The staff seemed knowledgeable about EVs as they work on EVs day in day out.

BHPian ferrarirules recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

As mentioned earlier that I will get my 22,500 service done at the dedicated EV service center. So here it goes:

Prologue: My car is about to get an year old in another 2 days. I have covered 22,500+ kms in an year. My first three service were done for at Multitech Motors, Faridabad, the service center caters for both EV and ICE vehicles. This service center is overloaded with vehicles like all other Tata service centers. So when the Tata.EV store + service center opened I had decided to get my next service done there.

Service booking process: Tata provides "EV TMSC" app for all your service needs. I tried booking my appointment using the app but the dedicated EV service centre doesn't show up on the app as of yet. So I called the service center and they helped me in scheduling the service for Monday - 10:00 AM.

Service Experience:

I got late leaving from home so I reached the service center at 11 AM. Parked the car in the waiting area and walked up to the reception

I was greeted by the receptionist on entry and guided to my service advisor - Amit. The reception was refreshingly designed with ample sitting spaces.

As the service was a minor service (I really feel Tata should do away with these services), there was not much to do other than normal checks. There was one noise coming from the left front of the car so I asked them to check the same.

After the job card was opened, the car was moved to the mechanical bay (one of the 9 lifts available) for service

View of the workshop standing at the entrance.

Car being checked:

After the checks were completed, the root cause of left side noise was identified to faulty B mount. As the part was not available, it was ordered. After that the car was moved to washing area in the back. They have an automated wash facility.

Overall experience:

The experience was refreshing and a much needed change. The differences I found from ICE+EV combined service centers are as follows:

• The staff seemed knowledgeable about EVs as they work on EVs day in day out.
• No overburdened staff. Number of EVs sold are not high yet so work load is not out of the roof
• No exhaust fumes filling up the enclosed workshop.
• Overall workshop is cleaner as there are no major oil changes happening. EVs only have transmission oil changes.
• Service Manager - Mr. Arvind also came up to me just for a general chat and inquired for feedback on the overall experience.

Summary: End to End EV ecosystem is what is needed today to elevate EV ownership experience to the next level. As Tata has the numbers, Tata should open these dedicated EV showrooms + service centers in all major cities like Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata.

Some pics of services that I didn't use

Bodyshop area:

Wheel alignment and balancing machine:

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

Extensive usage of EV’s on Indian roads are pipe dreams and grand illusions.

BHPian Worldchamp 2019 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Dear BHPians,

I have a question with regards to the price of electric cars vs ICE cars. Extensive usage of EV’s on Indian roads are pipe dreams and grand illusions unless these cars are made affordable and cost the same as ICE cars. The Nexon EV top end costs 24 lacs (!) in Hyderabad. That’s 6 lacs more than the top end Nexon ICE model. I don’t think the amount saved justifies this extra 6 lacs. Let me explain.
I have calculated that with my mileage, the total saving is ₹ 63,000 per year. So, it will take me 9.5 years to recover this extra 6 lacs I have to pay for an EV. That seems like a very long time until one starts to really reap the reward.

• ICE car petrol bill (my mileage) – ₹ 60,000 per year
• Maintenance bill (Oil/Coolant/Servicing, etc.) – ₹ 12,000 per year
• Total – Rs. ₹ 72,000 per year
• EV Charging bill – ₹ 6,000 per year
• Maintenance bill – ₹ 3,000 per year
• Total ₹ 9,000 per year
• Total saving – ₹ 63,000 per year
• Extra paid – ₹ 6 lacs
• Time taken to recover the extra 6 lacs – ₹ 6,00,000 / ₹ 63,000 = 9.5 years. Now that’s a long time.

Someone please tell me I’m wrong as I really want to buy an EV but my head won’t let me. The only thing I can think of is as the ICE car ages the maintenance bills will get higher. Although if it is maintained well it shouldn’t, right?

Here's what BHPian ferrarirules had to say on the matter:

Based on the electricity charges given by you, I assume that you are driving 6000-6500 kms per year. It is very difficult to recoup the extra money spent on top model Nexon EV LR with such low mileage. You can look at top model of the Nexon MR version. It is at 21.27 lakhs on road price in Hyderabad. You can recoup the diferrence for the same in around half the time.

The challenge is more in Telangana as it is the only state charging full RTO tax on EVs which makes the recouping of cost more difficult.

Here's what BHPian Sandegov had to say on the matter:

Here is my quick personal take (own a NexonEV Max and a diesel XUV700):

EVs will never come out on top in pure excel sheet calculations, exceptions being if your yearly run is taxi like mileage - thats just the fact.

However, what I can tell you after using my EV for more than an year is - there is no beating an EV as a city beater car on below points:

• extremely comfortable ride - no vibrations, no gear changes, multi level regens etc. I can drive for hours at a stretch in Bangalore traffic with way lesser stress than in an ICE.
• absolute dead silent cabin
• performance and driveability you get from those crazy torque figures+sports mode when in mood for fun.
• frequent short distance travels? No problem whatsoever
• have to wait for an hour or longer for your kid to finish her music classes or family finishes their shopping etc? No problem, do it in the comfort of AC cabin without worrying about your engine idling for long and without the sound of those fans turning on and off constantly!
• multiple drivers using the car? no problem with engines taking a beating, clutch wear, brake wear etc
• dead cheap monthly fuel bills
• cheap service/repair costs

Your calculations are a never ending discussions on every online forum and trust me there is no end to it - been there done that

My suggestion - look beyond the per km calculations and evaluate your need for an EV in terms of what they bring to the table and if you need them, you will have your answer in no time. All the best

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

We had initially booked the Citroen eC3 but later upgraded to the Tata Nexon EV Prime. The driving experience was marvellous with minimal to no fatigue.

BHPian idoctor recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Inception of the idea

So the idea was to have an extended test drive of an EV before actually buying one. Hence, I started searching as to where can I rent one and voila, stumbled upon SparkCars. Issue was that they did not have a daily rental service in Jaipur (Closer to Gurugram but only a long-term leasing facility was available in Jaipur) and daily rental was available only in Bengaluru. As if the Gods were on my side, some work came up in Bengaluru in Aug and without wasting a minute I called them regarding the booking.

Second question was where do I take the vehicle to? So wifey and I started looking for places to visit near Bengaluru and zeroed in on Coorg as we had not been there before. It was also at a decent distance from Bengaluru for a first-ever EV road trip with adequate charging options on the way. (Also to ease out the range anxiety. More on the charging infra in the latter half of the post).

