[Arkin evoisrevo]

Originally Posted by directinjection

Tata executives have already stated in public that Vista EV will not be launched in India due to the dismal power scenario in the country.
I'm. I though Majority of the homes have inverters and apartments have generators.
Electric cars merely transfer pollution from the road to the place where the power plant is located. After all, they consume electricity! It costs billions to set up a power plant so why should electric cars be subsidised?

Electricity vs. fossil fuel cars.
Pollution during electricity generation vs. pollution during refining of oil.
Non-polluting vehicles. vs. Vehicles that Pollute.
So, Such vehicles are comparatively non-pollutant
However, about the electricity production problems, Tata/Reva could bundle a Solar charger with each car. Don't know how feasible this idea is though.

Nevertheless, it does feel good to read a positive opinion about an Indian car given by a Britisher!

And that too a Tata. Tata's have been thrashed abroad too for their reliability.

[kartikk]

Interesting thread, Mike request yout to please update with more pics. Oh yea one more thing how did you manage to get hold of the car? wish I get to do such stuff

[MikeBoxwell]

Ooh - so many questions. I'll answer as many as I can!

Interesting thread, Mike request you please update with more pics. Oh yea one more thing how did you manage to get hold of the car?

I'll take the car out and get some more photographs when the sun is shining. Anyone who knows what British weather is like will know that might be a long wait!

Unfortunately, I cannot take photographs of what is under the bonnet. This is a pre-production car and I don't think TATA would be too happy if I took photographs of the engine bay.

In the UK, the Government are running a number of schemes to get people to try out electric cars. You can apply to these schemes and the manufacturers then select the people they want to use these cars. You still have to pay for the cars, but people who are successful in applying get to drive cars before they are available to the general public.

I've been driving electric cars for the past five years, and I also write extensively about them, and so based on that it was relatively easy to get onto the scheme. I also live around 7km from the factory, so it is close enough to TATA for them to conduct pre-launch trials.

How much do you think it will cost in the UK?

At the moment, TATA have not come up with any official pricing for the new car. The launch of the car in the UK is scheduled for this summer, so we should hear more soon. It would be a shame if the cars are not made available in India. If they aren't, I'm sure the technology will make its way into future TATA cars that will be sold in Asia.

Electric cars merely transfer pollution from the road to the place where the power plant is located. After all, they consume electricity! It costs billions to set up a power plant so why should electric cars be subsidised?

You make a valid point. Yet it isn't the full story. Electric cars pollute at the power station rather than on the road, but the pollution is less, and of course it reduces the amount of pollution in the cities. Less city pollution = improved city air quality = a good thing. You also need to take into account how much electricity is used to process crude oil to create petrol and diesel. I've heard various figures for how much electricity is used in this way, but the general consensus appears to be that it takes around 1kWh of electricity to create one litre of petrol or diesel. 1kWh will drive an electric car like the Tata around 9-10km.

@Mike how about a review of the Reva NXR as well?

Certainly. You can see it here: REVA NXR Review

Wow!!! Seats 5, looks like a "car", 160km range, 120kmph top speed????

Am I dreaming!?

Well, actually, the EV version is only a four seat car rather than five seat car, but otherwise, no you are not dreaming. This car is real!

Ah! One question that I missed

However, about the electricity production problems, Tata/Reva could bundle a Solar charger with each car. Don't know how feasible this idea is though

It is perfectly feasible - especially in India, where you have a lot more sunlight than we have here in the United Kingdom.

REVA have built prototype solar roof panels for the existing REVA i and are planning to offer the solar roof as an option on the NXR. For India, REVA reckon that the solar roof will allow you to have around 3,000 kilometres of solar powered driving each year.

The roof on the TATA is much bigger and I reckon you could fit twice as many solar cells on the roof of the Indica Vista EV, compared to the REVA NXR. However, it is also a bigger, heavier vehicle with higher power consumption, so you would probably only get a similar solar powered range to the REVA.

In France, a company called Venturi are about to put a small solar powered electric car into production. It's called the Eclectic, and it is a small three seat electric car with a top speed of 45km/h and a range of around 50km. The solar panels are built into the roof. The company has also demonstrated a solar powered sportscar with a top speed of 140km/h, but as far as I am aware, there are no plans to put that particular vehicle into production.

Here's a link to their website: Concept / Eclectic 2.0 / Range / Home - Venturi

[Mr.Beat]

Now that is some exciting news after a long time. The Range of about 160 Km is purely awesome so is the top speed. One question though, does it come with a HVAC? If so, using the HVAC will reduce the range by how much percent?

[erohit]

Thanks a lot Mike for giving a small review on Vista EV.

I think this car has potential to be among top electric cars. I have read somewhere that TATA is planning to produce 2000 EV this year and depending upon the response it might be increased to 5000 next year. Also I think auto gurus are quoting price £20,000 after taking into account the rebate from the government. Is this price justified after government rebate of £6000?

