Here we are with the comparison of the 3 Indian off-roaders. In this article, you will see the difference between Gurkha, Thar and Jimny. We will compare Performance, Safety, Practicality, off-road capabilities, Interior and Exterior. I have driven, Thar, Gurkha, and Jimny. And, finally tell you which is the practical 4×4 vehicle in India at an affordable price.
Maruti Suzuki Jimny
Price
Jimny was showcased in Auto Expo 2023 and is now on sale from June 2023. There are 2 models Zeta and Alpha. Below you can find the video for the pricing of the Suzuki Jimny. The pricing of Jimny is a bit higher, because of this overpricing many would opt out because what people in India like is “Tashan”, which with Jimny I dont think will fulfil the need. Which Thar and Gurkha would fulfil. I feel Jimny should be priced at least Rs 1.5-2 lakhs less.
Driving Jimny
Jimny Is a lifestyle vehicle and a proper off-roader which has 2 main competitors Thar and Gurkha in India. Jimny is sold globally as a 2-door for the past 5+ years. But taking the practicality into consideration Jimny has launched a 4-door Jimny in India. Jimny’s looks have not been changed just the wheelbase has extended, because of that the break-over angle has been reduced, but that has not created any kind of issue off-road till now.
Jimny is a practical 4×4 vehicle in India and it is more practical than Thar and Gurkha in various ways. For instance, it has 2 extra doors for back seat passengers which makes a huge difference. But after you get in the car the rear seat offers average comfort, but the legroom and headroom for a person under 6 feet is good. Only heavy-built and taller people will have some issues. One major issue which I had is a lack of storage space, you have a small glove box, 2 cup holders and that’s it. Door pockets are very narrow and maybe they can fit your mobile phones. There are no AC vents at the back, but AC felt adequate after 10-15 mins.
Driving Jimny is quite easy, the ride quality is good, and in the city, you get a good punch out of this 1.5-litre engine. You dont find it hard to overtake, you may find it difficult to overtake if you driving in 5th gear at 45 kmph. Otherwise, it is very easy to drive the Jimny in the city, as it is light and small. The clutch movement and the gear throws are a little long but you will get used to them.
The offroad performance was simply amazing. I had no doubt about Jimny’s offroad performance. as I have seen the global Jimny do a lot of things, stock and modified. Yet when I took the Jimny offroad it was amazing. I will test more in the future and update you with a more detailed review of Jimny.
Safety
- 6 Airbags (Dual Front Airbags, Side and Curtain Airbags)
- ABS with EBD
- ESC
- ISOFIX Child Seat Mounts
- Hill Descent Control
- Hill Assist
- Brake Assist
- Rear Parking Camera
- Euro NCAP gave the 3-door Jimny 3 stars out of 5
Practicality
- Jimny has 4-door
- Good legroom and headroom for the second-row passengers
- There is plenty of space under the front seat to stretch your legs
- Decent Size boot (211 Litre)
- The back seat base is short
- Turning Radius 5.7m
Performance
It has a 1.5 Litre 4-cylinder naturally aspirated Petrol engine. The power output is 104 HP and 134 NM of torque. It comes with a 5-speed manual and a 4-speed torque converter automatic gearbox.
Power to weight: 86.31 HP per 1,000 KG
Off-Road Capabilities
- Jimny gets Brake limited Differential
- Ground Clearance: 210 mm
- Approach Angle: 36°
- Departure Angle: 47°
- Break Over Angle: 24°
- Water Wading Capacity: 300 mm
Interior
- Automatic Climate Control
- Cruise Control
- Foldable Rear Seat
- Multi-function Steering Wheel
- Android Auto, Apple CarPlay (Wired)
- 9 Inch touchscreen
Exterior
- Length 3985 mm
- Width 1645 mm
- Height 1720 mm
- Wheel Base 2590 mm
Mahindra Thar
The new Thar was launched in 2020. It instantly became a favourite for many, as it had a similar look to Jeep Wrangler. Thar has a very good road presence, which Jimny lacks. Around 1 lakh units of Thar are sold which is not a big number, but for a lifestyle vehicle that is a pretty great number in 3 years. The price of Thar is Rs 10.55 – 16.78 Lakh ex-showroom and Rs. 12.78 – 20.42 Lakh on road in Nagpur.
Driving Thar
The vehicle looks great but the driving dynamics and ride quality is not up to the mark. I was not satisfied with the comfort of the vehicle, it feels bumpy and harsh. Even with Independent Double Wishbone suspension in the front axle, it does not provide a great ride quality on the road. Whereas Jimny has a 3-link Rigid Axle Type with Coil Springs on both axles, the ride quality is better on the road.
Thar is also not a practical 4×4 vehicle in India, as getting into the back seat is a challenge, you have a very narrow space to get in and out. Also, the boot is quite small for carrying 4 peoples luggage. You have to fold down at least one rear seat to accommodate any luggage
But offroad you would see Thar doing wonders, as that is what it is made for. I dont have to say any specific about the offroad performance of Thar, I have tested it and it easily clears all the obstacles. Only one specific time there was a narrow path with bushes around, I was afraid of scraping the body of the Thar as Thar is quite huge.
There is a 5-door version of Thar which is going to be launched around Aug/Sept of 2024. I will surely review it as soon as I get my hands on that
Safety
- ESP with Roll-over Mitigation
- Hill Hold & Hill Descent Control
- ABS with EBD & Brake Assist
- Dual Airbags
- ISOFIX Child Seat Mounts on Rear Seats
- Roll Cage
- Lane Change Indicator
- Tyre Pressure Monitoring System
- Thar has scored 4 stars in the Global NCAP rating.
Practicality
- Thar has only 2 doors
- Getting into the back seat is a bit challenging.
