[Omkar]

Mahindra XEV 9e Review

Mahindra XEV 9e Pros

• Bold & futuristic styling. Has strong road presence and stands out from the crowd
• Spacious interiors with comfy seats and fine ergonomics
• Powerful motor sends 282 BHP to the rear wheels (0-100 km/h in 6.8 seconds)!
• Sorted suspension offers good road manners & high-speed stability
• 79 kWh battery pack should comfortably offer 450 - 500 km real-world range. This is enough even for road-tripping with the family
• Lifetime warranty on the battery is a big assurance for EV owners
• 663-litre boot and the 150-litre frunk mean you can carry a lot of luggage
• An endless list of features with some very unique ones like 3 high-quality screens, augmented reality integrated head-up display, infinity roof with interactive lights, 16-speaker Harman Kardon system with Dolby Atmos, selfie camera, UV filtration glass, auto-park with remote car control and way more
• Safety tech includes Level 2+ ADAS, 7 airbags, fatigue alert system, all-wheel disc brakes, ESP, front parking sensors, 360-degree camera, hill hold, hill descent, TPMS, etc.

Mahindra XEV 9e Cons

• Rearward visibility is horrible. Tall headrests and coupe styling seriously hamper rear view for the driver
• Some cabin plastics don't feel premium in an otherwise loaded SUV. Excessive piano black in the cabin isn't to my tastes and makes it very difficult to keep scratch-free
• This car is extremely complex - we have concerns over niggles & bugs in a freshly baked Mahindra, especially the early batches
• Mahindra's after-sales service is a hit or miss. Remains a gamble. Wondering how many of them will be able to handle such a complicated car too
• The usual EV challenges (charging infrastructure, setting up home charging etc.)
• Missing features like a full-size spare tyre (you get a skinny 135 mm space saver which will cap your cruising speed to 80 km/h), cooled glovebox and no physical buttons for HVAC controls
• While we love the styling, it is definitely not to everyone's liking. Has already divided the opinions of BHPians

This review has been jointly compiled with graaja. Thanks to him for the expert observations and photography!

Introduction

If you’re late to a party, be sure to make a stellar entrance. That’s what Mahindra has done with its latest EVs. It has created a lot of hype and excitement around the cars and the kind of discussion we’ve had on the forum is a testament to it. So, if you’ve not followed the recent buzz around these EVs, let’s start from the basics. Mahindra has unveiled its ground-up electric vehicles, which are based on the INGLO architecture. As of now, Mahindra has launched 2 EVs that are based on this modular skateboard architecture. They are the BE 6e and the XEV 9e. The car that you see here is the XEV 9e which is the bigger of the two. In terms of size, it’s comparable to the XUV700 or the Tata Safari, has a coupe shape at the rear and is an SUV that focuses on comfort.

Let’s look at some of the specifications. It will be available with 2 battery options – 79 kWh and 59 kWh. The bigger 79 kWh battery pack is mated to a 282 BHP motor and the smaller 59 kWh battery pack is mated to a 228 BHP motor. Since this is not an IC engine convert, but a ground-up electric car, there is no need to place the motor at the front. On the Mahindra XEV 9e, the motor is placed on the rear axle and powers the rear wheels only. We don’t have a lot of rear wheel drive cars in the mass market, so this is definitely an interesting proposal for a lot of enthusiasts.

Even when it comes to charging, Mahindra has amped up the system and supports 2C charging. This means that it can support up to 175kW DC fast charging which will tank up the 79kWh battery from 20-80% in just 20 minutes! The ARAI-certified range as per MIDC Phase 1+2 is 656 km (79 kWH) and the WLTP range (inhouse Mahindra test) is 533 km. In real-world driving conditions, you should be able to get ~450 km of range comfortably. We got to drive the XEV 9e on normal roads and at the Mahindra test track. In all fairness, we didn’t get to spend much time with the car and we will add more observations when we drive it in our home city.

