This thread covers initial impressions, and driving feel of a 5-door Force Gurkha from my point of view as I am a hatchback person myself
BHPian The_Artificer recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
Chapter 1: The initial impression.
A long-standing curiosity finally turned into hands-on experience as I stepped into the Force Motors dealership in Ambattur, Chennai. The objective was clear, to evaluate the new 5-door Force Gurkha facelift. This wasn’t a casual visit. I’ve followed the Gurkha’s evolution over the years.
The first visual impression didn’t disappoint. Parked outside were both variants, the iconic 3-door in red, and the 5-door finished in a greenish-black shade.
Photos don’t do justice to its scale. In person, the 5-door Gurkha sits tall and broad, commanding attention with its boxy stance and functional design language. It doesn’t try to look like anything else, yet the resemblance to the Mercedes G-Wagen is hard to ignore, especially when you factor in the round head lamps, flared arches, upright windshield, and that factory-fitted snorkel.
That unmistaken Gurkha vibe.
Under the hood is the Mercedes-derived 2.6L FM CR diesel engine, a 4-cylinder, turbocharged unit producing 140 hp and 320 Nm of torque. This motor’s low-end torque delivery and long-stroke design are tuned more for climbing gradients than clocking 0–100 runs. This is the same powertrain platform used in the Force Traveller commercial vans, and that heritage shows, it’s built for longevity.
Wanting to assess rear seat usability, I first climbed into the third row. Entry was awkward, especially for someone 5’11” and broad-built, due to the high floor and tight ingress path. 
Ingress was a bit of an exercise.
That said, once seated, the third-row captain seats were surprisingly spacious. Knee room and headroom were acceptable, and egress was noticeably easier thanks to the tall roofline and wide rear door aperture.
The second-row bench was a one-piece unit with fixed recline. It offered acceptable knee room, but under-thigh support was lacking, a known limitation in upright SUVs with body-on-frame architecture. The seat cushioning itself felt utilitarian, and all seats were draped in basic faux leather upholstery. Given the Gurkha’s off-road orientation, the choice of the material felt like a miss. A more durable, easily cleanable material would be more fitting for this segment and use case.
Overall, the interior gave off a rugged, spartan vibe, much like the rest of the vehicle. No soft-touch plastics, no faux-wood trim, no ambient lighting. And that’s just fine. This isn’t a crossover dressed up as an SUV. It’s a proper old-school ladder-frame off-roader that doesn’t pretend to be anything else.
And I also spotted a previous generation Force Gurkha 5 door
Chapter 2: The driver’s seat.
After exploring the rear and middle rows, I moved to the driver’s seat. Entering the Gurkha isn’t a graceful, car-like experience; it’s a climb, and rightfully so. With 233mm of ground clearance and a tall ladder-frame chassis, you step up into a cockpit designed with purpose.
Once inside, the ergonomics are upright and commercial in feel, not uncomfortable, just utilitarian. The seat offers sufficient cushioning and width for larger frames, but it’s clearly not engineered for long-distance cruising comfort. The seat can be adjusted three ways manually ( the reach, recline and the head rest height). You sit tall, with a clear, squared-off view of the road and bonnet edges, an advantage for trail work and tight urban maneuvering alike.
The steering wheel is wrapped in faux leather and feels decently premium, but it’s the feedback that stands out. It’s a hydraulically assisted electronic power steering unit and it’s noticeably heavier at low speeds, but with better feedback and feel once you’re rolling. And the steering can be adjusted for both rake and reach ( tilt and telescopic).
The dashboard layout continues the built for purpose theme. It’s basic, hard plastics, no gloss or piano black. But you get a no nonsense interior for a car that’s built for the off-road.
The gear lever is placed so well and so is the fly by shift transfer case switches and the 2 wheel and 4 wheel drive selector knobs.
Instrumentation is functional, with a new 7″ TFT MID that offers vital data like fuel range, trip meter, digital tachometer, and DEF levels (courtesy of the updated BS6 Phase 2 compliance). It’s a welcome addition, though the layout and responsiveness aren’t on par with what you’d find in modern SUVs. That said, this isn’t a feature-rich highway cruiser, it’s a mechanical workhorse with just enough digital support. And I liked the welcome screen of the Gurkha
The headlight in the welcome animation transitions into the tachometer.
Visibility is stellar. Thanks to the flat bonnet, vertical windshield, and tall seating position, you can easily place the Gurkha in tight spaces, and for a car that has a 6.3M turning radius. The large ORVMs offer a wide field of view and are manual but functional.
This is not a cockpit designed to impress passengers. It’s designed to put the driver in control. No distractions, just mechanical clarity.
Chapter 3: The drive
I’ll be upfront. I’m new to manuals.
I’m someone who is used to automatics like the i20 N Line DCT, a Skoda Kushaq Monte Carlo DSG. So, this wasn’t just another test drive, it was a full-circle moment. I wanted to feel what a real ladder-frame 4×4 diesel with a proper manual gearbox was like, and the Gurkha delivered that raw experience in spades.
I asked the sales advisor if he could handle the initial drive and let me take over once we hit a quiet, safe patch of road. He agreed without hesitation, something I appreciated, considering a lot of folks still get second thoughts when you tell them you’re new to shifting gears.
From the passenger seat, I got my first sense of what the Gurkha truly is. The NVH levels, the way the cabin flexes over bad patches, and the honest mechanical sounds, it’s all very real. You feel connected to what’s happening beneath the skin. No heavy damping. No insulation layers trying to filter the experience. And I had thoughts about owning such a piece of machinery in near future if possible, it was that great for me.
Once we hit a wide deserted street with some broken tarmac and zero traffic, I hopped into the driver’s seat.
Fired it up, the 2.6L Mercedes-derived FM CR turbo diesel growled to life with a characterful idle.
I slotted it into first and slowly eased off the long-travel clutch. It definitely felt more commercial than car-like, heavier and springy, but not unmanageable. The moment the clutch bit, the Gurkha moved forward effortlessly. No throttle input needed. And when I instinctively tapped the accelerator just a little, it surged ahead thanks to that low-end torque.
This was a proper torque-first diesel, one of those engines that doesn’t feel rushed, but pulls with a certain weight and purpose. The gear throws are long, mechanical, and need deliberate inputs. No clicky, short-shift feel.
I drove a short 3 km stretch filled with potholes, gravel, broken road surfaces, and poor patches. But the Gurkha didn’t flinch. The suspension soaked up everything with an unbothered attitude. You’re seated high up, with that wide windscreen and near-vertical stance giving you a commanding view of the road ahead. The ride is soft, and yes, there’s some body roll and bounce at slow speeds, but that’s just part of the equation with body-on-frame setups.
The NVH isn’t plush, but it’s far from harsh. The same engine powers Force’s Traveller vans, so it’s tuned for durability, and you feel that. But it never gets annoyingly loud or industrial. It just feels mechanical, not synthetic.
As someone still getting used to clutch-work, this was a great teacher. It made me realize how forgiving low-end torque can be. You don’t need to rev or worry about stalling if your timing’s a little off, the engine pulls you out of it.
Once I reached the main road, I handed it back. But truth be told, I didn’t want to. That short drive behind the wheel told me more about vehicle dynamics and driver engagement than most modern automatics I’ve driven.
The Gurkha may not be modern. But it talks to you. And if you’re someone who appreciates mechanical honesty, you’ll understand why that matters.
Final verdict
The short 3 km drive, though limited, told me more about the Force Gurkha than spec sheets ever could.
Yes, the NVH is commercial-grade, and the interiors are nowhere near premium, but that’s not the point. The Gurkha isn’t pretending to be a crossover. It doesn’t try to win you over with soft plastics or digital gimmicks. This is a machine that stays honest to its roots, function over frill, substance over appeal.
As someone who usually pilots DCTs and DSGs, the manual gearbox and torque from the 2.6L diesel were a reality check. The clutch was heavy. The torque delivery was instant. The way it lunges forward in first gear with even a tap on the throttle is the Pure diesel grunt. It feels like a machine that you don’t just drive, but you operate.
The ride quality on broken tarmac showed me what ladder-frame tuning really feels like. It soaked up gravel patches, potholes, and construction leftovers without drama. The steering is heavy, the dashboard outdated, but nothing feels fragile or overly complicated. You can see that this thing is designed to take abuse, not just for a weekend trail, but every day, in the real world.
It won’t impress the average car buyer. It wasn’t built to. But for the few who understand what it represents, a modern take on an old-school off-roader, grounded in real-world durability. The Gurkha will feel like a machine that gets you.
Thanks for reading this long
Always wear your seatbelts also encourage your passengers to wear seatbelts, drive responsibly and do not involve in road rage situations, Happy Driving!
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