door SUV will be 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. This is mounted on the centre console.
Force Gurkha 5-door: Safety Equipment
Safety-wise, there seems to be a new tyre pressure monitoring system integrated into a TFT meter. Other than that, we expect the Gurkha 5-door to come with traction control, parking sensors, speed-sensing door locks, hill assist, and multiple airbags.
Force Gurkha 5-door: Powertrain
Under the hood, the Force Gurkha 5-door will likely 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). Upon arrival, the new Force Gurkha 5-door will rival the upcoming Mahindra Thar 5-door and act as a bigger alternative to the Maruti Suzuki Jimny.
Speaking of the competition, the Mahindra Thar 5-door, which has been undergoing testing for nearly two years now, will be unveiled on August 15, 2024. Upon arrival, the upcoming Mahindra Thar 5-door could use the 'Thar Armada' moniker. Its prices will be revealed a few weeks after its unveiling.
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 and 300Nm of peak torque, whereas the former churns out 150bhp and 320Nm of torque.