Booking and vehicle selection

The company offers Citroen eC3 and Nexon EV Prime for daily rentals and has ZS EV for long-term leasing option. I'm not sure about the pricing (trip was in Aug 23) but initially, I had booked the eC3 for 4800/day with some refundable security deposit. After 2 weeks from the initial booking (sometime in mid-June) I got a call from the company that a Nexon EV Prime XZ+ (top variant) was available for 5500/day.

I immediately upgraded as I had to do DC charging most of the time and was not confident with the air-cooled battery system of the eC3 (Nexon EV has a liquid-cooled battery). I had also checked regular ICE vehicles from different rental companies just to cross-check whether EVs were coming out to be expensive, but to my surprise, cSUVs like XUV 300, ICE Nexon etc were almost in the same price bracket.

There was an extra fee for delivery as well as pick up of the car from the airport. Compared the cab fares, was almost the same so opted to pay extra for this option since did not want to miss my flight getting stuck in Bengaluru traffic.

Terms and conditions

Like ICE vehicles, the deal was to return the car with the same SOC as while taking delivery. The car had to be cleaned from the exterior and interior on returning. Failing the above 2 conditions, a nominal maintenance fee would be charged. There was no limit on the number of kilometres that one could drive.

Going to Coorg

Landed in Bengaluru at around 0900 and scheduled the delivery at 1000 (took luggage delivery from the conveyor belt into consideration). Luggage came quite quickly and we were out of the terminal by 0915. Got in touch with the company person and I was informed that the driver was en route with the car. He asked us to wait at the Taj Hotel (There's a Tata charger in the basement). We waited at the hotel reception lounge and took delivery of the car by 1000.

Got the car with the above SOC

Had planned out the entire trip using the Plugshare app keeping in mind even backup chargers on the way in case the primary one was occupied/non-functional. We started from Bengaluru airport around 1000 hrs and reached our first stop on the BLR MYS expressway at a McDonald's where a BPCL charger was located.

Unfortunately, the McDonald's seemed to have closed for good but there was a multi-cuisine food court in the same petrol pump complex where we had brunch (the food was decent). Took us around 45 mins for lunch and meanwhile the car charged for 2 sessions with the details attached. Initially had charged for half an hour but then since wifey was still eating (she'll kill me for writing this!), thought I'd charge for another 15 mins. (Range anxiety as we had to go another 200 km).

There was a minor glitch where the charger did not start the second session immediately and was getting disconnected. Called customer care and they told me to use the Ionage app instead of the Hello BPCL app and the charging started with that. Lost 10 mins in this issue. There is no minimum balance required to be maintained in either of these wallets to initiate charging.

Stats after reaching our first charger

A guy was available for assistance for charging, didn't require though (Thanks to all the info here on Team-BHP!)

Charging summary

Following this session, we headed out with 80% SOC to our next charging station as I was skeptical about the elevation before reaching Coorg so thought would do another charging session in between in Mysuru.

Reached another BPCL charger in Mysuru

Decided on BPCL again as I liked the no minimum balance concept but it did not work this time. As soon as it connected, it would charge me money but the car would not take charge. Tried twice, but to no gain. Quickly opened Plugshare to locate another one at a Tata service centre and proceeded there. Wasted around 20 mins at this charger.

Reached the Zeon charger at Hebbal with 40% SOC and charged there till 79%. Took 30 mins and we waited in the service centre customer lounge and watched an episode of The Good Doctor on our tablet.

Charging summary

Stats after completing Zeon charging session at Hebbal

Left the place at 1617 and reached Club Mahindra resort around 1900. Maintained a speed of 80 on the highway as far as possible and AC was on for around 30% of the time since morning was cool and it rained a bit on the way and it was anyways cool in Coorg.

Coorg

Club Mahindra had a Sunfuel AC charger in their parking. The charging here was slightly tricky as the charger had to be connected to your phone's personal hotspot and only then it started charging. But this was only to initiate charging, you could walk away from the charger and disconnect your hotspot and it would continue charging. Needed the hotel technician's help for this and used it for charging on the second night. Issue with the Sunfuel app is you can recharge only in multiples of Rs 500 with the minimum amount being 500. Found this really expensive as I barely charged there and had to shell out 500 bucks (compared to what I paid at previous chargers). Did not charge at the hotel for the first night.

Had located a DCFC to charge for the next day morning. It was located in a hotel's parking at Madikeri.

Charged to 80% while we had breakfast at a local restaurant and took the car for local sightseeing.

Charging summary

Went to see Chiklihole Reservoir and Abbey Falls. Came back with enough charge and put the car on charging at night. The parking where the charger is located is the highest parking lot of the resort (There are a total of 4 parking lots at different elevations). So by the time it was time to remove the charger (2200 hrs), it had started raining. So decided not to go in the rain to remove the charger gun (Asked the hotel if any other EV guest had checked in, they said no). The rental company person was kind enough to let me know the SOC at 2200 hrs by looking at the Zconnect app (I had no access to the app as it was installed on his phone only). The car charged overnight to 100%.

Next day since we had full SOC, we planned to go to Iruppu Falls which were approx 80 kms from our resort, almost touching the Kerala border. Was a great drive with excellent roads. Was a descent initially so hardly used any charge and in fact gained charge by regeneration.

Small white stream (if you zoom in) is Iruppu falls

The car could have easily reached back to the resort without charging but there was a Zeon charger on our way so thought of doing a quick top up just for precautionary sake (Range anxiety was gone for me, but not for wifey).

Chilling in the car while charging

Charging summary

I've driven on hills before but always in a manual transmission car, this was the first time driving an automatic and that too an EV on hills. I have never experienced such effortless driving on hills before. Had the experience of using sport mode while overtaking a Range Rover Velar, boy I was awestruck by that! It was as if the car had a NOS kit installed and wifey said the look on Velar's driver was worth seeing.

Reached back at the resort and just relaxed in the evening. Did not charge that night at the resort as I found Sunfuel charging quite expensive. Had planned to charge the next day en route.

Back to Bengaluru

Had planned to have breakfast at Kushalnagar at Cafe Levista which had a BPCL charger adjacent to it. Started from the resort at 1000 hrs and reached Kushalnagar at 1045 hrs. Went in to look for breakfast in the cafe and figured out that they hardly had anything to eat except a few fried items like fries and cutlets. This was a bummer as had to somehow fill our stomachs with that fried stuff and coffee. Bought some coffee for home from there. Charged for around 45 mins there as we had breakfast.

Charging summary

Started from there to reach our lunch place on the main BLR MYS expressway and had a nice lunch at Shivalli Restaurant.