Mahindra XEV 9e Price & Brochure

Mahindra has announced the introductory starting price of the XEV 9e - Rs. 21.90 lakh (ex-showroom). More details on the pricing will be available when bookings open sometime in January 2025 and deliveries are expected to commence by the end of February or March. The starting price for this ‘Pack 1’ variant is for the smaller 59 kWh battery pack and is pretty attractive. Some of the features included in the Pack 1 are 19-inch alloy wheels, Bi-LED auto headlamps, LED taillamps, rain-sensing wipers, 6 airbags, triple screen setup, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, 5G connectivity and more. The brochure and more details will be revealed closer to the launch.

[Omkar]

Mahindra XEV 9e Exterior Review

Big and bold front end with LED DRLs running across the sides and the top of the grille. It’s an aggressive-looking front end with prominent creases that make the car stand out:


It's the same story at the rear as well. LED tail-lamps and the pilot lamps cover the sides and run end-to-end, almost looking like a Mexican handlebar moustache. You have the clean Mahindra logo and the model name in big letters. I think Mahindra should’ve named it better. XEV 9e feels like a product code rather than a name:


Viewed from the side, you can see that the silhouette is clean and seamless. Bonnet is pretty flat and then you have the roof sloping down all the way to the rear. Wheelbase of this INGLO platform for these two cars – BE 6e and XEV 9e has been kept the same at 2,775 mm. That’s why you have big front and rear overhangs. Ground clearance is rated at 207 mm, while the battery has a clearance of 218 mm:


The XEV 9e measures 4,789 mm in length, 1,907 mm in width and 1,694 mm in height. Thanks to the very concept car-like design, it attracts a lot of attention on the road. Muscular bonnet and a sharp nose just add to the road presence:


Overall build quality is solid and the car doesn’t feel flimsy at any place. There is good heft to the doors. The paint quality is also satisfactory and overall, the car looks good in person. This is the Tango Red paint shade:


Sealed-off front grille has a simple layered pattern. Notice the neat integration of the front camera at the top. The lower part of the bumper is finished in piano black, which is very reflective and also attracts scratches. Edge-to-edge DRLs accentuate the sense of width:


A look at the headlamp cluster which has a jewel-like design. The automatic headlamps have a booster function as well which adds power to the high beam when you’re driving at high speeds and there is no oncoming traffic:


Under the bonnet, you have this big frunk with a capacity of 150 litres. Very useful for storing some stuff:


The XEV 9e is equipped with ADAS Level 2+ which has 5 radars and one camera that you see here. Mahindra claims that it can detect cows, pedestrians, barricades and different types of vehicles and that it has been tuned for the complexities of Indian road conditions:


Dual-tone ORVMs have integrated turn-indicators and also house the camera for the 360-degree view system:


These 20-inch wheels are optional. They add a bit to the firmness of the ride. They’re shod with 245/50 R20 Goodyear ElectricDrive tyres which provide good grip. 19-inch wheels are offered as standard with aero covers:


Alloy wheel gets aero inserts. Their design is fairly straightforward and something we’ve come to expect on electric cars. All-wheel disc brakes are standard:


You get a massive panoramic glass roof:


Moving to the rear, you can see how sharply the roof descends into the tailgate. Some people like the coupe roofline, while some don’t. It’s still a polarizing design concept:


A closer look at the LED tail-lamp:


Notice how neatly the rear camera has been integrated into the LED pilot lamp strip. New Mahindra logo for its electric SUVs looks like the Meta logo. If you’re wondering where the XEV 9e went, some test cars had it and some didn’t. Hopefully, there’s more consistency when the cars come to the market:


Look how sharply the rear bumper tapers upward. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a design like this:


This is the Everest White paint shade:


Here’s the XEV 9e in the Desert Myst shade:

[Omkar]

Mahindra XEV 9e Interior Review

Getting in and out of front seats isn’t cumbersome. As soon as I stepped inside the cabin of the XEV 9e, it reminded me of the XUV700. Of course, there are a lot of differences, but there are some similarities as well. The big elephant in the cabin is the triple screen layout, which dominates the dashboard. The overall quality of materials is good and you get some soft-touch elements across the dashboard. The quality of plastics and the fit and finish levels are acceptable. It’s a mix of some high-quality materials and some average materials:


