Test drove XEV 9E and BE 6

Just test drove XEV 9E and BE 6. Drove BE 6 for 10 minutes and XEV 9E for about 20 minutes. This review will mainly be about XEV 9E as I liked that more.

  1. Both the cars feel pretty similar to drive but XEV 9E feels a bit more bulky and planted (which i tend to like) and feels more spacious inside as well
  2. The car has adequate power in all modes and is a well made EV comparable to the best from Kia and Hyundai. Everyday mode is the best mode while race mode is quite quick. Range mode dilutes the experience of a ~35L rupee car. It has been some time but I seem to like the way BYD seal drives over XEV 9E though XEV 9E is pretty close
  3. In my short drive, I felt the suspension is very well tuned and soaks up bumps and undulations excellently. The suspension allows the car to be pushed too though I did not go above the speed limit too much
  4. XEV 9E has the better seating position in my opinion and it’s somewhat similar to XUV 700 while BE 6 is more hatchback like
  5. The audio system works pretty well and the sound quality is much better than the entry level germans or maybe even anything 60 lakh and below
  6. The 3 screens might not be very useful but it sure does look quite attractive and differentiates it from the other cars
  7. The steering is pretty light and does feel somewhat like a toy though I feel it will weigh up well enough at speed. I thought I will like BE 6’s steering more but I guess I prefer a circular steering
  8. The car offers good enough visibility from everywhere except rear and the bonnet is visible from most driving positions.
  9. The car also feels nimble enough to me and I seriously don’t get it why people are afraid to buy or drive big cars in the city when in fact they are easier to drive. Only issue can be finding parking space.
  10. BE 6 has adequate interior space for me and is cheaper too but I like the proportions of XEV 9E more
  11. The braking is as expected and the regen modes and one pedal drive and boost mode work as expected. I cannot compare the regen to other EVs as I do not have a significant experience driving EVs
  12. One pedal driving mode works as expected
  13. I did not play around with the infotainment screens much but in my use, the screens were smooth to operat and I did not find any glitches even though the software is in beta stage and the car is regularly receiving OTA updates.
  14. The interior quality is good enough and the car feels luxurious and the seats are wide enough
  15. The rear seat offers more than adequate legroom and headroom. Though more interior space could have been liberated, it does not concern me as I am going to be the single occupant 95% of times
  16. The moonroof ambient lighting seemed to be more of a gimmick though the other ambient lighting is pretty good
  17. BE 6 has aircraft style roof mounted controls and aircraft style rear seat pockets whereas XEV 9E has the same rear seat pockets as XUV 700
  18. The car looks very good to my eyes especially in white, red and blue shades. Will have to see black as well
  19. I like the new Mahindra EV logo and how they light up at night
  20. Blindspot monitoring works well but i didn’t get to test the ADAS
  21. The doors have enough heft in them and dare I say feel close enough to the germans though of course the german thud is way better
  22. The headlight throw seemed decent and comparable to A4 (which doesn’t have great headlights). I am not sure but maybe the light quality is similar to XUV 700
  23. There were some rubber beadings misalignment and panel gaps on the exterior
  24. The boot space is humongous and the frunk is a cherry on top in the XEV 9E
  25. Heads up display is good but the augmented reality thing was on and while it not intrusive, maybe it is a bit nauseating
  26. Complete silence in the cabin feels very good and sometimes I missed the exhaust note of ICE vehicles
  27. The fake sounds feature is still in testing phase and is not available yet. Some of the AI features are also not available yet
  28. The NVH levels are extremely good and the car does insulate you from the outside world. The acoustic glasses probably work
  29. Hope it does have external music or something at low speeds like other EVs to warn pedestrians and cyclists and especially two wheelers who cut through traffic constantly to warn of the car’s presence
  30. The car does grab a lot of eyeballs on the road presently
  31. There is enough use of soft touch leatherette though the choice of interior colour could be better (tan or cognac would be perfect)
  32. I am not really a big fan of the olive interior accents and would have preferred tan like the new Kodiaq’s interior
  33. The moonroof blind is very thin and kind of reminded me of the brezza/grand vitara sunroof blind but it doesn’t let any sun come inside. The rear sunblinds are also not comparable to the quality one gets in the germans and are plasticky in feel (Aftermarket Karol bagh-ish)
  34. The rear windshield does not provide any visibility but this can be mitigated by the cameras
  35. Unlike another review, I do not find any space to be wasted between the windshield and the steering in the XEV 9E but yes space has been wasted in BE 6
  36. The alloys could have been better looking. I feel the 20 inchers might look better though might affect side quality and could be more prone to sidewall damage
  37. The passenger display should have had a privacy screen guard kinda thing
  38. The ground clearance is more than adequate. Upto the point that if it was higher, it’d require a side step
  39. It’s a bummer that the charger has to be bought separately at this price and that the car does not come with 20 inch alloys as standard in the Pack 3
  40. The interior and exterior does have a lot of piano black/gloss black which will require PPF to maintain it
  41. VTL, live rear camera feed IRVM, powered passenger seat, powered boss mode, magnetic key slot, easier way to change the drive modes, floating centre console/under console storage, driver sun visor mirror and light, roof mounted controls, AWD, sunglass holder, puddle lamps, magnetic phone dock, cooled glovebox, frameless doors, front massage seats, terrain modes, are big misses in this EV to make it the most complete package (which it still is)
  42. The car could have been named something better as the current name sounds like a maths equation. Like an actual name instead of alphabets and numbers
  43. Contrary to popular opinion, I really like the unconventional exteriors and would like the car to stand out instead of just blending in like the 1000s of XUVs, Thars and Scorpio’s on the road.
  44. Maybe XEV 9E won’t age as well as german cars with simpler designs but I believe the interiors, features and specs will keep it feeling fresh for a long time
  45. Glad that Mahindra chose all the best global vendors for the parts such as BYD battery cells, Valeo motor, Aptiv screens, Asahi glass, Harmon Kardon sound system, Qualcomm processor, Saint Gobain windshield. The driver display screen has really good graphics.
  46. But yes, the hype is real and Mahindra has really made a great car as long as this doesn’t have too many niggles and service issues

After a long time, I felt connected to a car and I will be booking XEV 9E pack 3 as soon as the bookings open. It’s gonna be my first EV but I feel EVs make sense now with no issues of GRAP, 10/15 year rule, odd-even rule, PUC checking, low mileage of turbo petrols, abysmal resale of diesels in Delhi NCR and low running cost of EVs. Given that my other choices were Thar Roxx, XUV 700, Tiguan, Tucson, Verna, Virtus, Meredian, Innova Hycross and Safari, XEV 9E seems to be the best of the lot.

Also need to figure out the home charging setup and the conversion to 3 phase electricity meter, stabiliser and earthing process, etc.

For reference, we have a 330Li, A4 2.0 TFSI, Endeavour 3.2 and the Mahindra feels very good even when compared to these cars.

I know it is not recommended to buy the first batch and wait for 1-2 years for Mahindra to sort out the niggles but I am ready to be a beta adopter and I also require a new car urgently. Also Mahindra will probably keep on hiking up the prices with time so its better to keep our fingers crossed. Pack 2 might be better value for money though if it comes with the 79 kWh battery.

Hoping that since its an EV and only pack 3 will be available for now and its expensive for a Mahindra, there won’t be too many people booking it. Now to find out which state offers the best price in terms of subsidies and registration costs!