One of the most important launches in the Indian SUV market this year is the five-door Maruti Suzuki Jimny. The off-road vehicle has no direct competitor in this country. However, Force Motors and Mahindra have announced the launch of five-door versions of the Gurkha and Thar respectively in the segment. While the five-door Thar is slated to launch next year, the five-door Force Gurkha will reportedly have to wait a few more months. As a result, the new Jimny will face tough competition.
The 5-Door Force Gurkha will be launched in a few months
The five-door version of the Gurkha was spotted during testing wrapped in full camouflage. The car will be available in multiple seats. For example – 5, 6 and 7-seaters. Again, the seven-seater version of the Gurkha has also been caught on camera. The third row has two captain seats and a bench seat for the middle row.
The testing model did not feature a touchscreen infotainment system. A different type of four-wheel drive gear is observed though. Needless to say, the length of the 5-door version will be longer than the 3-door model. Its wheelbase is about 400 mm longer. The higher trim of the car gets 18-inch alloy wheels with 255/60 R18 size tires. Again the lower variant gets smaller steel wheels.
The 5-door Gurkha borrows the square headlamps and two-slat grille from the 3-door version. It has a 2.6 liter diesel engine sourced from Mercedes to provide power. This same motor is also available in the 3-door version. Its output is 91 bhp and 250 Nm. There is a 5-speed manual gearbox to handle the transmission.