Charging summary

An interesting thing happened at this charger. The app showed that charging stopped after 15 mins. My order had not come till then so went to check what's the issue so as to restart charging. But to my surprise, the car was still charging. So came back finished our lunch and went back after 30 mins to see that the charging was still going on. Did not see any other EV coming so sat in the car for another 10 mins and charged it to 95%. No money was deducted after the initial 15 mins. Thinking was to have max charge before reaching the airport so that it would take less time to charge it back to 70% (SOC while taking delivery of the car). Reached Bengaluru outskirts pretty early and called up the company if I could return the car early at their office instead of the airport. They happily agreed to it and offered to refund my airport pick-up fee of Rs 1000. They also did not charge me for returning the car less than pick up SOC. Dropped the car at their office and booked a Blusmart for the airport.

Final stats while returning the car

Summary

Covered almost 900 kms in my first EV trip ever by paying approx Rs 2000 (Rs 2.2/km). The driving experience was marvellous with minimal to no fatigue including driving on hills. The car rental came to be around 5000/day. Car was pretty well maintained despite having done around 12000 kms on the odo.

I'm in love with EVs and planning to buy my own (waiting for Suzuki eVX to launch next year). Would strongly recommend this service for anyone in Bengaluru and surrounding areas who is planning to buy an EV to have a first-hand experience of the technology before actually investing in it.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

I am disappointed not to own a Tata now. In the future, I hope Tata will turn around.

BHPian VW2010 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Plot Summary - When you convince yourself that the sample size in team BHP is not evidence enough to the horror of owning a Tata car, you realize that the sales team has the "hold my beer" card to ensure the brand is killed at the first step of attracting a customer. Our experience with Tata sales that ended with the expression "Never a Tata anymore" is recorded here.

It is indeed disappointing that we love the car and yet we will never think of buying a Tata ever after this experience. There is so much Tata can do to make a customer experience better than take customers for granted.

The trigger

We have a trustworthy Nano that is as new as 2024. We got this as a birthday gift for my partner in 2016 and with extreme driving and kilometer crunching we crossed 12000kms on Dec 29th. It has been 7 years and we never needed something better than Nano with COVID and work-from-home options. With offices reopening and the need to travel 80kms 2 to 3 times a week my wife casually asked if we could upgrade the Nano to a little safer and something a little more drivable car. As with a recent thread about impulse purchases, this will end up landing in that category if we do buy a car.

Our selected options:-

With that context came the Jimny discounts. Jimny is such a fun-looking tiny car with a footprint that is 82 cm longer, 10 cm narrower, and 7cms taller than Nano. I can try to park it in the small space where the current Nano is parked like below. It ticked a lot of boxes for us as it was better to drive than the Nano, safer than the Nano, and equally hated as much as the Nano (which led to the end of the most useful car in the world for city dwellers). Our choice was the Alpha AT and a few things including the tinted glasses favored the Alpha AT over the Zeta AT. MT was out of the question here. We started heading to different dealers and I love negotiating a deal. In this case, knowing not getting a car does not affect anything I was very stubborn to negotiate (in other words lowball the heck) with dealers who had unsold stock in their yards. I had/have a "nothing-to-lose" attitude for this purchase. This meant walking out of a showroom if they couldn't match your offer was easy, non-emotional, and indeed satisfactory.

While checking Jimny we crossed the Tata showroom and we decided to take a peak. Our requirement was not a big car and we wanted to check the Punch. We saw a dark edition Nexon EV standing in the showroom and we loved it. It was bigger, had better interiors and the feature list was too attractive to ignore for my wife. She drives a Nano and the best feature in that Nano is to switch off the Stereo and listen to the Diesel auto engine noise from the back or hope that the car will not shift to 2 in the middle of a ramp climb.

Nexon was not a choice but we test drove a Nexon EV, Tiago EV, and Punch. Nexon EV was in the top 2 list. The options at this stage were Nexon Ev and Jimny. After working out the numbers we realized we can pick the Nexon EV XZ+ edition at the same price as the Alpha AT of Jimny.

Note - I am not a fan of EVs and will never be till the price of EVs and the price of ICE are the same and I have a financial benefit. I will never buy an EV to show off that I am environment-friendly.

Financially the Nexon EV in the XZ+ trim was an easy decision as I save from day on actually spending on fuel. My Wife loved the looks of Jimny but loved everything else of the Nexon. But at some point, the feature list and smoothness of that EV motor tilted our decision to go ahead with the Nexon EV. We loved the dark edition and that meant the break-even point compared to buying a Jimny would be around 10-12K kms which was probably 1 year time frame. So we confirmed our choice. My wife was very clear that she would replace the Nano with Nexon EV max.

We liked this.

Dealership experience

Tata dealers can be classified into 3 broad categories. Horrible customer facing, Horrible middle management(usually called team leaders), and Horrible dealership manager. Many a time you will find one of the categories being a problem while the other two will balance out.

Gurudev Tata Mylapore:- The customer-facing first point of sales guy was probably an intern and couldn't care less about selling a vehicle. He was nonchalant and did not even have the enthusiasm to sit, discuss, and try to sell. We walked out and also price was not exactly what we heard in other places. Dealership experience 0/10

Lakshmi Tata Ekaduthangal:- Decent customer-facing team, but they were hardly interested in negotiating and closing a deal. Cannot blame them as they are one of the popular Tata showrooms here and they won't mind losing a customer. Experience 6/10

One Tata Dealer from Perambur (Through a known friend):- Over the phone discussion and not much to complain about as they were very clear on discounts or lack of them and it did not work for me. Experience - NA

Lakshmi Tata - Velacheri - The first visit was very early in the search and the experience was exactly similar to Gurudev Tata. The salesperson was almost running around like he was trying to sell crackers on Diwali. Absolutely 0/10 in terms of experience. And considering this was Tata Concorde earlier and this is where we picked up our Nano our expectations were hardly met. This must have been the first sign of staying away from this dealer but fate had other plans. More to follow

Tata Tafe Annasalai:- I will still recommend this place, thanks to the one and only person that I worked with and his name is Prakash. He is the customer advisor and right from the first visit to test drives and negotiation he gave a complete non-tata experience (Horribgle from other dealers till that point). He was patient and answered every question as gently as possible and was a prime example of someone approaching sales with a "customer first" attitude. This was a 10/10 first impression experience and the whole credit goes to Prakash. He is a stellar customer advisor who deserves to grow beyond his current role and wishing him all the success in his life. I hope the dealership recognizes his effort or that some other dealership offers him a good alternative to help more customers. Experience 10/10. This is the case of great customer advisors, horrible team leaders, and deceitful branch managers.

