New Force Gurkha 4X4 review, test drive

The Gurkha comes across as a properly capable off-roader, but there's no denying that it needs quite a lot of polishing. At Rs 8.5 lakh, it is Rs 1.4 lakh more expensive than the Mahindra Thar and though it has more standard off-road kit, it isn't that much better than the Mahindra in terms of finesse. You could excuse this lack of finesse as a byproduct of a hardy off-roader, but at this price, people will expect more. 

Apart from this 4x4 hard-top, the Gurkha is available as a 4x4 soft-top as well for Rs 15,000 less. There's also a base 4x2 soft-top that costs Rs 6.25 lakh. As it doesn't meet BSIV norms, you can't buy it in a lot of cities, but then again, the whole point of a vehicle like this is to use it away from a city. Force Motors is offering it in three colours– matt black, metallic red and green and most impressively, it comes with a three-year/3,00,000km warranty. It will be in dealerships by the end of April 2013.