Thar Roxx Vs Force Gurkha Five Door

We got 5-door Gurkha vs 5-door Thar before GTA6! And now I am going to compare the desi G-Wagon against the desi Wrangler to tell you which is the better SUV. Welcome to this comparison of old school but real SUVs, no jacked up front wheel drive hatchbacks here, the SUVs here are as real as it gets with their body on frame platforms and off-road hardware.

The Thar is marginally longer and wider than the Gurkha, it has a 25 mm longer wheelbase but the Gurkha is taller by a considerable 172 mm. Looks are always subjective because beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, but due to the weird design of the C-pillar and extra doors, it’s the Gurkha which looks better to me and of course the snorkel, G-wagen type indicators on the hood and the rear ladder makes it look even more purposeful and Force Motors have done a better job in designing the rear doors than Mahindra! By the way; the rear ladder, roof rails, roof rack and windshield bar are all mandatory accessories.

Fun fact: While Jeep are not happy that Mahindra make a replica of the Wrangler, Mercedes have no issues that there is G-Wagen copy in the form of the Gurkha, in fact Force Motors assemble engines for Mercedes in India and also for BMW!

Step inside and the Thar Roxx absolutely blows away the Gurkha with its far superior interior and equipment list. Quality, fit-finish, interior design and features in the Thar Roxx are not just better, it is a difference of day and night here, if the Gurkha’s interior is crude and barebones, the Thar’s is ultra luxurious in comparison with its leather inserts on the dashboard and doors.

The Gurkha has a 9-inch touchscreen which feels aftermarket, well because it is, while the Thar’s bigger 10.25-inch unit has far better UI and speed, also gets a ton more features in it like adventure statistics and connected car tech. But this interior comparison is pointless as the Gurkha has absolutely nothing to flaunt while the Thar is overloaded with stuff like a massive panoramic sunroof, electric parking brake, auto hold, ventilated front seats, powered driver seat, auto dimming IRVM, 360-degree cameras, a wireless phone charger, more USB ports including USB C with fast charging capability, automatic climate control, a blind spot monitoring system, front parking sensors, ambient lighting, leatherette seat upholstery, steering adjustable for both rake and reach, a cooled glovebox, steering mounted audio controls, a far better music system from Harman Kardon, cruise control, 6 airbags and while both have fully digital clusters, the Thar’s is just better, again!

The Thar Roxx MX5 diesel MT 4WD is the right variant to compare with the Gurkha as the Gurkha has just a single trim while the Thar has 6 trims, yet even the lower trims of the Thar Roxx are far better equipped. That said, the price difference with the top-variant is Rs. 5 lakhs but you definitely get your money’s worth with any and every variant of the Thar. The Thar also gets level 2 ADAS, the Gurkha has level -2 ADAS but that’s fine as I don’t find ADAS useful in our country!

Both cars get Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity but Apple CarPlay is not activated in this Thar Roxx while in the Gurkha, it doesn’t seem to work! 

Getting in the Gurkha is a bit difficult due to its height but the rear door is bigger, making it easier while the Thar Roxx has much more space, it even has reclining rear seats which make it super comfy as the Gurkha’s second row seats are fixed and upright. By the way, even the centre rear passenger gets a headrest in the Thar, but not in the Gurkha! Also the Gurkha’s driver seat doesn’t get height adjust which is a big bummer.

But the Gurkha has a few positive points going for it, like the front arm rests are more comfortable, it is a manual and it has a dead pedal, the Thar doesn’t have it. All 4 power windows in the Gurkha have 1-touch down function but the power window switches are placed in the centre next to the gear lever, while the Thar now has power window controls on the driver door, the Roxx having 1-touch up and down for the driver side only. In the Thar, you can open the sunroof and driver window from the key. The interior of the Gurkha will not get dirty as Force has been sensible of not using light beige colour for an off-road car while the rear door opens in one step and not a cumbersome 2-step like in the Thar Roxx. Can not blame Mahindra here, Jeep does the same so they had to too!