Now I have to talk about 2 dealers in particular who made my family hate Tata the brand and Tata the car. I will give 100% credit to the dealers and their attitude for us to hate the product and this is what this thread is about. We loved the product but now will never touch Tata unless things drastically change.

Lakshmi Tata - Velacheri and Tata Tafe Anna salai.

Considering this being an impulsive buy and not a necessity we had a quote in mind including the exchange of Nano and gave this quote to every dealer, stating that before the 31st of Dec if they are unable to sell their stock they can reach out to us to close this deal. We were aware that we might not buy a car as stock may not exist if we waited till the end.

We got a surprise call from Lakshmi Tata Velacheri, and this time it was a solid customer advisor named Saravanan(Great experience with Saravanan). He came back with the quote which we were happy with and decided to go ahead and meet them in person. This is the second visit. We were treated well and the first thing we wanted to confirm was the availability of the Dark Edition. To address my fears they even showed the stock in Yard as well as the plant and confirmed the availability of Dark edition. The Yard of Lakshmi Motors is very close to the VIT college on Kelambakkam road. The recent floods had enough videos to show how badly this stretch was affected and this was always on my mind. We got assurance that they could deliver the car and we went ahead and paid the booking amount. The commitment book from Tata was filled, and signed by both sides and we were closing for the day. We spoke to the finance person worked out our loan details and shared the required proof to initiate the loan process.

The highest point of this journey ends here

Tata experience starts

As we were closing for the day I asked if they had the Vin details to check the manufacturing date and also to compare it against the car in the yard. They did take all the effort to get these details which took them 15 minutes and suddenly the sales rep, his team lead, and the branch manager came to our desk with their laptop. We were expecting that they were about to share the details of the stock but instead brought up a list of 4 dark edition cars that showed blocked for TML. The sales manager spoke and said that all the dark editions are blocked by TML as the Karnataka govt has placed a bulk order. We were still figuring out what they were saying and realized they were telling us the dark edition is no longer available and they can get a white Nexon EV max instead. It was genuine is what I believe but the same information was available to them even before the booking amount was paid. At this point, we decided to cancel by the next day morning as we wanted to think over the alternate option. We left the place with disappointment.

Enter Tata Tafe

On the way back, Prakash from Tata Tafe called and asked if we had booked Nexon elsewhere. We mentioned we were still looking for the Nexon Dark edition and Prakash confirmed he could arrange it from the Plant as there was some liquidation stock in the plant. I mentioned the Karnataka bulk order and requested him to check with his branch managers to confirm if Tata Tafe really can arrange for the dark edition. He said he will need time with this new information shared and will revert once he gets 100% confirmation about delivering the dark edition. Prakash while giving assurance also invited Ram Prasath, his team leader to have an open discussion. RamPrasath was so sure about the stock at first that he was pushing for booking immediately. Once I explained the Karnataka bulk order and TML canceling all available cars from dealers, he said he would call his contacts and confirm. He needed time till the next day to give a 100% confirmation of delivering stock from the Plant. He confirmed that he would wait for a mail confirmation from Plant and needed time. In the meantime, I also informed them that I would go ahead with any dealer who can get us a dark edition and it will always be a first come served to honor the dealer taking that effort to confirm. We also in the meantime got the Tata Nano evaluated and agreed on a sale price as I wanted an estimate.

The Lakshmi Motors hijack

The next day we called Lakshmi for the cancellation process and Saravanan mentioned that they were trying to arrange for the dark edition. An hour later the finance person called and was talking about allotment of the Dark edition to us and if we will be starting the finance process. Change in fortune we assumed but we were cautious.

Saravanan did call and confirmed that TML has released the vehicles and now they have 1 dark edition ready in the Yard and 4 in their plant. I insisted on checking the car in the yard and its location and if I felt the car was under water I would want a vehicle from the plant as I at least know the car was not affected by the Chennai floods. Anyway, we had to go closer to the Yard to get NOC from the Bank for the Nano exchange. We decided to check the car and revoke the cancellation in case the car was good. Thanks to Saravanan again for arranging the inspection. His team leader assured me that their yard was never affected by flood as it was on higher grounds and none of the cars were even standing in water.

Lakshmi Tata Yard

Google Maps shows the Yard's location and its proximity to water bodies.

Nexon was parked here for PDI

Yard Overall Picture

Far end of the yard

We reached the Yard in the trustworthy Nano. The Yard is huge and can hold 500-600 cars at a time. The place is very close to VIT engg college in the Kelambakkam to Vandalur road.

This was on the day of the floods near VIT

The yard manager greeted us and the dark edition Nexon was wiped clean and plugged into the charger. We started inspecting with the son given the job of finding any dents in the car while I started inspecting the floor, interiors, and trunk. My wife and son spotted some difference between panel gaps in the front door and on closer inspection you can tell the door hit something low and had a mild bend. There was no painting job or major issues. While they were inspecting, the Yard manager took me around the yard to confirm where they parked the EV cars, pointed to some spots, and started to explain that the yard was never flooded. The yard was underwater evident from the water level marks in the compound walls. The yard manager was trying to convince me there was no water. I would have believed it if he at least said, there was water during rain but it drained quickly.

I came back and decided to check the car's underbody and engine bay. They did not do a proper water wash as the lower body showed signs of stationary water. There were those floating flowers/leaves that you see in flowing rain water covering the battery, on springs, and on suspension. Closer inspection of the engine bay sealed the deal. The cars come with some sort of cloth-based material on top of the wheel cladding. The right side was intact while the left side was non existant. I reached inside and was able to remove a handful of brown leaves.

Could be just moisture from temperature difference or something more. Who knows?

I then went outside and spoke to a few folks including a nearby watchman who was stationary during the rain. He was a Hindi native and on a casual discussion, he did confirm the water was at one point flowing above his hip and the cars were not dry. At the same time, I saw a punch, a new one where the mechanic was changing the beadings around the doors. All this combined did not give me any confidence to risks. The risks were amplified by the fact it was a Tata, an EV, and maybe it was underwater. This three combination was too much of a risk that even I was not ready to take. I thanked the Yard manager and we left.

Doubts probably getting confirmed

On the way back I called Saravanan to confirm that we were not interested in taking the car in the yard and after seeing the potential flood impact on cars, I requested Saravanan to proceed with the other vehicle from the plant and that I was ready to wait for delivery. A few minutes later he updated me that there was a miscommunication and that the rest of the stock was also in the same yard and he recommended picking one of the 5 by checking them in the same yard. I refused and was instructed to not withdraw cancellation.