Have you driven Nissan Leaf preproduction car? People are saying it will be next car to watch out for.

Lastly, I saw posters of Mitsubishi i MiEV in London underground and found that it has too much resemblance with TATA Nano. I haven't seen the car in flash and it could be just me.

[MikeBoxwell]

In the flesh, the Mitsubishi i MiEV is bigger than the Nano, but yes there is a passing resemblance. If you can imagine a Nano where somebody has stretched it, you would have something similar in shape to an i MiEV.

I've driven several Nissan LEAFs (leaves?), both on the road and on private test tracks. They are a very good car, but they are also bigger and a lot more expensive than a TATA Indica. I have written a review on the LEAF (Nissan LEAF Review) and I'm in the process of writing a book on it at the moment.

The very best electric car I have driven, in terms of drivetrain, is without doubt the Volvo C30 prototype I recently drove in Sweden. That was hugely impressive in every department: it is only going into very limited production though, and will only ever be available on lease in Sweden and Germany.

I shall be writing a version of my electric car book specifically on the TATA Indica Vista EV, which will be published in the UK later this year.

[MikeBoxwell]

Here are some photographs of the car, taken this afternoon:

[Screwdriva]

Great to read that the Vista EV isn't a Dud! I too, have been an EV enthusiast for the past 5 years. Sadly, I wasn't able to own one in the States and had to resort to Hybrids and the occasional drive on a Toyota Rav4 EV.

In India, however, EV's haven't enjoyed nearly as much press coverage as they have in the West. Our abundant sun, wind and tidal energy potential seems to take a back seat to our coal fired electrical grid and it's operator's woes.

Urban jungles like Mumbai will have difficulty establishing a charging infrastructure because of the widespread ignorance that plagues our civic entities. However, spread out tier II cities hold tremendous potential because of the availability of house charging (vs. apartment charging).

Sadly, I believe that India is several years away from the embrace of the EV. (Till then, environmentalists can only hope that Compressed Natural Gas will continue to reduce our air pollution levels). It is heartening to see Europe take the lead, and that our own product can stand with the best of Japan, and win!

[tushky]

I heard that Indica Vista EV comes with no Power steering and AC. is it true?

[shortbread]

Thanks Mike for all the info, very helpful.

Since you have been fortunate to experience various EVs, I just wanted your take on the present state of EV affairs.

The UK govt. has taken a major step by issuing a 5k concession (from public money!!!) to electric cars. Now I agree wholeheartedly that this technology should be promoted but at whose expense. Now that most of these cars (essentialy smaller family hatchbacks) cost north of 20k meaning that majority of the car buying folk will fail to connect with such a purchase thus beating the whole purpose. Shouldnt the Govt. put pressure on these car makers to cap the cost of these cars and aim for volumes rather than treating them as marketing novelty.

The second issue is with the technology applied. The Gwiz (Reva) is crude application of electric car technology and has plenty of shortcomings. But this has also meant that the cars are cheaper and have been selling decently well with their target audience.
On the other hand cars like the Indica EV use a far more sophisticated and comprehensive powertrain resulting in a more mainstream performance but at a huge cost increase.
Do you think these carmakers should perhaps keep things basic and simple especially since they are primarily meant for city driving and would make the cars a lot more affordable??

Apologies if all this sounds like a rant!!

[pradkumar]

Indica Vista EV gets 500 orders in Spain; Never before seen Images

Indica Vista EV gets 500 orders in Spain | Indian Autos blog

[TeddyBear]

Originally Posted by directinjection

Electric cars merely transfer pollution from the road to the place where the power plant is located. After all, they consume electricity! It costs billions to set up a power plant so why should electric cars be subsidised?

Nevertheless, it does feel good to read a positive opinion about an Indian car given by a Britisher!

When the usage of electric cars are increased, the price will come down, Better battery technologies will be available to Indian companies, so consumers are benefited. I strongly believe in the solar paneled sunroof, which will be found in the future electric cars as they'll provide free charging on the move and also when parked.

Team! How this Vista EV is doing in Europe, especially in Norway? No news heard on that but launching of regular version of Vista and Xenon in Spain shows some progress. Aria also expected to be launched.

http://indianautosblog.com/2012/05/t...aunch-may-2012
http://indianautosblog.com/2012/06/t...16-lakhs-price

[sivadeep]

Thanks Mike for bringing the good news & Great to note your EV experience. TATA is now a Global company and eagerly waiting to see VISTA EVs on Indian Roads. Given the value for money, TATA rules

Pl keep sharing the info.

Any chance for sharing it's technical details?

[srinih75]

I saw this link http://www.tatavistaev.com/ and it has the specs. I will probably do some research and see if there is a way to get a test drive at Bangalore!