When automobiles just like the VW Golf and BMW 3-Sequence are bought in just about the identical type internationally, it’s typically straightforward to overlook that totally different nations usually want very totally different automobiles.

Take India, for instance, and the domestically constructed Pressure Gurkha. The no-nonsense SUV has been round since 2008, providing the sort of severe off-road means rural drivers want for a worth they’ll afford. However to satisfy that worth, refinement and luxurious has needed to take a again seat, till now.

Or at the very least that’s the idea. The most recent Pressure Ghurkha definitely appears a lot improved over the outgoing automotive. It nonetheless rides on a ladder chassis and guarantees true go-anywhere means. You get entrance and rear diff locks (operated by quaint levers; no fancy buttons right here), and a snorkel as commonplace, giving a 27.6-inch (700 mm) wading depth.

And it nonetheless appears like a shameless rip-off off of a Mercedes G-Wagen. However there’s now trendy flush glazing, together with a one-piece rear facet window, LED lights and a greater high quality inside.

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Properly, make that solely barely higher. Coming from a western perspective, the inside appears like one thing out of a Seventies Wartburg, with acres of arduous, shiny plastic dominating the cabin.

And based on Autocar India’s overview, that’s not the one place the refinement is missing. The reviewer explains that the weedy 90 hp (91 PS) 2.6-liter Mercedes diesel engine is sluggish and noisy, and the five-speed handbook gearbox as obscure as a Bronze Age atlas.

The sluggish, sloppy steering additionally will get a slating on this overview, and the reviwer warns potential drivers to observe the off-road mantra of not hooking your thumbs over the spokes even on the street to keep away from the possibly painful results of steering kickback.

However whereas the Gurkha, which takes its title from South Asia’s well-known troopers, nonetheless appears hopelessly agricultural by western street automotive requirements, Autocar says it’s nonetheless miles higher than the automotive it changed on the road, and nearly as good as ever within the tough.

And when automobiles just like the Mercedes G-Wagen and Land Rover Defender have moved away from their easy off-road roots, and even the Ineos Grenadier that desires to fill the house they vacated will value you over $50k, it’s not arduous to see the enchantment of one thing as easy, sincere and inexpensive because the 13 Lakh ($17,700) Gurkha.