His manager or the team leader took the phone from Saravanan and started explaining how I should not worry about the flood. The same lead who confirmed that their yard was never under water completely changed his track and started to convince me. He tried to reason with me with an assurance that the car had an 8-year warranty for the battery and 5 years for the car and even if something went wrong, he would personally take care of fixing the same. While this would push anyone to walk out immediately the nail in the coffin was when he tried to convince me that since it's an EV even if water was up to the windshield, the car would be fine. While technically the car is fine as I said earlier I would not bet on Tata/EV/Rain in a combination ever. He tried his best to take one car from the Yard while I informed him that we would reach their dealership in 30 minutes and complete the cancellation process. Most sales leads and managers hid while a new person helped me process the refund. My wife was disappointed and we said we would leave it to fate and save money in case we ended up not buying a replacement for Nano this year.

Experience-wise I will give 8/10 to Saravanan and 0/10 to Lakshmi Motors, manager and team lead. Both of them lied and vanished when I went to complete the cancellation. Also, the refund process is ridiculous considering the payment is allowed via UPI and is instant. We did get the refund back after a week with multiple follow-ups.

Fate not allowing us to forget Nexon EV max

We left the showroom and my wife had given up on replacing the car. Fate wouldn't allow us to settle down with that peace of mind as Prakash called very late to confirm that he had spoken with his lead and manager and while they do not have any stocks in the yard, they had 26 in the plant in the dark edition. They were ready to process delivery as a high priority and get the car from the plant for a Jan 2nd week delivery. We were skeptical and my wife said Lakshmi was not the greatest dealership experience from the first visit but at Tafe we didn't get that kind of first impression. We went to TAFE and this time both RamPrasath and Prakash confirmed on delivering the dark edition. I also spoke with the manager Senthil who showed me emails of stock details that he received from Plant. I insisted Senthil not to commit if there was even a 1% change and this will become a difficult experience at the last minute. Senthil was confident and confirmed that once the formality was over He would be sharing us with the allocation details.

We made the booking with Prakash and paid the advance. We filled the commitment book for the second time and initiated loan processing with an Indian bank agent. The day ended with positive feelings that we will be finally getting our hands on the Nexon EV Max Dark edition. It was the 29th and the exchange car team asked if they could take the Nano before the 31st as they had to close their books to honor the exchange bonus etc. I would say Naive of me but I also work on trust. Before handing over the Nano details and documents I once again checked with Prakash and Senthil that I should not be giving the vehicle assuming delivery. To this, both the manager and Prakash confirmed to not worry about delivery. I handed over the Nano in advance before getting the vehicle allocation. As I said, I worked on trust and I trusted Prakash and Senthil to deliver the Dark Edition as soon as they could.

Note to others:- Without allocation of vehicle do not hand over your exchange car or sign any forms. Get your allocation in writing before handing over the vehicle.

They came to pick up Nano on the 30th and My son who is 10 is so emotionally attached he couldn't control his tears. I cannot load a video here for privacy reasons but it felt like he was losing someone close to him. He did not see that Nano, as just a car. I showed the video to Prakash to let him know that this was a big decision to let go only after we were able to convince him that he was getting the car he liked the most, the dark edition. We informed our friends and family about the upgrade and were pretty excited at that point.

Enter Tata Dealership shocker no 2

30th went by, the 31st and 1st went by, and on the 2nd while chasing for allocation details, I got a WhatsApp message that the plant had not allocated the dark edition. I called Prakash and he confirmed that Tata Tafe will not be able to deliver the Dark edition as the plant did not allocate a car. I was a little upset but logical at that point to see what Tata Tafe would do in this situation. After a lot of internal discussions, Prakash came back with the option of giving us a White Nexon EV or refunding the booking.

My wife was not a happy person and I quote the original expression "Never a Tata anymore" was her final verdict. She gently requested to get our Nano back. So I informed Prakash to plan for the cancellation and return of Nano.

Tata Tafe customer service peaks

Prakash has been extremely friendly, and understanding and knew what we were going through. He was hesitant but had to communicate that their procurement team had already sold the Nano and they would not be able to return the Nano. I was not so livid but I knew the dealership had to fix this predicament. I informed Prakash that he could cancel and return the Nano or honor the discount on a similar ex-showroom-priced facelift version (I went the greed route at this point to let them know I was not settling for cancellation without taking back the Nano). I informed them that the Nano had to be returned or I was going to file a case to hold the Nano sales to whoever they were planning to. I gave them details of the lawyer and informed them I will at least get a temporary blacklisting on the Nano.

Enter - horrible team leaders, threat as a weapon

Prakash was the middle man and I was sure he had no option but to convey information between me and their leadership. I arranged for a call with his team leader Ram Prasath. I informed Ram Prasath that Tata Tafe can either Deliver the dark edition in another 2 weeks or cancel and return the Nano. Ram Prasath was rude and obnoxious. He started raising his voice and told us that we already signed the Nano papers and we would not be able to do anything to stop them from selling the Nano. He made statements like how we should have been careful to sign such transfer papers. This was the point where I broke my peace with having a normal conversation. I stopped him and informed him that this entire agreement was based on trust (naive from me, learn from me folks), and while what he says is right, the proof that we had this agreement even verbally holds good to blacklist the Nano till the entire process is clear. I informed him that I was not ready to wait any further and I was going ahead with Fir. The respect for Tata took a big hit here because of the attitude of this one person. He went ahead to say that Tata Tafe was ready to give me a white Nexon EV and even reduce the cost while I was not being flexible. He got an earful at that point and I decided to go in person.

Tata booking email comes with contacts in the procurement who handle exchange vehicles. I called up Gopal and explained the situation. While he also mentioned closing a deal with another dealer on Nano, he accepted that the situation was indeed unique. I informed him to tell whoever is buying that there will be some legal follow-up from my side and they should know about the same including potentially blacklisting the vehicle with RTO. I requested Gopal to convey this so he can continue with the sale. Gopal was friendly and he informed me that he would check with management and also inform the buyer of this situation and void the sale.

Enter - Deceitful branch managers

I decided to go in person after the Ram Prasath call and meet the GM if required. I went there and Prakash was his usual self, a great customer service-oriented sales guy. He apologized for the cancellation and was trying to get me my resolution. I went to Senthil the branch manager and asked him how they could goof up despite so much assurance. He tried to give some logic but started selling me the white Nexon. I informed him that I did not trust Tata Tafe and needed written confirmation on returning the Nano. Whether I buy a car from them or not, I asked him to give me written assurance. He was not ready and said that was against Tata Tafe's policy to give written confirmation. I stood my ground and informed him, that I would leave the place with my Nano or he could call the GM to sort this problem. He immediately suggested writing an email to which he would acknowledge and respond. I immediately wrote an email about cancellation copying everyone and He was surprised that I would do that immediately. In front of me, he started writing random responses that neither acknowledged the return of Nano nor their goof-up. He instead wrote they were still trying to allocate the dark edition. I escalated and wrote back on the lack of acknowledgment and Senthil called to confirm the return of the Nano in 2 days as they had to complete internal processes to release the Nano. They also had a bunch of deliveries to new customers the next day. In the meantime, Senthil in the name of small talk also suggested that I should have not waited one extra day to get confirmation from them as time was the essence of blocking a stock in the plant. At this point, I gave up on Tata and Tata Tafe and was only worried about getting my Nano back.