New 2-spoke steering wheel from Mahindra seems to draw inspiration from Tata with the illuminated logo in the middle. The leather-clad steering wheel is almost round with the bottom section being almost flat. It gets tilt and telescopic adjustment. You also get a top dead centre marking and the steering is actually nice to hold. The hornpad stretches all the way to the side which feels a bit uncomfortable. On the left spoke you have controls for the infotainment and on the right, you have the ADAS and MID controls. There are two buttons on the top of the two spokes that adjust the regen levels. The button on the bottom left is to activate one pedal drive and the one on the right is to activate the boost function:


12.3-inch MID is very clear and has very cool graphics as well. You get a range display on the left and the power usage display on the right:


The XEV 9e and the BE 6e get a head-up display which is also integrated with blind spot monitoring and has Augmented-reality navigation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drw2adbfueM

Quick access to some of the functions on the right-hand side of the driver:


Spacious footwell with a well-sized dead pedal. Aluminium pedals are spaced comfortably and look cool too:


The doorpad design is exactly like the XUV700. Door pockets can hold 1-litre bottles and some other knick-knacks. The grey shade on the armrest and near the door handle looks a bit dull:


New window and mirror control panel. The buttons are easy to use and feel durable:


Big leather-upholstered front seats are very comfortable. They look nice, have good under-thigh support, and the side bolstering keeps you in place when cornering on twisty roads. You also get manual lumbar adjustment and seat ventilation:


12.3-inch infotainment unit is paired with a 16-speaker Harman Kardon sound system with Dolby Atmos. Sound quality is excellent and there are various presets and sound experiences you can choose from. The infotainment packs a lot of information and features. The screen is responsive, has a crisp display and doesn’t have any lag. Unfortunately, like many modern cars, the A/C controls are integrated into the touchscreen and you don’t have physical buttons. The overall layout and user interface is very BMW inspired IMO:


Here’s a quick video showing the display and other lighting features of the XEV 9e and the BE 6e:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tK4V2vuYV8

A/C vents are placed below the touchscreen. Below, you have a panel with some vehicle controls. These aren’t touch-sensitive controls, but buttons that need to be pressed. I found this to be extremely annoying as there are times when you press the button, but it doesn’t get registered. Traditional buttons would’ve been much better:


Tiny start-stop button gets a chrome ring around it. Also, check out the leather insert on the dashboard:


Below, you have a retractable cover. Press the lid at the bottom and…


...it opens up to reveal two mobile phone slots. The bottom slot has wireless charging and you also get 2 USB-C charging ports:


New transmission mode selector has a simple yet elegant design. Next to it, you have the electronic parking brake and the auto hold button:


Below, you have a round knob and buttons around it to control functions on the touchscreen. Very much like in BMW cars:


The driver armrest can slide forward and has a small storage area underneath which is cooled:


I recently saw a selfie camera in the new Mercedes E-Class and BMW 5 Series. I was not expecting to see one in the XEV 9e. The camera also tracks the driver’s face for fatigue and sends alerts:


One of the most annoying bits about having a coupe roofline is that it restricts rearward visibility. Add to that, the thick D-pillars and big headrests make it even more difficult to see anything:


View through the IRVM is even worse!


ORVM is wide and tall. It gives you a good view of the action at the rear. You also have a blind spot monitor alert integrated here:


Passenger side of the dashboard has another 12.3-inch touchscreen, which is meant for entertainment:


The system has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8295 Processor with 6th Gen Adreno GPU. You can play videos and even stream movies from OTT platforms seamlessly. The best part is that the videos play smoothly without any lag in high quality:


The glovebox is properly sized and can hold more than just your car documents. There is an elastic strap at the bottom to keep loose documents in place. In addition, a second storage slot at the top has been designed for holding a tablet or small laptop. On the flip side, the glovebox is neither illuminated nor cooled:


Roof console houses individual map lights and switches for the sunshade and SOS function:


Rear seat gets 3 individual headrests and 3-point seatbelts for all passengers. Floor is flat and the cabin width is good for three adults:


Getting in and out of the rear seats is not difficult. The backrest is set at a nice angle and you can even recline it further:


At 5’10”, I had good knee room behind my driving position. The headroom was just about enough for me and I’m sure taller occupants would have their heads brushing the roofliner. Under-thigh support is good and while the seat cushioning is on the softer side, it is still comfortable. Rear windows get retractable sunshades:


Centre armrest is set at a decent height. It houses 2 cupholders:


For additional rear legroom, use this lever to slide the front seat ahead:


Provision for a tablet behind the front seats. There’s also a 65W fast-charging USB C port:


Rear A/C vents get individual flow direction controllers but no air volume controller:


There’s a wireless charging pad at the bottom of the console. Strangely when I placed my phone, it didn’t work:


You get 663-litre boot space as per VDA-ISO V211 which measures from the boot floor to the top of the seat. The loading lip is high and you have to lift your luggage higher to keep your bags inside the boot:


You can fold down the rear seatbacks using these levers in the boot:


Once the seats are folded, you get a lot more luggage space:


Underneath the boot floor, you have a Styrofoam casing that houses a spare wheel with tools and also the charging cable:


Very cool-looking key fob for the new Mahindra EVs. The buttons on the side are to move your car remotely out of a tight parking spot:


Here’s a small video on auto parking features of the XEV 9e and the BE 6e:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWiEwFEN5yk

[Omkar]

Driving the Mahindra XEV 9e

As mentioned earlier, there are 2 battery options available with the XEV 9e – 59 kWh and 79 kWh. Mahindra is currently using the battery packs with blade cells from BYD. They are assembled in India at the Chakan plant in Pune. As we know, these battery packs from BYD have high packing efficiency. Conventionally, the batteries have battery cells packed into modules first and then each module is packed into battery packs. However, the BYD battery has a cell-to-pack structure and there is no module. This helps to pack more cells in the given space. The LFP battery has an energy density of 141.5 Wh/kg. Mahindra is offering a lifetime warranty on the battery pack which is applicable for the first owner of the vehicle (private registration). In case there is an ownership transfer, the warranty on the battery will be 10 years or 200,000 km from the vehicle delivery date.

Talking about the powertrain, the motor (79 kWh variant) produces 282 BHP and 380 Nm. It has 3 components packed into 1, namely the motor, transmission and charger (AC-DC converter). The motor sits on the rear axle and powers the rear wheels only. The 0-100 km/h acceleration time is claimed to be 6.8 seconds. From on paper specs to on-road behaviour. We got to drive the 79 kWh battery pack variant with the 282 BHP motor.

The XEV 9e gets off the line in a smooth manner as you would expect from an EV. Driving around in the ‘Everyday’ mode gives you a good mix of power and comfort. The power delivery is linear and the car gets up to speed very quickly. Driving around in the city is pretty enjoyable and comfortable. The tall seating position, light steering wheel, and linear power delivery mean that you won’t mind being in the driver’s seat while in the city. The motor delivers torque instantly for you to close the gap to the car in front and make those quick overtakes as well. You can even switch to the Range mode for a smoother power delivery. The good news is that there’s enough pep in Range mode to help you keep up with the traffic.

On some open road, you will be able to unleash the 282 BHP motor. The claimed acceleration time of under 7 seconds is very much believable. The car gets off the line very quickly and it surprises you how fast this big SUV moves. There is also a boost function which can be activated with a button on the steering wheel. This function gives you 10 seconds of additional power for a faster launch.

Cruising at 80 or 100 km/h is effortless and overtaking is very easy. You don’t even have to switch to Race mode. You can make almost all overtakes in either the Range mode or the Everyday mode. EVs are known to have a weak top-end since the motor rpms are limited to conserve the battery. That’s why you will see most EVs have their top-speed limited. Well, the Mahindra XEV 9e has a top speed of 202 km/h which is a lot for an EV. We got to drive on the high-speed track in the Mahindra facility and the car managed to touch 200 km/h with ease. The progress from 150 km/h to 200 km/h was obviously slow, but the car managed to do it.

There are 3 driving modes to choose from. There’s some difference between these modes as they alter the accelerator pedal response and also the steering weight.

