Mahindra E20 - The Next-Gen Tech-Packed Electric Car

What is it? The next-gen tech-packed electric car from Mahindra and Reva

Price from: $11, 920 (on-road, Delhi)

The success of electric cars as a mainstream mode of transportation is still quite some time away. The bottleneck in their progress has primarily been the batteries. Even modern lithium-ion ones are not very efficient to run, as they don’t hold enough power for their weight and the space that they occupy. This severely caps the range of electric vehicles and that, coupled with the fact that they take hours to recharge, hampers their practicality. To top it off, they are frightfully expensive, and that pushes the price of electric cars up. That said, there is a limited role for electric cars. The range of 80-100km is sufficient for a city runabout. Also, very low running costs and zero emissions make a strong case for the electric car.

The success of electric cars as a mainstream mode of transportation is still quite some time away.

Mahindra’s new e2o is the only fully electric car currently on sale in India, and is a big upgrade from its predecessor, the Reva. The fit and finish of the body has improved to a large extent, but some large panel gaps near the door are present. Since it’s a two-door car, getting into the rear seats needs some effort, but getting out is even more difficult, especially with the big battery pack sitting under the front seats. However, the rear seats are quite comfortable, there’s plenty of headroom, and even legroom is adequate. The front seats are comfortable too, and although the backrests are narrow, they offer good support and there’s plenty of thigh support as well. The fit and finish of the dashboard as well as the quality of seat fabrics are good. There’s a hint of typically Mahindra parts in the cabin, especially the air vents. The large touchscreen interface has been well integrated, the digital speedo and information pod look high tech and, while the gear selector feels a little cheap, overall, the cabin is well made. A downside is that luggage space is limited. You’d manage to fit in no more than a couple of small, soft bags in the back. But you do have the flexibility of folding the rear seats to increase luggage space quite a bit.

The success of electric cars as a mainstream mode of transportation is still quite some time away.

Finding a good driving position is easy, but the offset accelerator pedal sits where the brake should have been, which takes a bit of getting used to. Selecting ‘F’ for Forward via the gearlever is also slightly tricky and can take getting used to. However, once on the move, you start to appreciate the car a lot more. The e2o’s quiet motor gets the car to take off smoothly and the throttle responds well. But ask for more power or a sudden burst of acceleration, and the e2o does not move forward with enthusiasm. For that you need to select ‘B’ or ‘Boost’ via the gear selector. Throttle responses are slightly sharper in this mode and there’s a bit more pulling power, so it’s perfect for when you want to overtake. Overall, 40kph is quite strong, but after that, the rate of progress slows down and the car just about makes it to 80kph.

The E20’s quiet motor gets the car to take off smoothly and the throttle responds well.

The ride quality is quite good and even large potholes don’t cause too much of a problem. You can drive over broken sections of road without wincing and that ups the comfort level a bit. However, the soft suspension means that there is a bit of body roll when you steer into corners. The e2o isn’t a car that wants you to take corners enthusiastically, but the unassisted steering does offer good feedback. At parking speeds, the steering does feel a little heavy, especially with a full load onboard. As with all electric cars, the regenerative brakes feel spongy and are not confidence inspiring. They do at least deliver a reasonable amount of confidence when you step on them hard and their stopping power is pretty decent.

Look under the skin and, despite the traditional framework, you realize how high-tech this car really is. The chassis is made up of box and tubular sections, with crash-absorbing beams in the nose, a coffin-shaped battery box with 48-volt lithium-ion batteries under the front seats, and a 19kW (25.5bhp) electric motor between the rear wheels. The compressor of the air-conditioning system is very small and uses an inverter for greater efficiency. Cars today are all about electronic controls and checks, and the E20 is no different in this respect. It has ten onboard computers; one for energy management, another for the motor drive, one for the charging system, yet another for connectivity and one for the air-con as well, among others.

Look under the skin and, despite the traditional framework, you realize how high-tech this car really is.

In order to stop you from worrying when the e2o will run out of power, Mahindra has come up with a number of innovative solutions for which it has applied for more than 30 patents. For example, you can plan your trip with the help of Google Maps, with the software telling you how far you can go before having to turn back. You get an additional 10km of ‘limp home’ range before your battery completely dies and the car can even ‘revive’ your dead battery and give you a further 10km. What’s more, a 15-minute quick charge can also get you an additional 25km. Also, owners can be connected to their car via a phone application, and each e2o (anywhere in the world) will also be constantly in touch with the service center via a data sim card placed in every car.

Mahindra E20 inside

The e2o is not as practical as an everyday hatch. The two-door configuration means access to the rear is poor, the batteries have a limited range and build quality is not as good as conventional petrol-powered cars. Look beyond this though, and the e2o is truly a special vehicle. It’s smooth, silent, easy to drive, high on tech and, at the end of the day, has what it takes to get the job done. The on-road price in Delhi for the T-Zero base model is pegged at $11, 920. But this includes sops amounting to $3,600 from the state government.

As a result, the e2o in Reva’s home market will cost a whopping $14,000 (on road); the only sop it gets in Bangalore is a halving of road tax for electric cars. In Mumbai, the T-Zero model costs $13,420 (ex-showroom), while the higher T-2 trim comes in at $14,100 (ex-showroom), which is quite pricey. So, as ever with electric cars around the world, the e2o is a bit too expensive to be a solely practical buy. You have to want and be willing to pay for something a bit different.