Prakash spoke to me and assured me that he will ensure Nano is returned to me and he will process the cancellation smoothly. The next day I pressurized Prakash to get Nano documents and Nano ready. With the deliveries planned, he was hesitant but I calmed him down to ensure his deliveries would not be affected and I will directly take the Nano from their parking lot. He agreed and called around 630 to pick up the Nano.

I met the procurement lead who handed over all the papers and forgot the bank NOC. I reminded them about the same and got the keys along with the documents. I met Senthil and spoke for 15 minutes and dropped a note of appreciation for Prakash. He informed me that he may get some deals on newer Tata cars and I informed him Tata Tafe has killed the hopes of potential Tata owners forever.

I also met Prakash and thanked him for all his support, apologized that we couldn't make a sale for him, and promised him a sale once he left Tata and decided to continue in this field.

We got our Nano back. My son is brimming with a smile.

Conclusion and callouts

From my experience which was bad, these are my opinions. In conclusion, I am sure what Tata management is blinded by. Sales which are attributed to their product. If we judge sales based on service or customer experience Tata should not be selling these many cars. Their product is top class and, unfortunately, the dealers have made owning a Tata a bad experience. I wish Tata took the RE route and managed their dealership as their own. That may create a better sales and service experience.

Call out

Prakash - The face of Tata sales on the dealership in Anna Salai. I am still in touch with Prakash and he made sure my experience was still ok and at all points kept me updated proactively or delivered what he promised. He was extremely polite and extremely supportive of the ordeal. He had empathy for the customers. I will still recommend any new Tata buyers in Chennai to go to Prakash. I will give 11/10 for Prakash in this episode.

My 2 cents to buyers

• Get your new car before giving your exchange car to the dealership
• Stand your ground
• Tata dealerships are not that mature and are not trained enough to handle customers
• The team leaders and managers have very poor attitude
• Do not be naive like me.
• So what was the end

The end was that we got our Nano back, My son is happy and we ended up picking a Jimny. Wait for the Jimny thread !!!!

Note: This is my individual experience. I am Tata Fanboy. I am disappointed not to own a Tata now. In the future, I hope Tata will turn around. There are lot many ways to have handled such a scenario but I guess I did what I had to do. So feel free to bash and call me out which exactly is the right thing to do.

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.

Hardly any independent garage has the knowledge or equipment to fix EVs. And where will you get parts? Brand-new Tata EVs spend months in the workshop waiting for critical parts.

Do used EVs make a strong case for themselves?

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

No chance. We're still in the very early stages of EVs & manufacturers are taking big leaps ahead every year in terms of technology. Reliability too, since it's a big learning curve for OEMs, supply chains & workshops. v1 EVs of all brands suffer niggles & issues.

What's worse is, hardly any independent garage has the knowledge or equipment to fix EVs. And where will you get parts? Brand-new Tata EVs spend months in the workshop waiting for critical parts. A Canadian dude has been waiting since a year for a battery for his old Leaf.

For a couple of years at least, I'd only buy brand-new EVs. When we have good new EVs in the 10 - 20 lakh range, I don't see any need for used EVs. If on a small budget, get a petrol car.

Here's what BHPian Jeroen had to say on the matter:

I think the survey question should read would you buy an used EV now?

When I buy an EV it will be an used one. Not yet, but give it a few more years and I will

All of the above mentioned reason will disappear over time.

Here's what BHPian shresht_EV had to say on the matter:

The biggest issue is that since most EVs on the road are quite new by standards of “age of a car”, so naturally, if someone will be willing to sell their old EV for a new one for whatever reason, they will be expecting far higher than what a used car buyer is expecting to pay.

The main allure of a used car being less than half cost of a new car doesn’t apply here because of how “new” the old EV is.

For reference, the oldest Nexon EV will still only be 4y old in January of 2024 and the oldest

I saw Nexon EV prime going for 11-12L and max going for 13-14L when new model arrived, for that kind of money, people can buy a new Tiago LR or eC3.

Here's what BHPian SS-Traveller had to say on the matter:

I did, and I don't regret it. It has been largely a trouble-free experience, but some parts now need replacement or repair - the EPS module has been throwing errors lately, but I've found someone who can repair it, and will do it next week - and there are many scrapped cars that can be cannibalised for parts. So even if I do have occasional trouble, it can be fixed despite new parts not being easily available, and in a couple of years, I would have recouped my investment, considering that used EVs are cheaper than ICE vehicles to buy and run.

Over in the USA (California), my cousin is about to buy a used Chevrolet Bolt from 2020 - the company provides a 100,000-mile warranty on the battery and a 8-year warranty on the car, so if anything does go wrong, he's covered. The prices of minimally used EVs there are lucrative, and he also gets a $4000 federal tax credit for buying a used EV.

Maybe if the Indian government also gives a similar subsidy for buying used EVs, folks would vote differently on this thread too!

Here's what BHPian EVFan had to say on the matter:

I actually got a pre-worshipped Kona.

Had already booked for a new EV and the Kona was out of consideration, but then opportunity knocked and i went for it.

Had the same qualms especially it being my first and only vehicle. So was quite scared, but then decided to go ahead with it.

It felt somewhat easier to inspect an EV compared to an ICE and the deal was good enough, till i ended up facing an issue later on with it's AC.

But whatever the case i was quite glad that the vehicle was still in warranty - Realized that the hassles of EV adoption is still quite a nightmare especially out of most cities/metro's.

Though i must point out that the same issue and the subsequent misdiagnosis by the service center would have made the experience even more painful had it been a New vehicle.

Here's what BHPian shancz had to say on the matter:

Voted No.

The technology is still too new to inspire confidence but after a few years down the line I think the polls will reflect a tilt towards "depends on the manufacturer" owing to their track record in spares, support and warranty.

Then the main point of concern would be battery health and cost of battery replacement for 5 years or older EVs.

All this provided any new breakthrough doesn't come in by then.

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.

In terms of comfort, the Regen 0 has made a big difference. The car just floats and gives a smoothness that I do not think any ICE vehicle can emulate.