• Range Mode: This is the mode when you want to extract maximum range or even want to enjoy a smooth drive. You won’t feel that the car is lacking power in this mode. It has enough grunt to keep up with the traffic and make those quick overtakes. We found this mode to be the best for driving in the city.

• Everyday Mode: This is the default mode to drive in and it works well in the city as well as on the highway. It provides a good balance between power and economy. The throttle response is a bit sharper than the Range mode.

• Race Mode: The throttle response gets noticeably sharper in this mode and the car feels ready to fly. The power delivery is still pretty linear which is a good thing. You won’t find this mode to be too jerky and with smooth throttle inputs, you can drive around comfortably in this mode as well. The steering gets noticeably heavier in this mode. It's good as the heft is something enthusiasts will appreciate.

Regenerative Braking

Mahindra has covered all the bases with regenerative braking. There are 3 levels of regeneration that can be adjusted via the buttons on the steering wheel. I found Level 1 to be the most comfortable with very IC engine-like engine braking. Level 2 was also okay, but in the maximum level of regeneration, there is a noticeable jerk on lift-off. There is a Level 0 as well where the car just keeps rolling when you lift off the accelerator. If you are a fan of one-pedal driving, Mahindra has integrated it with the XEV 9e. There’s a button on the steering wheel to engage "One-Pedal Drive". Once engaged, the regeneration level is automatically cranked up to Level 3.

Noise, Vibration & Harshness (NVH)

EVs are inherently silent, which is why, all the other aspects like wind noise and tyre noise get amplified inside the cabin. Mahindra has installed acoustic and UV protective windows and windshields to keep the noise levels down. On normal roads, the wind noise starts creeping in at 90 km/h. The Goodyear ElectricDrive tyres have foam inside them to reduce tyre noise and that works. Overall, the noise inside the cabin is well controlled.

Range

The XEV 9e with the 79 kWh battery pack has an ARAI-certified range of 656 km and the WLTP in-house tested range is 533 km. Mahindra has also claimed to have done real-world driving range tests in different metros across the country. According to the results across different cities, they got an average of 500 km real-world range with AC ON. The least they got was 491 km in Jaipur and the highest range they got was 559 km in Coimbatore. Some of the other cities that were also tested are Bangalore (508 km), Chennai (529 km), Hyderabad (504 km), Pune (503), Chandigarh (539 km), Delhi (515 km), Mumbai (497 km), Goa (553 km) and more. We’ll wait for some ownership reviews for more real-world range figures.

Charging

The INGLO platform on which the BE 6e and the XEV 9e are based allows 2C fast charging. The 79 kWh battery pack can charge from 20-80% in just 20 minutes using a 175 kW DC fast charger. As 175 kW DC fast chargers aren’t very common, here are charging times for more common chargers for charging the battery from 5–80% - 27 minutes for 150 kW, 45 minutes for 90 kW and 65 minutes for 60 kW.

You can also use an AC wall charger which is available in 2 options – 11 kW and 7.2 kW. The 79 kWh battery pack charges from 0-100% in 8 hours using an 11 kW charger and in 11.7 hours using a 7.2 kW charger.

Charging port has been placed within the tail-lamp cluster:

Suspension

Ride Comfort

The Mahindra XEV 9e is equipped with a McPherson strut suspension at front and a 5-link independent suspension at the rear. It gets a stabilizer bar at the front and rear. One of the features that Mahindra highlighted was that the dampers are semi-active. In essence, there are displacement sensors at each wheel and an IMU Sensor (Inertial Measurement Unit) that calculates in real-time, the variation in road conditions and adjusts the damping force accordingly. There is a solenoid valve at the bottom that controls the flow of oil in the damper. The system calculates the damping force based on various inputs like vehicle speed, wheel displacement, body movement, brake and steering and speed breaker inputs.

While driving, the first thought you will have is that the suspension is tuned for comfort. The ride quality is good in the city and the suspension feels absorbent. You can glide over small to medium-sized potholes without having to worry about the suspension. It is a Mahindra after all. It doesn’t feel fragile over bad roads. Large potholes do register themselves inside the cabin, but the car doesn’t lose its composure. But given that this is an EV with a heavy battery pack on the floor, there is an inherent stiffness to the suspension setup. You will feel quite a bit of side-to-side movement when driving on rough patches of road. The 20-inch optional wheels are also a contributor to this. Variants with 19-inch wheels should have a slightly better ride.