- The backseat is average and not very spacious.
- But the seat base is good
- Legroom and headroom are good, and you can stretch your feet under the front seat.
- The boot is small
- Turning Radius 5.75m
Performance
- Thar comes with 3 engine options. 1.5-litre turbodiesel that generates a power output of 121 HP and 300 NM of torque.
- A 2.2-litre turbodiesel generates a power output of 130 Nm and 300 Nm of torque. A 2-lire turbo petrol engine generates 150 HP and 300 NM of torque.
- All the engines have 6-speed manual and 6-speed torque converter automatic transmission.
- Power to Weight: 75.14 HP per 1,000 KG Diesel
- Power to Weight: 82.64 HP per 1,000 KG KG Petrol
Off-Road Capabilities
- Earlier Thar used to get a Manual locking Rear differential, But now it gets Brake limited slip Differential
- Ground Clearance: 226 mm
- Approach Angle: 41.2°
- Departure Angle: 36°
- Break Over Angle: 26.2°
- Water Wading Capacity: 650 mm
Interior
- 7-inch touchscreen
- Android Auto & Apple Carplay (Wired)
- 4 Speakers + 2 tweeters
- Steering Mounted Audio & Phone Controls
- Cruise Control
- Automatic Climate Control
- Foldable Rear Seat
Exterior
- Length 3985 mm
- Width 1855 mm
- Height 1844 mm
- Wheel Base 2450 mm
Force Gurkha
Force Gurkha really has an amazing road presence. Because of its low sales, a lot of people dont know what vehicle is this. So you would see a lot of heads turning around to see Gurkha. I was once testing a black Gurkha on the roads, I got such an amazing response from people it was amazing. This is one of the USPs of Gurkha. The pricing is Rs 15.10 Ex-showroom and Rs. 18.43 Lakh on the road in Nagpur.
Driving Gurkha
You seat quite high even Toyota Fortuner and Ford Endeavour guys look up. Also, the turn indicators on the bonnet give you the impression that you are driving a G Wagon. One thing you would notice if you are used to driving a small car, is that it is very big and you have to be careful if you are not used to it. That doesn’t mean it is difficult to drive Gurkha, the clutch and gears are easy to manoeuvre, and the indicators on the bonnet let you know the edge of the front of your vehicle. But when you are reversing you have to be careful, as there is no reversing camera, so make sure you fit an after-market one.
Gurkha is a practical 4×4 vehicle in India when compared to Thar, you have a large rear door to get in and out. But that is your boot area so if you have luggage then getting in and out can be tough.
Overall the ride quality is better than Thar and Atpar with Jimny. Gurkha also gets Double Wishbone suspension in the front axle, but the setup is better for on-road comforts. If there is a bad road, you can literally go over it as if it was a plain road, that’s how the ride comfort is.
I didn’t get a chance to take Gurkha on extreme offroad, but in a mild situation, the front control arm touched, as the Control arms are located slightly lower than other off-roaders. I asked Force about it, but they said it is not a problem. So I did some research on the internet, it is set up that way to give better on-road driving dynamics. But I am sure and I have seen people on Youtube having issues with that control arm, as it scraps on quite a lot of surfaces.
There is a 5-door version of Gurkha which is going to be launched around Aug/Sept of 2023. I will surely review it as soon as I get my hands on that.
Safety
- 2 Airbags (Driver, Front Passenger)
- ABS & EBD
- Seat Belt Warning
- Child Lock
- Overspeed Warning
- Speed Sensing Door Lock
- Anti-theft Engine immobilizer
- Lane Departure Warning
- Rear Parking Sensor
- Tyre Pressure monitoring system
Practicality
- Gurkha is a 2-door vehicle
- You use the back door to get in the second-row seat.
- The second-row seat is the captain seat and you get plenty of headroom and legroom.
- You also sit a bit higher than the front seat and the large glass area makes the cabin airy.
- As for boot space, it is 500L but unlike Thar and Jimny Gurkha does not have a separate compartment, your luggage can toss around if you doing off-roading.
- Turning Radius 5.65m
Performance
It uses a 2.6-litre 4-cylinder turbo diesel engine. The power output is 90 HP and 250 NM of torque. It is driven by a 5-speed manual gearbox, it does not come with an automatic gearbox.
Power to weight: 40.36 HP per 1,000 KG
Off-Road Capabilities
- Front and Rear Locking differential
- Ground Clearance: 205 mm
- Approach Angle: 37°
- Departure Angle: 33°
- Break Over Angle: 25°
- Water Wading Capacity: 700 mm
Interior
- 7-inch touchscreen
- Android Auto & Apple Carplay (Wired)
- 4 Speakers
- USB + FM + Bluetooth Music & Calling
Exterior
- Wheelbase 2400 mm
- Length 4116 mm
- Width 1812 mm
- Height 2075 mm
So which 4×4 you should buy
If you want Tashan, i.e. road presence you can opt for Thar or Gurkha. But Gurkha is underpowered, it has a more linear power delivery, and you won’t get that turbo effect like Thar. So if you are looking for power and Road presence Thar would be a good choice for you. But now you lose on practicality which is better in Gurkha, but also in Jimny. So if you want a Practical, decent power, good practicality and a daily driver vehicle you should go for Jimny. You dont need to think about offroading because all three do a fantastic job. But you would have the weight and size benefit of Jimny if you were in tight situations.
Jimny is small but unique, I am sure it won’t see a surge in sales as it is a lifestyle vehicle, so that would make it unique even in the future. And is really a practical 4×4 vehicle in India at an affordable price. But yes it is a bit overpriced. So which practical 4×4 would you pick in India as your next vehicle from Thar, Gurkha and Jimny?