BHPian electric_eel recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I have always been apprehensive about using the sports mode (it honestly felt scary) and regen 0 (feels like neutral coasting). But now after driving Nexon EV Max for more than a year and clocking a majority of the 20K km on the ODO, it has become a part of my driving routine to set the car to sports mode and regen 0 at the start of every drive. Even in reasonably heavy city traffic this has kind of become the norm for me. I know it can be scary but please hear me out. My experience is with Nexon EV Max but should be applicable to most EVs with controllable regen (in particular regen 0) and multiple drive modes.

Does that mean your metamorphosis into an "enthusiastic" driver is complete?

No, I believe I have become even more defensive in the sports mode and regen 0. I have started leaving even more space in front when cruising, become even more considerate towards headlight flashing, tailgating maniacs behind me and become even more religious in leaving the right-most lane free for people with Schumacher as their last name whom any way I am guaranteed to meet at the next traffic signal or behind the Great (truck) wall of India. Plus the raw beast that is at my disposal means that I can outmanoeuvre even the best of ICE SUVs when in tricky (in terms of safety) situations.

Furthermore, at 100% SoC, the regen level in any EV is effectively 0. So even in normal situations, it is important to get used to driving with regen 0.

Does this mean that you have given up on worrying about efficiency?

On the contrary, my craze for sports mode started with EV_Fan's extensive description of how he was getting better range in sports mode.

My only sub 100 Wh/km till date has been on a one-off early morning. Palakkad-Coimbatore-Palakkad airport drop done in sports mode and regen 0 (about 140 odd kms round trip) bettering my previous 103 Wh/km (314 km round trip drive) from Palakkad-Piravom-Palakkad trip (City mode drive). But I do not think efficiency improved due to sports mode. There are reasons to believe that Kona can in fact give better efficiency in sports mode (see the above quoted post) but I do not think those are applicable to the Nexon EV. What is guaranteed is that It does not go down for sure if you know what you are doing.

What does it bring to the table that one would miss otherwise?

For me, safety and comfort are the biggest considerations when judging a drive. Everything else has to be subservient to these requirements. On the safety front, I believe I have become a safer driver but I cannot say for sure. In terms of comfort, the regen 0 has made a big difference. The car just floats and gives a smoothness that I do not think any ICE machine can emulate (seriously how does one get 0 engine braking without questionable practices like coasting in neutral). So if there is a big boost, it has more to do with the smoothness. Again regen 0 being the most important thing here and not the sports mode.

What should I be careful about?

Of course, you do not want regen 0 in ghat sections for you might fry your frictional brakes otherwise. But even here Nexon EV Max does give a combination of regen braking and frictional braking so it is entirely possible to use regen 0 in milder gradients. Being sensible in your approach is the only suggestion I can come up with.

How to get used to these scary settings?

I would suggest that you begin with driving exclusively in city mode and at low regen level (regen 1 for example) till you get a good hang of the car's throttle dynamics. Even in heavy bumper-to-bumper traffic start driving with lower regen settings. Both sports mode and regen 0 were initially scary for me and I used to drive exclusively in city mode with regen 1. Then I started using regen 0 on highways and finally moved over to sports mode. Needless to say, you need to be defensive in your approach towards driving and not push beyond your comforts (safety-wise).

Is there a downside to this style of driving?

The DTE prediction in Nexon EV Max has been set to show maximum efficiency in eco mode at regen 3. Once you do the regen 0 sports mode drive, you will see the DTE prediction going insane. In any case, you should not rely on the DTE figures too much but rather look at the Wh/km figures to predict the range. I cannot think of any other downside.

What does this say about the current crop of EVs in the market?

Many people consider adjustable regen a gimmick. I beg to differ. Take away the sunroof, or the ventilated seat or the cruise control, or even the music system I might not mind. But adjustable regen and in particular regen 0? Pry it from my cold dead hands. Together with Kona's paddle shift-based regen control, it can do wonders for smoothness and efficiency.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

I have a Tata Nexon EV Max and to me, these points seem to be some of the initial mistakes that all of us make.

BHPian electric_eel recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

1. Learn to find the range using the efficiency figures (Wh/km or Km/Kwh) instead of relying on DTE figures. DTE figures are pretty unreliable and depend on the previous drive.
2. Establish a slow charging routine based on what is said in the user manual and not by random advice on the internet (even if they are from prominent team-bhpians). In general LFP-based battery packs (Tatas, BYDs etc) it is best to charge till 100 % every time you slow charge; but don't guess, read up the manual.
3. For fast charging, it is good to stop at 85% because of two reasons. Firstly beyond 85%, the charging is really slow (you are wasting your as well as other people's time) and secondly, some charging stations are known to give trouble (by not throttling the charging rate) when the battery is nearly full. Whenever possible make sure to do a slow charging to 100% after a few fast charging.
4. Learn to drive defensively. This will improve safety as well as improve the range of your car with almost no change in the driving time.
5. It seems there is a myth that EVs give better range in city driving than highway driving. This myth is probably due to a lack of understanding of what regen braking is (see the next point).
6. Do not assume that Eco mode or for that matter regen 3 is the most efficient. I have got the best efficiency figures till date for Regen 0 in sports mode so far (exactly the opposite of what TATA's inbuilt logic for DTE prediction and their "regen score" in the Zconnect app seems to suggest).
7. Efficiency is not the most important thing in life. Safety and ride comfort are more important factors.

Most of these points are said elsewhere but I have collected them as numbered points because these seem to be some of the initial mistakes all of us make. Feel free to add any more tips but keep it short and to the point to make it more useful.

Here's what BHPian Shreyans_Jain had to say about the matter:

For prospective buyers, the single most important piece of advice is, "Buy the biggest battery pack available."

Don’t try to skimp on a lakh or two initially. This extra investment will more than pay off with a better driving experience of the accompanying higher power motor and the peace of mind and less frequent charging allowed by the longer range.

EV owners up north will see their range drop by 10-15% in winter as heaters will be in use. The heater in EV cars sucks up a lot of battery. Range of my Nexon LR has dropped from 280+ margin to 250+ margin, and I expect it to reduce further as temperatures drop. I like a cozy cabin with the auto climate control set at 22-23 degrees.

Here's what BHPian rsidd had to say about the matter:

I have an issue with point 5 since it seems to have little to do with point 6.

Many highway speed limits are 100-120 kmph, and a vehicle's mileage (whether ICE or EV) falls with increasing speed after a point, rather sharply after 80 kmph. Few of us can restrain ourselves to that speed in a nice car on an empty highway. In a petrol car, you can just refuel sooner than you wanted but in an EV you may run out before your planned stop. So, highway efficiency may be equal to the city if you stick to below 80kmph. (This applies to Nexons etc, more aerodynamic cars may be able to go faster.)

