Force Motors is gearing up for the launch of the 5-door iteration of its rugged off-road beast -the Gurkha. As the Gurkha started arriving at the local dealerships, many spotted it and shot videos of the 4×4 SUV. What’s new is now the interiors have got revealed in a few of those videos. By the looks of it, the 5-door interior is more or less similar to the 3-door model with the same layout and plastic trim color being carried forward.
So, what we get on the inside is the same manual Air-con controls with circular vents, an analog instrument cluster, and a similar touchscreen with the front power window switches being carried forward for the rear power windows that will be needed on the new 5-door variant. The main highlight of this iteration is the seating layout which will come in multiple options like having bench seats or captain seats in the second row. Whereas the third row will come with either opposite-facing jump seats or captain seats. Such multiple options were not there for buyers of the 3-door sibling as it was a four-seater & only came with a second row that had captain seats.
The 5-door Gurkha will be based on the same ladder-frame chassis which the current Gurkha is based on. The overall design remains identical with the obvious changes being the added length and two extra doors. The circular headlamps with LED DRLs and the black grille are exactly the same as the 3-door Gurkha. Even the snorkel and bonnet-mounted turn indicators are borrowed from its sibling. Move to the side and you’ll notice larger 255/65 18-inch alloy wheels as opposed to the 16-inch alloys on the standard Gurkha. The rear doors are all new the third-row glass panel is completely reworked. The rear is more or less similar to the 3-door Gurkha with the sideways opening tailgate and tailgate-mounted spare wheel. The interior of the 5-door Gurkha will be more or less the same.
The feature list will include a steering column with tilt and telescopic adjustment, power windows, central locking, speed-sensing door locks, rear parking sensors, single-piece rear door with wipers, variable intermittent speed front wipers, tire pressure monitoring system, cornering lamps, lead me home and lead me to Gurkha. The Gurkha 5-door is expected to offer multiple seating options like a 9-seater version with side facing 3rd-row seats or a 6-seater version with captain seats on the 2nd and 3rd row. It can also offer a 7-seater option with bench seats on the last row. The 5-door Gurkha will be powered by a 2.6 liter 91bhp Mercedes-derived common rail, direct injection, turbocharged diesel engine that gets sufficient low-end torque (250Nm @1400 – 2400 rpm). It will be mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox. Expect the engine to be tweaked to deal with the extra weight. Just like the Gurkha 3-door, it will come with a 4×4 low first gear in crawl mode.