[S2!!!]

Mahindra Reva has kick started "The Goodness Drive" from Srinagar, Kashmir to Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu. Three Mahindra e2o cars will be driven across the length of the country, in a month.



The drive was flagged off by Arvind Mathew, CEO, Mahindra Reva, in the presence of former Sri Lankan Cricketer - Aravind De Silva.



As a promotional event, to showcase the electric vehicles' capabilities, to spread awareness about the product as well as to counter the myths of a limited range of this car, this drive will pass through 52 locations within the country and cover a distance of over 5,000 kilometers.

[sidzz]

I always wanted to own an electric car, but I highly doubt the long distance capabilities and power delivery of the same.

Hope this drive will bring some more competitive products in the market.

[Rajeevraj]

Wonder how they can say that the limited range is a myth. It is the truth. if I am not wrong the E2O has a range of 80-100 km, so handling the recharges will be a challenge. Either carefully planned to ensure proper charging facilities or maybe some portable charging option will go along with it?

[iliketurtles]

Originally Posted by sidzz

I always wanted to own an electric car, but I highly doubt the long distance capabilities and power delivery of the same.

I'm partly with you, I too want to own an electric car, but want something a bit fun and not quite the clown car that the e2O looks. Power delivery on electric cars can be monstrous, as Tesla is demonstrating, and their innate efficiency is very desirable too, not to mention lower ownership costs! Let's hope some progress is made on this front.

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Wonder how they can say that the limited range is a myth. It is the truth. if I am not wrong the E2O has a range of 80-100 km, so handling the recharges will be a challenge. Either carefully planned to ensure proper charging facilities or maybe some portable charging option will go along with it?

The range of the e2O is limited, but the current car does 120 KM in the city. With a light foot and prudent management, plus the fact they're driving on open roads, I reckon these cars can easily offer a range greater than that.

The dream would be to have an electric car powered by solar energy, with the battery charging via a solar panel designed into the roof of the car. That would be incredible; clean, free energy for life, especially in tropical countries like ours where we always have fun in the sun!

[i74js]

Not sure what the company is trying to achieve.

- The product is not readily available for TD
- M & M not making it available across country (FAME benefit is also not applicable PAN India)
- Tie up with a taxi company for self drive options (which could be an alternate testing ground for future buyers at 1000/day) has not worked out
- Dealers with their absolute audacity try to sell you fossil fuel based car when you approach and enquire about e2o, my personal experience at Delhi dealership !
- People are generally unhappy with after sales experience (our forum has couple of examples)
- Media promotion is completely missing
- The issues and irritants reported by owners are not addressed
- Cars in tier I cities extensively depend upon cabin air conditioning as hot / humid conditions prevail for nearly 8-9 months in a year (Delhi, Mumbai); the range of car gets severely compromised with AC. The present drive in good weather would require AC for very limited portion, may not be used just to ensure the range between 2 consecutive charges

Keeping my figures crossed as am not able to contemplate the outcomes of this 5k long drive.

[Vid6639]

This is hilarious!!

The best case range of the E2O I remember was 80-100kms. Taking the best case 100kms that too at reduced speeds means that you need to recharge the cars 50-60 times in the trip (if you have ghats it's even lower). Each recharge takes nearly 6 hours. That's 300-360 hours charging time. 360 hours is 15 days in charging time. Then you add the actual drive time for 5000kms with an average of 40kmph (very optimistic). That's another 6 days of driving.

In 24 hours they can drive a maximum of 6 hours with remaining 18 hours in charging.

This is going to be an awfully slow drive.

[kaviprem]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

This is hilarious!!

The best case range of the E2O I remember was 80-100kms. Taking the best case 100kms that too at reduced speeds means that you need to recharge the cars 50-60 times in the trip (if you have ghats it's even lower). Each recharge takes nearly 6 hours. That's 300-360 hours charging time. 360 hours is 15 days in charging time. Then you add the actual drive time for 5000kms with an average of 40kmph (very optimistic). That's another 6 days of driving.

In 24 hours they can drive a maximum of 6 hours with remaining 18 hours in charging.

This is going to be an awfully slow drive.

While I don't deny the overall message you are trying to convey, all the data points that you mentioned are wrong.

The current e2O is of 120 KMs and its a realistic 120 KM, not a myth without using AC.

In my year long ownership, none of my charging time took 6 hours [a few being 0 to full]. BTW, these units might be installed with the "Rapid charging" unit that could charge to 100% less than 2 hours if I am right. The problem is how they would have planned the charging location !

Comfortable max speed that we can easily reach without revving hard is 60 KMPH, not 40 KMPH. Even in ghat sections, we can reach 60 KMPH with a little bit hard revving.

It may be something like this ...

100KM drive - 3 hours break - 100 KM drive.

Its not so great. But, what M&M may want to achieve is to create a news item out of e2O about its capabilities.

Prem.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by kaviprem

While I don't deny the overall message you are trying to convey, all the data points that you mentioned are wrong.

The current e2O is of 120 KMs and its a realistic 120 KM, not a myth without using AC.

In my year long ownership, none of my charging time took 6 hours [a few being 0 to full]. BTW, these units might be installed with the "Rapid charging" unit that could charge to 100% less than 2 hours if I am right. The problem is how they would have planned the charging location !.

Thanks for the correction Prem. I had no idea the range had increased to 120kms. I went purely by our official review for the range numbers.

Also, since they will be doing a lot of highway driving, doesn't the range actually drop a lot. I remember reading that the range drops if you exceed 60kmph.

Comfortable max speed that we can easily reach without revving hard is 60 KMPH, not 40 KMPH. Even in ghat sections, we can reach 60 KMPH with a little bit hard revving.

Actually if you go back and read, I wasn't talking of maximum speeds, I was referring to average speeds. Unless you are on the GQ type 4-6 lane expressway roads, a lot of the roads from Kashmir to Kanyakumari will be state highways that are single lane.

Maintaining an average of 60kmph with a car that I don't think can even sustain 100kmph means your average speed will be much lower. Which is why I mentioned average speed of around 40kmph. Even in our regular cars when driving in triple digits we usually average around 60Kmph for a 1000kms drive.

It may be something like this ...

100KM drive - 3 hours break - 100 KM drive.

Again I had no clue on the rapid charging feature. Does it need 15A plugs? How easy is to do a rapid charge on the highway where they will need to plan to have a electricity point every 100kms?

[speedmiester]

As an E2O owner, I have no doubt on the capability on the car.

Rather than showcasing the cars, Mahindra should have showcased quick charging facilities and introduce such stations between major cities.
Along with this, they should have introduced higher range batteries for the expedition.

The car can keep up with speeds of 60KMPH easily and can reach speeds of 80KMPH.

[Rajeevraj]

Honestly, I like the e2o and would have definitely considered it if I was in the market for a city run about. Problem is the price. For what it offers, my ideal price would be 4L OTR.

Originally Posted by Vid6639

How easy is to do a rapid charge on the highway where they will need to plan to have a electricity point every 100kms?

I personally think they will have a generator van ( the kind we see at film shooting locations) shadowing or at least on standby. That way they do not have to depend on finding charging points, which in my opinion would be risky even if it has been planned.

[vikram_d]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Also, since they will be doing a lot of highway driving, doesn't the range actually drop a lot.

Why would the range drop on the highway? This car is just like any other. Once you reach your cruising speed, it will need minimal throttle input to keep it at that speed. Also if you drive cleverly you can get good amount of regeneration happening.

I remember reading that the range drops if you exceed 60kmph.

Range does not drop with respect to speed. It drops with respect to throttle usage. Just like any other car.

The current model has a range of 120 kms and the max I have done is 112 kms and the readout still showed me 6km range left at the end of my journey and this was with the AC on the entire time. It also included about 40kms of night driving with the headlights on. I did not have to activate the revive mode. My daily commute is 60kms and I charge the car every alternate day at either home or office after it has done around 90 odd kms.

As far as cruising speed is concerned I comfortably cruise between 60-70kmph on BETL everyday. The top speed I have done in this car is 83kmph according to the odo while the GPS was showing exact 80kmph. So I really don't think that cruising speed is an issue.

I am really looking forward to seeing what kind of range these guys can extract from it on the highway.

Oh and quick charging needs 420 volts three phase power. I wonder how they will get that on a highway.

[hybridpetrol]

Originally Posted by i74js

Not sure what the company is trying to achieve.
Keeping my figures crossed as am not able to contemplate the outcomes of this 5k long drive.

Completely agree with all your points!

A company which wants to drive from Kashmir to Kanyakumari to promote the car & boost sales, should also sell it everywhere!
Now the cars are available at a total of 8 cities.
If I want to buy or even test drive this car, it is not possible, as the car is simply not available for sale in my city. A strictly city-only car does not get a lot of buyers, be it electric or fuel based. Example: Many shied away from Nano because of doubts over its highway competence.

I guess the folks on this trip would have to tow the vehicle for the stretches where the charging stations are not available, or carry a number of extra batteries along to replace & drive.

With whatever poor R&D investments Mahindra are doing on e2o, only this much is possible, as they are not fully involved in electric cars yet.

I wait for the day, when a full fledged manufacturer such as a Hyundai or Maruti steps in to manufacture electric cars at a large scale.

[Bh.P]

There seems to be a lot of skepticism about this drive by Mahindra.
I feel the main aim is to increase popularity of EVs and prove that long drives are possible with some planning. I would like to view this as a good beginning and hope they succeed in making EVs more popular and accepted.

Oh, by they way, they can also make the car more value for money so more people think of buying it. I feel there are lot of people who want to go electric, but are just turned off by the pricing. Today, they are selling a Nano at Tesla's price.

[bliss_now]

Here is an extract from a Mckinsey publication on auto industry.
"Indeed, we believe that regulatory pressures, technology advances, and the preferences of many consumers make the end of the internal-combustion engine’s dominance more a matter of “when” than of “if.” The interplay of those forces will ultimately determine whether range-extended electric vehicles, battery electric vehicles, or fuel-cell electric vehicles prevail".
Source: http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/man..._auto_industry

In my opinion, leaders in automotive sector have come to terms that electric way is the future of mobility. M&M has the taken the first step in India and I really appreciate M&M for that. Yes, Mahindra could have done so many things in so many different ways with its E2O project and we can certainly provide our e-consultancy.

Originally Posted by iliketurtles

I'm partly with you, I too want to own an electric car, but want something a bit fun and not quite the clown car that the e2O looks.

Hello there. My intention was also to own an electric car that is fun to ride. I travelled to Bangalore, test drove an E2O and got it shipped to my little town. You know, I just love it – including the clownish looks. For your information, I had also considered a particular car called Jetta, produced by Volkswagen. It just looked plain boring, uninspiring and reminded me of an ugly duck that I used to spot in a small pond near my little town – specially that black coloured one. I must admit though, Jetta simply drives like a gem. I would certainly consider Jetta as my third car if I were able to reconcile with its “looks”. Cheers.

Originally Posted by Bh.P

I feel there are lot of people who want to go electric, but are just turned off by the pricing. Today, they are selling a Nano at Tesla's price.

Just to add some perspective here.
Converted to Indian rupees, Tesla's base model, Model S, price is approximately 50 lakhs.
E2O price is around 7.5 lakhs.

[prakash_ajp]

I agree with some comments about the price. It looks like everyone wants to rip off the guy who wants to do his bit for the environment. Think about this: In the current situation, owning a car like this comes with lot of trade-offs. To name a few, size, range, availability of charging ports or the lack of same etc. If you really want to get people on board, there should be some incentive, right? I have a feeling that Mahindra is just riding on the good will of people because you can buy two nanos for the price of this car. And before you raise that point, this car is not as clean as you imagine, unless you have a solar or wind mill at home. Sorry to break it to you but only a quarter of our electricity comes from clean sources in our country!