Force Gurkha is quite hard to miss. The Gurkha is insanely popular in the rural and taxi markets and rightly so. And just like every other update, the upgraded Force Gurkha, made its debut at the Auto Expo, that took place in February 2020. It was slated for an official launch at a later date in 2020 itself, but then someone decided to eat a bat.
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Nonetheless, it is still being spotted testing here and there on our Indian roads indicating the launch is still very much on cards. The pandemic for sure held back the updated Gurkha’s launch but it seems that 2021 would be the year that would bear fruit.
After a bit of boat rocking, the Auto industry finally got onto its feet and clocked some serious numbers in recent months, duly complemented by the festive season. Force also has carried on from where it left and its launch is slated to take place soon.
Talking about the updates, the exterior seems untouched and is largely carried over from what we witnessed back at the Auto Expo 2020. Upfront, the tall and boxy stance is hard to miss. Cumulatively, the front is without a doubt designed by someone who loves the Mercedes G-Wagon. The round housing for the headlamps, a large Force logo in the middle, chrome elements running across are all reminiscent of the G63.
On the sides, it features 16” alloys wheels and some really rugged body cladding making it look nothing but business. The rear still houses the spare wheel, a narrow ladder and a carrier at the top.
On the inside, the story is actually quite nice. It gets majorly redesigned elements like a new dashboard but with a utilitarian charm. It gets circular AC vents finished in glossy black. It gets a touch infotainment system on higher trims and the spy shot reveals a 2-door Gurkha with longitudinal benches and a hardtop. Going forward, the Gurkha will comply with all the mandatory safety norms.
Mechanically, it should be powered by a 2.6L, 4 cyl Common Rail Direct Injection ( CRDI ) engine which puts out 90BHp and 260Nm of peak output figures. It comes mated to a 5-speed manual transmission. The Gurkha could also feature manual-locking diffs. Force could also introduce 2.2L diesel propelled Gurkha with more power at a later stage.