Handling & Dynamics

Straight-line stability is good and the XEV 9e feels stable till 120 km/h on normal roads. There is a hint of vertical movement at speed, but it is never unnerving. While most of the road undulations at high speed are handled well, the ride isn’t completely flat. On a well-laid tarmac like the Mahindra SUV Proving Track, the car felt very stable. Even at 150-160 km/h, the car didn’t feel nervous. Above that, you have to be careful. Note that these speeds were done at a closed high-speed track and not on public roads.

Try to throw the car around some corners and you feel the bulk around you. The chassis, however, is capable and the car manages to hold its line pretty well. That said, there is some body roll and it is not a car you would want to go attacking corners with. The weight distribution is also well-managed, which gives you more confidence in the corners. However, as mentioned earlier, this is a car that’s best for comfort driving.

Steering

Mahindra has equipped the steering system with a Variable Gear Ratio (VGR). The steering rack has different pitches, which means that the feel is different in the middle as compared to the end lock. Basically, the rack has a narrow pitch in the middle. This helps when driving at high speeds, where the slightest of movements won’t steer the vehicle in a direction. There is a neutral zone in the middle which is good for high speeds. On the sides of the steering rack, the pitch gets wider which means that the steering response increases. This is more useful when you want to take sharp turns or U-turns. You don’t have to keep rotating the steering wheel. The wheel angle tightens progressively. Due to this, the XEV 9e has a turning circle of 10 meters. Thanks to the ADAS level 2+, the steering system also has some added functions for auto park assist and lane keep assist. When it comes to driving, the steering feels direct and gives good feedback. It weighs up well as the speed increases and also in Race mode. It is fairly light and easy to use in Range and Everyday modes.

Braking

All-wheel disc brakes are offered as standard. Mahindra has also equipped the XEV 9e with brake by wire. The traditional booster has been replaced by an integrated electronic booster. What this does is that before applying the mechanical brakes, the system uses regeneration to slow down the vehicle. If more force is needed, then the mechanical brakes are applied. This system is claimed to give a range benefit of up to 18%. The brakes felt sharp and responsive. The brake pressure was linear and progressive which helped in slowing down the vehicle in a predictable manner.

Disclaimer: Mahindra invited Team-BHP for the XEV 9e test-drive. They covered all the travel expenses for this driving event.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[ampere]

Amazing review! The only point I keep wondering is how the grill designs have evolved for EV. The grills for ICE engines are so nicely designed vis-a-vis the EVs where they are still evolving.

The larger the front the grill design has more options possible. But i still dont see that showing up in the current cars. I hope they evolve with time. They definitely need more contrast in the design element.

[s2K_scorpioN]

It looks pretty stunning, I'll say. Very digestible silhouette, and elegant, futuristic design. This is very much an all-rounder + an EV. Another hit for Mahindra. I'm starting to get tired of the success of one company. Why can't other car makers take a note from Mahindra, being bold is the only way. Mahindra was late to the game because they did it the right way, no hack jobs, ground up and in house. Even base model seems to blow the top-end Curv out of the water.


BUT, infamous Mahindra niggles could bog down the sales. Ehhh.. who am I kidding, most won't care enough.

[shankar.balan]

A lovely and comprehensive review thank you both!
Enjoyed reading it and it packs a wealth of information.

We must appreciate this effort by Mahindra. It is as good as others in the EV world.

A few points;

1.Is there a ‘definition’ and a ‘time-binding’ to this ‘lifetime warranty’ they are offering?
2.Rearward visibility from inside - can be a pain unless one is adept at using the ORVMs and camera combo when reversing but when driving forward having the benefit of only ORVMs can be a little disconcerting.
3.Rear headroom is a problem, for all tall folks. Very clearly. While the coupe styling is very good looking and all, this is one serious drawback that I have observed across all the Coupe SUVs I have sat in.
4.Yes I agree that many of us would be concerned about the after sales service - is there sufficient knowledge transfer, training, spares availability, expertise and experience at the service centres? This along with the fact that most service centres are rushed off their feet and completely swamped with the sheer volume of old-generation Mahindra vehicles and their new generations of consistent hot-sellers too.
5.While spares may be relatively easily available in metros, I am given to understand by friends based in rural areas and tier 2-3 towns that spares are a challenge there.

