Mahindra BE 6 test drive impressions: Is it too driver focused?

Finally tested The Mahindra BE 6 in Sireesh Auto, Silk board dealer. I wanted to test drive both but unfortunately the XEV 9e wasn't available

BHPian amey027 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

What I Liked:

1. The road presence. The car is big and I own a Kushaq, which coincidently was parked hardly 5m next to the Be6 and man, I could see the difference.

2. The drive. Performance is available on demand. My wife sitting in the back seat kept asking me to drive slowly and I was hardly pushing. I could only imagine how it will be on an open highway.

3. Suspension. Since the test drive car was top model, it had electronic suspension and I could feel them working on Bangalore potholes. The drive was better than I'm used to and the car felt stable even on the small highway stretch I drove on.

4. Sunroof. It's massive and it will be insane driving with the shade open at night or in the hills, which are abundant near Bangalore

5. Insulation. Both light and sound insulation is great. Also there's a slight motor whine I could hear which gave a character to the car. Outsiders can't see much inside due to the slight tint (obviously withing legal limits). I experienced this when I was myself standing outside and someone was sitting inside the BE 6 in front and I had no idea.

What I disliked:

1. "Cockpit". The area around the driver's seat is insanely busy. There are some sort of controls everywhere. The center console, dashboard, infotainment, steering, right of steering, door panel, under seat, sunroof area. It's just loaded and it's overwhelming. Every car obviously has controls scattered everywhere but the main ones are always in front of you. In the BE 6, even common controls are scattered. Even changing HVAC settings is tedious. I couldn't change modes without looking at the screen. Finding the seat settings also took a while. Window buttons are odd as well.

2. Door handle. That strap is hideous. It's illogical and the durability is a question mark. What was wrong with a normal door handle like every single car on this planet?

3. The partition. Outside of a first time wow or what?! It serves no purpose.

4. Space. For a car that big on the outside, the inside is small. The front passenger area surprisingly felt smaller than my Kushaq. The dashboard is too big and extends towards the passenger, almost like staring you in the face. Little said about the rear the better. It's claustrophobic at the back and the underthigh support is bad as well.

5. Boot. Very shallow. I wasn't confident of fitting my wife's massive trolley bag in there. It fits comfortably in the Kushaq and I have even driven with luggage worth 5 people couple of times. Not sure if BE 6 can handle that.

6. Brake by wire. Great Technology, bad implementation. The brake is too responsive and not progressive at all. Even a feather touch and everyone inside kept flying forward.

Overall, I agree it's a driver's car. But Mahindra literally decided to show a middle finger to everyone except the driver. It felt like a rich man's second car.

I love driving and hence I bought Kushaq 3 years ago. But I also understand I won't be the solo occupant 100% of the time. My wife sits in the car may be 10% of the time but that 10% has to be comfortable for her. She may accompany me for extended duration (long trips outside Bangalore) once in 3 months but what's the point if she's going to hate every single minute of that?

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