The pursuit of a life of originality and adventure often sees you leave so much behind. It doesn’t have to be that way, you know? That adventure, or living on your own terms, is the domain of a handful is a myth — you can experience it everyday, if you like. Of course, it helps if you drive something that defines your life and who you really are. The Force Gurkha is something that instantly comes to mind when you think of a life of adventure, no?
But what if you already happen to live in Goa, a state rich in natural splendour and an enviable pace of life? Out here, you can do as you please, on your time. Of course, it doesn’t just happen to you — you have to choose it. It’s quite an adventure in its own charming way, especially if you’ve got a Gurkha for company, making your everyday life so much more interesting. Be it motoring around through the state for your professional pursuits or taking a breather by the sea at the end of a long day, the Gurkha adapts to each role you assign it rather effortlessly.
You know it as an icon, but the Gurkha is more than just that. It empowers you, with a sense of refinement, composure and calm. Beneath its timelessly brawny appearance is a car that’s easy to live with, like you wouldn’t believe. It is, of course, a legendary off-roader which has proven its popularity amongst enthusiasts but out here, in the urban jungle, it still rises above it all. Literally so. The commanding driver’s seat gives you a near bird’s eye view of your surroundings, towering above traffic around you, and it’s a sensation that never gets old. It doesn’t end there, though. The Gurkha has got the power, the presence to really make you stand out. And all you need to do is sit back and enjoy the view.
Humankind, though, wasn’t born to be complacent, to settle. And so, while an adventurous life in Goa is tremendously appealing, it can also, sometimes, get monotonous. What do you do then? It’s simple. You set off on a full-blown adventure. While it is true that no matter what you come up with, the Gurkha will eat your adventuring plans for breakfast, you’ve still got to try, right? In any case, while your routine day may have been nice enough, out on the highway is where life really happens — so you’ve got to be there!
With 320Nm of torque from its Mercedes-derived 2.6-litre common-rail diesel engine, the Gurkha feels at home on the highway. It cruises with incredible ease, its 5-speed gearbox allowing you to settle at highway speeds where you can barely hear the engine hum, while its robust suspension is ever ready to take on the surprises our highways can sometimes throw at us. The dual air-con chills the cabin rather quickly and you also have a touchscreen infotainment unit that, for a moment, may make you forget you’re driving among the world’s most capable off-road vehicles. It’s a seriously well-equipped machine, the Gurkha.
As a result, no matter how far you intend to go with it, the Gurkha always delivers with confidence. On this occasion, we weren’t logging a great distance — barely 200km south of Goa — but the idea was to head into the uncharted. To go completely off the grid, out of the reach of cellular connectivity and the Internet, and to experience nature from behind the Gurkha’s iconic flat windscreen.
Soon, we did arrive. It was difficult to pinpoint where exactly we were, except that we’d ventured into the dense forests of north Karnataka. Well, we did want a real adventure and now we had one on our hands. What do you do in such a situation? Here’s a good idea — you make the most of it!
You have to feel how terrific the Gurkha is off road to understand what makes it such a legend. While it does have all the right numbers in place, from its brilliant approach and departure angles (39 and 37 degrees, respectively) to its 233mm of ground clearance and its staggering 700mm of water wading depth, it’s how robust, how raring-to-go it feels over the toughest terrain that really defines the Gurkha. It’s a go-anywhere off-roader in its truest sense. And there’s simply nothing else like it.
We ploughed through muddy tracks, scaled slippery slopes that would intimidate even the most skilled drivers and ventured into unknown trails knowing fully well we’d emerge out of them with the Gurkha’s might. When a powerfully gushing stream presented itself, for instance, all we had to do was power through. It’s one thing to emerge unscathed from this kind of adventure and entirely another, to feel empowered to explore even further. That, the Gurkha does handsomely.
You may live an adventure every single day of your life but to be out here, in the wild, where you can get into serious trouble… that’s a different kind of thrill. An essential one, too. With the Gurkha by your side, though, there’s no adventure too intimidating. It’s called a 4x4x4 for a reason, you know?