Anyway, all the best to Mahindra.

Looks like though they are a late entrant, they have a better set of offerings than Tata has at the moment. I hope that they are also better at the servicing aspect.

[Gotham]

Excellent Review , captures all the required details extremely well

I love the design & feel this is quite VFM Package. If Mahindra ensures all the bugs are sorted out well then they surely have a winner , the service staff will take a couple of months to get the hang of handling such a complex car. I wish Mahindra the very best

[GTO]

What a mindblowing machine! These are the kind of EVs that will take 'electric cars' mainstream, and even draw in those customers who weren't even thinking of an EV. An ICE car with this kind of size + performance + features + technology will easily cost 50 lakhs. In fact, it is becoming increasingly tough to justify spending over 50 lakhs on cars, due to the kind of models we have in the 30-50 lakh range today.

I absolutely love the styling. Great to hear about the power & suspension. A true game-changer. Am amazed at Mahindra's consistency of launching one blockbuster after another = XEV 9e, Thar Roxx, XUV 3XO, XUV700, Scorpio-N, 2-door Thar...

Mahindra is truly the king of 20-30 lakh SUVs & Crossovers, be it body-on-frame or monocoque, 4x4 or 4x2, petrol / diesel / electric.

My biggest concern is with the niggles of the early batches. Even though I bought a 2-door Thar 2 years after launch, I still faced 6 niggles. And that's in a car which is so simple compared to the XEV 9e. If I were buying this car, I'd definitely wait for 2 years for a more sorted product. Another reason I'd wait is, I have a feeling we will be seeing a more powerful AWD variant with dual motors

[1.2TSI7DSG]

Mahindra has made EV as an object of desire in India!!!

Mission successful for stage one.

Product quality, niggles will need careful mitigations. Especially when you have an EV, the NVH issues will be more severe. 12+ speakers won't be able to mitigate the noise of the door rattle.

[tbppjpr]

These cars are going to transform the Indian automotive scene for forever.

I wonder how Mahindra managed to offer so many unheard features for most people in the segment below 25 lakh. Not only the electronic gimmicky features, but their full blown mechanical capabilities add huge aspirational value to these cars.

Man, I thought we got to know about every feature about these ultra modern cars by now but then I saw the sunroof lighting in this TBhp review here, that I never saw or heard in any car.

Who thought one day Mahindra will be here from those ladder frame based rattling Jeep copies?

We were just talking about the Windsor few days ago how that was different from the conventional Tata EVs, but these cars have made even Windsor look like a car from long gone history.

[vamsi.vadrevu]

Fantastic review. I was eagerly waiting for it. The price and the specs make it a mouthwatering deal. This seems to be a well-sorted and well-rested package. Many people sitting on the fence about electric vehicles will definitely be eager to get these.

A question about the Panoramic roof - I've read that it illuminates. In your test drive, did you notice issues with heat. I understand that it's the middle of winter and difficult to judge this but, could you throw some light on how the glass felt like in the sun

[Turbanator]

What an ugly-looking machine! It’s extremely polarizing; some (most) people will like it, but many will simply close their eyes.

I’m sure the driving experience and power will be top-notch because many of the components are from China, and Mahindra has a setup in Europe for chassis.

Why couldn’t they have built something simpler, like the Model Y, and focused on minimalist design with a focus on the powertrain, drivability, and overall reliability?

[graaja]

Originally Posted by vamsi.vadrevu

A question about the Panoramic roof - I've read that it illuminates. In your test drive, did you notice issues with heat. I understand that it's the middle of winter and difficult to judge this but, could you throw some light on how the glass felt like in the sun

It was overcast the whole day, with no heat at all from the sun. So, we could not experience the heat insulation of the windows and the roof.