The 2024 Force Gurkha range will be sold at Rs. 16.75 lakh and Rs. 18 lakh for the Gurkha 3-Door and Gurkha 5-Door, respectively. OPAV Opinion.
After the official unveil, Force Motors today launched the 2024 Gurkha range in the Indian market. Available in two body styles i.e. 3-Door and 5-Door, the lifestyle off-road SUV rivals the likes of Maruti Suzuki Jimny and Mahindra Thar 3-door as well as the upcoming Thar 5-Door Armada. The Gurkha 3-Door costs Rs. 16.75 lakh (ex-showroom) while the Gurkha 5-Door will set you back by Rs. 18 lakh (ex-showroom).
2024 Force Gurkha Launched: Price Analysis
The price of a product is usually gauged with a point of reference and in this case, the Maruti Suzuki Jimny and the current Mahindra Thar 3-Door are positioned in the same lifestyle off-road segment. As the Gurkha is available in a single variant, we will compare the top-spec trims of the aforementioned SUVs.
The Mahindra Thar 3-Door top-spec LX 4WD Hard Top Diesel manual transmission costs Rs. 15.75 lakh (ex-showroom). So, the Gurkha is Rs. 1 lakh more expensive than its Mahindra counterpart. On the other hand, if we factor in the top-spec Diesel AT trim of the Thar, the price goes up to Rs. 17.20 lakh (ex-showroom), making it more expensive than Gurkha 3-Door by a good Rs. 55,000. But, you get a proper AT gearbox for your rescue.
Comparing the top-spec manual trims of both cars, the power output specs are almost identical. The Gurkha used to come at around Rs. 15 lakh (ex-showroom) earlier. Considering the overall upgrade from the previous model, the premium of over Rs. 1.5 in the ex-showroom prices is somehow hard to justify. While it is quite obvious that Thar has become an aspiration product in India, pricing the Gurkha at a premium is not a good move and certainly will not work in its favour.
The Jimny, although positioned in the same segment, can’t be directly compared to the Thar and Gurkha. For reference, the top-spec Jimny manual costs Rs. 13.70 lakh (ex-showroom).
Also Read: Force Gurkha 5-Door Revealed: 140 BHP, 233mm GC & More – OPAV Autos
2024 Force Gurkha Launched: The Not-So-Good Points
There are a number of factors which doesn’t work in the favour of the Gurkha like:-
- Limited sales and service network
- Absence of an automatic gearbox.
- 5-speed manual gearbox, the competition offers a 6-speed unit.
- Despite the bump in power specs, the outright acceleration is nothing to write home about.
- Lack of creature comforts.
Force Gurkha 5-Door: How it will stack up against the Thar 5-Door Armada
As we already know (thanks to the spy shots) how well loaded the upcoming Mahindra Thar 5-Door Armada will be with features like a sunroof, 6 airbags, automatic HVAC, keyless entry, digital driver’s display and more. It will be hard for the Gurkha 5-Door at Rs. 18 lakh (ex-showroom) to pull a decent number of buyers. However, having its own set of advantages, it will still appeal to a very small group of customers. Mahindra has always been aggressive with its pricing and we can expect the same in the case of Mahindra Thar 5-Door Armada.
