A clash of titans is about to take place in the lifestyle off-roader SUV market in India. Recently, Force Motors introduced its new Gurkha in three-door and five-door versions. The three-door version of the Gurkha will compete against the current Thar, while the five-door version of the SUV will compete against the upcoming five-door Mahindra Thar, which will be launched around August 15 this year. Although these SUVs are very similar on paper, they will be very different in real life. That’s why we thought we’d give you a comprehensive comparison of the four SUVs today.
Exterior design
Gurkha vs Thar three-door
Both the Force Gurkha and Mahindra Thar are tough, no-nonsense designs that highlight their off-road capabilities. However, the newly updated three-door Gurkha features a much more utilitarian design compared to the three-door Thar. It features a massive snorkel and roof rack as well as a rear metal staircase and its overall dimensions are much larger than those of the Thar.
The three-door Gurkha now comes with a larger set of 18-inch alloy wheels. Otherwise, the SUV remains the same as the pre-facelift model.
The Mahindra Thar three-door, on the other hand, features the iconic Thar design with a slatted grille and circular halogen headlights. Although its overall dimensions are large, they are dwarfed by the Grukha three-door. The Thar also comes with 18-inch alloy wheels.
Gurkha vs Thar five-door
A newly launched five-door Gurkha, this SUV retains the iconic design cues of its three-door sibling. The only innovations are the two additional doors in the middle. The front features a single horizontal grille with Gurkha lettering. It also features round LED headlights and daytime running lights.
It will also feature new 18-inch alloy wheels, as well as a roof rack, snorkel and rear metal steps. The Gurkha five-door is offered in four color variants: green, red, white and black.
As for the design of the Mahindra’s soon-to-be launched five-door Thar, it will continue to feature a similar design to its three-door counterpart. However, the Thar five-door gets a different front grille as well as new LED headlights and daytime running lights.
Like the Gurkha, the side profile of the Thar five-door also gets two additional doors with handles mounted on the C-pillar. There will also be larger 19-inch alloy wheels and a metal roof.
Interior design and furnishings
Gurkha vs Thar three door interior
Along with the Gurkha five-door, Force Motors has also updated the interior of the Gurkha three-door. It now features a larger 9-inch touchscreen and a new 7-inch digital instrument cluster. Other than these updates, it looks almost exactly like the old model.
The Thar three-door, on the other hand, gets a much better looking interior. It also uses a lot of hard plastic and has a small touchscreen. However, its quality is far better than that of the Gurkha. The Thar comes with a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system. Other features include manual air conditioning and cruise control.
Gurkha vs Thar five-door
The Gurkha five-door gets a simple and practical dashboard with hard plastic all around. It will come with a range of modern features including a 9-inch touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
It also features a 7-inch digital instrument cluster and a tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel. Safety features on the newly launched Gurkha include dual airbags, ABS, EBD and a tire pressure monitoring system. The Gurkha three-door has also received these updates as part of its refresh.
On the other hand, the Mahindra Thar five-door will be head and shoulders above in terms of interior features and quality. It will get a two-tone interior design with lots of modern features.
The Thar five-door will come with a larger 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment screen. There will also be a multifunction steering wheel, an electric sunroof and roof speakers.
The main highlight of the new Thar five-door will be the introduction of advanced safety features such as Adaptive Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). Most likely, the ADAS suite will include adaptive cruise control and high beam assist.
Other features could include traffic sign recognition, automatic emergency braking and an anti-driver fatigue system. Recently, a Thar five-door test car with its ADAS camera on the windshield was spotted testing in the country.
Off-road capability
Both the Force Gurkha and Mahindra Thar are known for their off-road capabilities. The Gurkha three-door and five-door models have electronic shifting for 4H, 4L and 2H. They also have impressive approach and departure angles, climbing ability and wading capacity.
It has a manual transfer case, an independent front axle, a rigid rear axle and manual differential locks at the front and rear. Likewise, the Mahindra Thar could offer the same off-road features as the Gurkha once it launches in India.
Powertrain and performance
The Force Gurkha five-door and its three-door sibling are both powered by a 2.6-liter four-cylinder diesel engine. This engine delivers a total of 140 HP of power and 320 Nm of torque. Unfortunately, it only comes with a 5-speed manual transmission. Previously, the three-door Force Gurkha came with the same 2.6-litre diesel engine but used to produce 91bhp and 250Nm of peak torque.
On the other hand, the Mahindra Thar three-door offers multiple engine options. These options include a 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine and a 2.2-litre diesel. There is also a smaller 1.5-liter engine on offer. The Thar five-door (Armada), on the other hand, is expected to be offered with more powerful engine options than the existing Thar.
It is believed that it could be powered by the Scorpio-N’s 2.0-litre turbo petrol and 2.2-litre diesel engines. The petrol engine produces 200 hp with 370 Nm or 380 Nm of torque. The diesel engine now produces 172 hp with 370 Nm or 400 Nm of torque. Transmission options include a 6-speed manual and a 6-speed torque converter automatic. The smaller 1.5-litre engine is expected to be offered with the five-door Thar as it will be significantly heavier than the three-door model.
Pricing
Gurkha vs Thar three-door
The Force Gurkha is offered in only one variant and is priced at Rs 15.10 lakh. On the other hand, the Thar starts at Rs 11.25 lakh for the 4X2 variants and goes up to Rs 17.40 lakh. There are a lot more options on the Thar as it is offered with multiple powertrains as well as soft and hard top roof options.
Gurkha vs Thar five-door
The price of the Force Gurkha five-door has yet to be officially announced. However, reports suggest that the price could be around Rs 15.5-16.5 lakh. Currently, the three-door Gurkha is priced at Rs 15.1 lakh. However, there could also be a price increase once the new model hits the market.
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Meanwhile, the Mahindra Thar is expected to be priced between Rs 15 lakh and Rs 25 lakh. The Gurkha five-door is scheduled to make its official debut on May 2nd. On the other hand, the launch of the five-door Thar could possibly happen around August 15.
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