But the biggest USP of the Gurkha is that it is a 7-seater, making the Thar’s boot bigger here but getting to the last row is a pain as you have to do it from here but these seats are captain chairs but space is not great in the third row. By the way both cars get rear A/C vents but the ones in the Gurkha seemed to be installed at Karol Bagh! The door pockets are also smaller in the Gurkha and kinda useless.

The Gurkha comes with just a diesel manual option while with the Thar Roxx, you get both petrol and diesel, manual and auto, 4×2 and 4×4 – the customer really has choice here!

By the way, the Gurkha 3 and 5 door are identical in equipment but the Thar 3 and 5 door are very very different cars.

The Thar offers way better performance simply because it makes more power and torque – 175 HP and 370 N-m against 140 HP and 320 N-m of the Gurkha. Mahindra’s 2.2-litre diesel engine is more tractable, refined and high revving when compared to the Gurkha’s 2.6-litre Mercedes sourced engine.

But the Gurkha’s engine has more feel, yes the gearbox has long throws and is not as smooth as the one in the Thar and the engine gets quite vocal with nothing in the top-end but drive the Gurkha and you know you are driving a proper SUV. Both cars have drive modes – ok, only terrain modes for the Thar Roxx 4WD but you can drive the Thar in any mode and still get good performance while the Eco mode in the Gurkha really feels eco, you need to keep it in power mode only. Irrespective of the modes, the Thar is just the more efficient car here by at least 2-3 km/l.

The Thar has the better suspension – it rides better, it handles better, the suspension is more refined, the wheels are bigger, the electric steering is better calibrated and the brakes are stronger too – clearly Mahindra is a generation ahead here when it comes to dynamics.

The Gurkha feels old school in the way it drives with its hydraulic steering that has play and gives kickback, body roll is more pronounced, vertical and side to side movement is also more pronounced and while the Gurkha feels more rugged with a tank like feel, it simply can’t match the Thar which has a more sophisticated suspension and a car that costs upwards of ₹20 lakh not getting rear discs just highlights why the brakes of the Gurkha are no match for the Roxx, which also gets a lot more electronics like ESP for a safer drive. Higher centre of gravity and weight of the Gurkha does not help when it comes to braking, there is significant nose dive under heavy braking.

Gurkha has an easier to use 4WD lever, this Thar doesn’t have it because unlike Force, which only makes 4WD Gurkhas, not just 4×4 but ‘4x4x4’, Mahindra wants to leverage the Thar image by selling people 2WD Thars which does not align with the rough and tough nature of the car!

But the Gurkha is more capable off-road, right from the higher ground clearance to the 50 mm higher water wading capacity, the Gurkha also has front and rear locking differentials against the electronic locking rear differential of the Thar Roxx, which also has the better approach angle but the Gurkha has the better break-over and departure angles.

The Thar has a couple of interesting off-road bits like the intelli-turn assist which locks the inside wheel and CrawlSmart which is like cruise control for low speeds, a traditional SUV with technology, seems like the best of both worlds; the Thar Roxx proves that your off-road vehicle can rugged and practical at the same time!

There is no denying the fact that as an overall package, the Thar Roxx is a far superior product with Mahindra having a better dealership network and after sales service too! With a multitude of variants and powertrain options, there is a Thar Roxx for every budget and person out there as prices start at ₹15.63 lakh for the base MX1 petrol manual 2WD, going all the way up to ₹27 lakh for the top-end AX7 L diesel AT 4WD, all this makes the Thar Roxx the easy winner in this comparison. However, the Gurkha stays true to its roots by being rugged and crude, it has more feel and sits in a niche which will make it appeal to those who want their SUV to be rugged and bare bones. To sum it up, the Thar Roxx could be your only car but the Gurkha cannot be your daily driver, it is another car to add to your garage, a weekend toy that costs ₹22 lakh.

All prices mentioned are on-road Mumbai.