The next-gen Force Gurkha comes with new styling and will be more premium than before but will retain its retro appeal and also gets a BS6 complaint engine.
The Force Gurkha is one of the few proper 4x4s that you can buy in India under a budget of Rs 15 lakhs. Recently, Force Motors was seeing testing the next-generation Gurkha SUV. It appears to be in its final stages of testing. The model was spotted undergoing road-tests in its production body on the outskirts of Pune in Maharashtra. Force Motors will most likely unveil the next-gen Gurkha early next month, at the 2020 Auto Expo in New Delhi.
Force Motors showed off the Gurkha Xtreme last year which boasted of several off-road updates over the standard Gurkha. The next-gen Force Gurkha will be underpinned by the same platform that underpins the Gurkha Xtreme. The platform features a multi-link suspension setup, a low-range transfer case and other off-road gear. This will give the new SUV a better approach and departure angle and also a better water wading capacity than the model it replaces. The next-gen Gurkha is also expected to come with optional hub locks for the front axle.
The next-gen 2020 Force Gurkha will see plenty of visual changes and it features a completely new body shell. Although the overall stance and shape looks identical to the current Gurkha in these spy images, there are certain key differences if you look closely. For starters, the portion of the body above the rear wheel is completely new. The Gurkha now gets a single rear window that replaces the dual-pane unit seen on the outgoing model. The new Gurkha will get fresh cosmetic bits too, that should make it look more modern, yet retro.
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Higher-spec variants of the Gurkha are also expected to come with alloy wheels of a good size. The new bodyshell has also been strengthened which should help the Gurkha meet the latest current crash-test norms and also the pedestrian safety norms that are going to come to effect later in this year. Although we do not have any interior spy images of the next-gen Gurkha, you can expect a new dashboard layout, more creature comforts and also better seats (atleast on the higher variants) than the model it replaces.
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The Force Gurkha is expected to continue with its 2.2 liter diesel engine but it will of course be updated to meet the BS6 norms. The engine is expected to produce around 140 bhp, similar to the one on the Gurkha Xtreme. The engine is mated to a new Mercedes-derived G32 5-speed manual gearbox via a dual-mass flywheel. The new Force Gurkha is coming just at the right time if it makes its preview at the 2020 Auto Expo. Mahindra will also be debuting the next-gen Thar at the Auto Expo and these old-school affordable 4x4s can again rekindle their competition.
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