About point 6, does that also apply to city driving? But apart from efficiency I just find the pedal feel in eco mode the best. (Nexon EV max)

Here's what BHPian electric_eel replied:

My point is that most people automatically assume that regen is the best way to increase range based on misguided advice on the internet (even an otherwise well-informed "Talking Cars" episode says this), subliminal suggestions from DTE predictions (TATA cars), "Driving score" regenerative efficiency figures and what not. People lose the big picture that Regen is only to save the energy that we are forced to waste while braking. It is more efficient to just reduce braking (and acceleration).

I have got a significantly better range at 70-80 on highways (110 Wh/km is routine) than city driving (120-130 Wh/km). For highways that I drive on, going beyond these speeds is not advisable anyway from the safety point of view (we are talking about Kerala highways) and gives only marginal improvements in average speeds.

Now for expressway speeds (100-120). It is true that higher speeds means higher wind resistance but I am unsure what is the threshold speed at which it becomes the dominating factor. Maybe when you push the speeds to 100-120 you are also doing more acceleration deceleration, or if you are using cruise control then the associated loss in efficiency is pitching in. I do not know for sure.

The main point is if you can drive at constant speeds then regen 0 is the best. But in city traffic it is difficult. For Kona (which I drove very briefly) there are two things which can make sports mode attractive. It has a milder regen and it has paddle shifters based purely on regen braking all the way till stop. So I think it would give better efficiency in sports mode always (city/highway wherever). Nexon Max probably not.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

Tata is also offering benefits of up to Rs 35,000 on select variants of the 2023 Nexon.ev facelift.

Tata Motors launched the Tata Nexon.ev facelift in September this year. However, as per the latest reports, some dealerships still have unsold stock of the pre-facelift version. To move these cars before the end of the year, Tata is offering benefits of up to Rs 2.60 lakh on the Nexon EV Prime and Max variants.

The Nexon EV Prime is available with a cash discount of Rs 1.40 lakh and an exchange bonus of Rs 50,000, while the Nexon EV Max is offered with a cash discount of Rs 2.10 lakh and an exchange bonus of Rs 50,000. 

Tata Motors is also offering benefits of up to Rs 35,000 on select variants of the 2023 Nexon.ev facelift. Customers opting for the mid-spec Fearless+ and Fearless+ S variants can avail of these benefits. The offer is valid on both Medium Range (MR) and Long Range (LR) versions of the electric SUV.

Customers can avail of these discount offers till December 31, 2023, or until stocks last.

Source: Autocar India

Instead, there is a tachometer-like dial that, in some sense, indicates the power delivered.

BHPian electric_eel recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

On the Nexon EV that I drive, the tachometer does not exist. Instead, there is a tachometer-like dial that in some sense gives an indication of the power delivered. This is infinitely more useful information for driving and with a single transmission setup in most EVs, the motor RPMs are not a very interesting number. But for "academic" reasons is there a point in having an RPM display in an EV? Let me know.

Just FYI, my previous drive was a Zen petrol which is now 20 years old and the only tachometer it has is the driver's ear, but boy what fun it is to listen to the engine note and shift gears particularly when rev-matching and down-shifting.

Here's what BHPian rsidd had to say about the matter:

The EV motor drives the wheels directly, there is no transmission, so the RPM is just some constant times the speed. You can calculate the constant from the wheel diameter. So, no, it's not useful or interesting.

Here's what BHPian SKC-auto had to say about the matter:

Since the motor is always in gear with the wheels, while coasting say at 100kmph, the motor is off, but the rpm is still high, which makes no sense.

Even for any calculations, speed is the only important parameter.

Here's what BHPian Cresterk had to say about the matter:

No, it makes no sense to have a tacho in EVs.

On hybrids though, I wish they had a tacho since it has an engine. I would have liked to know what rpm my Hycross is running.

Here's what BHPian Shresth_EV had to say about the matter:

I would love to have a power dial with real markings like old Tesla Model S dials instead of the “Apple performance graphs” we get right now which only tell a relative fraction of the total power being used.

I think the MG has the volts and amps count mentioned but I’d like to see a real-time dial (as an option to be added on the digital cockpit not permanent).

Would open a new world of hypermiling where the car tells you exactly how much continuous power the motor gets (say 15kW at 100kmph) so as to make range assumptions more accurate and easier.

For instance, 15kW at 100kmph means 15kWh for 100km range or 150Wh/km.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The on-road price difference between the XUV400 and top-end Nexon.EV LR is a whopping 4 lakhs

BHPian GKR9900 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I just made a Nexon.EV Empowered plus booking the previous week. Seeing the discounts on the 4OO is making me reconsider my options. The on-road price difference between the 400 and top-end Nexon.EV LR is a whopping 4 lakhs (that's almost 20%). While the XUV does miss out on adjustable regen, ventilated seats, EPB, newer infotainment system etc, it is a much better mechanical package compared to the Nexon with its FSD equipped suspension, more interior space etc. But the NMC batteries and its reduced charging cycle is a problem, but then again there is an 8 year warranty.

I would be lying if I say I am not considering the 400 again. So decided to take a TD of the 400 again today.

Here's what BHPian electric_eel had to say on the matter:

Warning: I have seen (not test driven) the 400 twice so most of my points will be out of ignorance. Here are few points you need to consider. Not all "futuristic" features are useful. Let me evaluate based on Nexon EV Max that I have.

• Sunroof (useless)
• Large screen (useless)
• Adjustable regen. I think this is very useful not just to milk the most mileage but to improve the smoothness. I find the regen level 3 to be really bad if you want to do smooth driving. Ones you get a hang of EV style driving, this is the thing that you will miss the most.
• Paddle shifter, in particular the way it is implemented in Kona (I tried it recently) is superb. You can bring the car to a complete stop just using regen braking.
• Cruise control: I hardly use it. Not a fan of it as it gives bad efficiency and without any sort of ADAS looks really scary. But that is my opinion, others have found it quite useful particularly on straight expressways.
• Good music system. I like it very much but I would put it in the useless category.
• Ventilated seats. Good to have but if the AC is fine not really important. Only available in the front seats any way.

Another point you want to consider, particularly with senior citizens is the ingress and egress. I found that shorter folks have some problem in the Nexon Max.

Here's what BHPian Venky03 had to say on the matter:

I was in a similar dilemma, let me lay down some pros and cons for you:

XUV400 Pros:

• