[vikram_d]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

The issue of sudden brake bite that was pointed in the e2o review has been rectified on the new model. It sounded like the vacuum pump for the brake booster now engaged as soon as you begin to press the brake pedal.

They seem to have made this switch on the regular e2o also. In my car this problem seems to have disappeared after the second service. The vacuum pump now switches on as soon as the brake lever is pressed.

[PPS]

Originally Posted by Anand3553

I have a doubt, could be stupid . Why there is one charging point for normal charging and one for fast charging? Why dont they make the fast charging as the only option? Is there any difference in efficiency when done the normal way?

Originally Posted by Rehaan

As for why they don't have just fast charging by default : Cost. It would cost more for the components to enable it, both, within the car as well as for the external charger too.

The fast charging setup costs Rs 5 lakh more! Thats what was told in one of the auto shows which i was watching yesterday.

[freedom]

I can't get a electric socket in my parking lot.

Mahindra, give me a small efficient petrol engine to charge the battery on the go. I don't need anything fancy like petrol+electric power etc. Just a way to charge the battery on the go when it gets down to say 20% charge.
I will buy this car even at this price.

[vsathyap]

Why cant they make the all shiny black roof hold a PV solar panel instead? I agree there will be very little useful charge coming out from the panel but it can be used to run accessories and stuff that do take up some percent of the total battery. How cool would it be to park your car @ 50% battery and come back an hour later at 55% battery? We have abundant solar energy in India..so it should be a no brainer.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by norhog

What is the expected battery life of this (LFP) battery.?

While the warranty is 5 years, the senior Mahindra Electric folk were quite confident about it being more like 7 years.

Originally Posted by speedmiester

Mahindra was offering a battery lease option for 5 years on E2O wherein the customer has to pay a fixed amount towards leasing the battery for 5 years. Anything happens to the battety during this period, the battery will be replaced by Mahindra. This option is not available now.

I asked about this, and they said they are considering an alternative. Not leasing just the battery, but some other arrangement. Let's see if / what they come up with...

Originally Posted by vikram_d

This setup was originally planned for a solar panel on the roof. But the added cost, weight and loss of range could not be justified.

I think anyone with even a little experience with solar panels would have been able to predict this from the start, however, announcing something like this always plays out well from the marketing standpoint.

Originally Posted by norhog

Also what about the water proofing of all electrical componemts, considering there are many Indian cities with high rainfall and water logging problem.

Do see this video:

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

Originally Posted by vikram_d

They seem to have made this switch on the regular e2o also. In my car this problem seems to have disappeared after the second service. The vacuum pump now switches on as soon as the brake lever is pressed.

Oh that's good to hear!

Originally Posted by PPS

The fast charging setup costs Rs 5 lakh more

Perhaps, for the charger part of it? This makes sense from a fleet point of view, where that cost is split between several cars.

Originally Posted by vsathyap

How cool would it be to park your car @ 50% battery and come back an hour later at 55% battery?

But would you still feel the same way if it cost you 1.5 Lakhs (random number) for that additional 5% charge?

[GeeTee TSI]

Quite encouraging to see this electric car become more and more 'complete'. Many cars higher up, stint on features like projector headlamps and comprehensive instrumentation (with 80's calculator displays)
But what's with Indian car manufacturers and the odd wiper 'park' positions? (Hexa/Aria, Nano, now this) Wipers should preferably remain out of sight in this day and age, rather than appear in the field of view.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by GeeTee TSI

Wipers should preferably remain out of sight in this day and age, rather than appear in the field of view.

There's three reasons the modern trend is to have wipers tucked away under the edge of the bonnet:

1) Aerodynamics (doesn't really apply to cars like the e2o)
2) Pedestrian safety (the hard protrusions can do serious damage to a pedestrian's upper body during an impact. Not sure what pedestrian tests we have enforced here in India, if at all)
3) Looks

[InControl]

Took a test drive of the e2o plus and felt that it can be a very good second car for the house.
Its a good enough car but when you drive it you dont feel anything special about it whether its the ride quality or the noise insulation.There is nothing which stands out apart from the fact that its electric.
7.6 lakhs on road for the version with the music system and other bells and whistles in Bangalore.

And yes, i felt that there is very little space to put your foot on the accelerator.

[sunil8089]

Nice review and really appreciate the futuristic efforts from Mahindra...

But for a common man, there are two hindrance factors to buy an electric vehicle like e2o Plus:
- Unavailability of sufficient charging infrastructure
- Value for money at the current offered price of 7L.

Let's look at the following scenario:

Assume an A segment petrol car worth 4L, having an average mileage of 13km/l runs around 1000 km a month.

The operational cost per month = No of liters x cost per liter
= (1000/13) x 66 = Rs.5076.

Operational cost for 5 years = 5076 x 12 x 5 = Rs.304615.00 = 3.04L

Assuming the maintenance costs are equal for both e2o and the petrol car, the total cost of ownership (TCO) for 5 years = Cost of the car + operational expense

For petrol car = 4L + 3.04L = Rs.7.04L

For e2o = 7.2L

For an average user still the TCO of a petrol car is cheaper than e2o Plus. For a diesel car it will be even more better. In other words for an average e2o owner, it will take at least minimum 5 years to breakeven the cost compared to a same segment petrol car and enjoy the real fruits. But one big pitfall is there is a high probability of battery degradation / failure in five years for a regularly used battery operated vehicle. This again results in a huge cash outflow (Normal electric vehicle battery costs 2L to 2.5L).

Thereby owning an expensive electric vehicle possess a greater risk than a petrol or diesel vehicle.

Apart from this for a petrol or diesel car.

• don't have a speed limit of 85km
• never want to get worried about running out of energy (battery charge)
• no need to search around for a power outlet
• never think about frequent power cuts in this country

For more details please refer:
http://www.forbesindia.com/blog/busi...e20-dont-work/

In this case Mahindra has to clarify their prospects / customers
- how many charge discharge cycles the battery will be supported?
- the cost of battery replacement

As technology matures and more competitors come to this space, we can hope for better products at a better price. Apart from this, it may be a welcome measure, if government can provide some tax waivers / reduced taxes for electric vehicles.

[speedmiester]

Originally Posted by sunil8089

Value for money at the current offered price of 7L.

Let's look at the following scenario:
Assume an A segment petrol car worth 4L, having an average mileage of 13km/l runs around 1000 km a month.

The operational cost per month = No of liters x cost per liter
= (1000/13) x 66 = Rs.5076.

Operational cost for 5 years = 5076 x 12 x 5 = Rs.304615.00 = 3.04L

Assuming the maintenance costs are equal for both e2o and the petrol car, the total cost of ownership (TCO) for 5 years = Cost of the car + operational expense

For petrol car = 4L + 3.04L = Rs.7.04L
For e2o = 7.2L

Please, no car at 4L OTR will give you electric mirrors, touch screen music system with BT, reverse camera, GPS, 165 profile tyres, Keyless entry, Automatic, remote diagnostics, smartphone connectivity and the space offered by E2O Plus.

E2O should be compared with City Hatchbacks like Wagon R, Celerio and others. These cars with AMT option will cost anywhere between Rs. 5.7L OTR to 6L OTR while a P6 variant E20 Plus costs Rs. 7.6L OTR after fame subsidy
So the initial incremental cost is little over Rs. 1.5L

I have driven over 19000 Kms in little over 25 months averaging around 700Kms per month. This is only inside Bangalore City

I have spent a little over 44K in electricity bills during this time this includes my home electricity bill. So that pretty much equates to less than one rupee per km driven.

Attaching the pic for reference.

While at the same time, have this been a petrol car it would have costed me around 80K taking 15KMPL and taking an avg cost of Rs.65 per litre of petrol.

That's a saving of more than Rs. 60K in two years not including maintenance costs.

Mahindra provides 3 years free service and my first two 10K Kms service bills are "ZERO"

For an average user still the TCO of a petrol car is cheaper than e2o Plus. For a diesel car it will be even more better. In other words for an average e2o owner, it will take at least minimum 5 years to breakeven the cost compared to a same segment petrol car and enjoy the real fruits. But one big pitfall is there is a high probability of battery degradation / failure in five years for a regularly used battery operated vehicle. This again results in a huge cash outflow (Normal electric vehicle battery costs 2L to 2.5L).

The cost of replacement battery is around Rs. 1.5L when I purchased it, this will surely come down due to new advancements in battery technology

My comments in bold

Thereby owning an expensive electric vehicle possess a greater risk than a petrol or diesel vehicle.

Apart from this for a petrol or diesel car.

• don't have a speed limit of 85km
  
  It is a city car, how often one exceeds 70Kmph in our city roads, I have never faced any issues with top speed. But for each his own
  
• never want to get worried about running out of energy (battery charge)
  
  I never had to worry about it, as most of my commute and drives are well planned and are within 80KM range my E20 provides.
  
  Agree it is a constraint if it is the primary car in the house. Since I have another car, this has never been a concern for me
  
  Also the car comes with regenerative braking which extends the range beyond the indicated 80Km, I have driven my car for over 95Km in one single charge with still 8Km range remaining.
  
• no need to search around for a power outlet
  
• never think about frequent power cuts in this country

For more details please refer:

http://www.forbesindia.com/blog/busi...e20-dont-work/

Can’t comment on it as I have never faced any issues with power or recharging, I have a proper power outlet in my parking space and there are public charging station one in a mall and other at a Mahindra service station within one km from my residence ]

In this case Mahindra has to clarify their prospects / customers

- how many charge discharge cycles the battery will be supported?

My car is two years old and I recharge pretty much daily, still my battery is offering full range without any deterioration in capacity or range.

- the cost of battery replacement

This is around Rs. 1.5L when I purchased my car, this might come down over the years

As technology matures and more competitors come to this space, we can hope for better products at a better price. Apart from this, it may be a welcome measure, if government can provide some tax waivers / reduced taxes for electric vehicles.

[SanjeevKalra]

Do all models of e2O plus have fast charging. The website gives confusing result under charging section. I am trying to see if P2/4/6 has fast charging option or not.

Thanks,
Sanjeev

[speedmiester]

Originally Posted by SanjeevKalra

Do all models of e2O plus have fast charging. The website gives confusing result under charging section. I am trying to see if P2/4/6 has fast charging option or not.

Thanks,
Sanjeev

Only P2 and P8 variants have fast charging. P2 is a fleet variant so only sold to taxi's.
But the fast charging facility itself cost as much as the car.

[Nav-i-gator]

Originally Posted by speedmiester

Please, no car at 4L OTR will give you electric mirrors, touch screen music system with BT, reverse camera, GPS, 165 profile tyres, Keyless entry, Automatic, remote diagnostics, smartphone connectivity and the space offered by E2O Plus.

E2O should be compared with City Hatchbacks like Wagon R, Celerio and others. These cars with AMT option will cost anywhere between Rs. 5.7L OTR to 6L OTR while a P6 variant E20 Plus costs Rs. 7.6L OTR after fame subsidy
So the initial incremental cost is little over Rs. 1.5L

Sir,

If it HAS to be a second car, one can buy a second hand petrol car, or even a CNG one. Much lesser cost and TCO comparable to a pure EV with no constraints on mileage and charging time. One can use it for primary purpose as well if needed.

IMO, hybrid cars are the future (at least near future, till the time alternate tech like fuel cell become commercially viable). Cars that run on battery with a secondary small petrol engine for recharging on the go or for additional power when needed.

Much more than the limited range of EVs, it is the charging time which is a constraint i think. We can have as many charging points as we have petrol bunks. But it still need a few hours to charge (if fast charging). A tank full of petrol need just 5 minutes.

[SanjeevKalra]

Hi fellow Team BHPians,

Has anyone bought e2o plus? If yes, which model and at what price in Bangalore. Also, which model makes more sense. Does buying P4 and fixing Infotainment system make more sense? Any niggles and issues in new e2o plus. I see this thread is not very active and may be an indicator that not much members are keen on e2o due to demand for EVs.

Thanks,
Sanjeev

[condor]

Saw a yellow board e2O on Monday evening. Couldn't click a pic due to the traffic. But quite surprised that it was a yellow board.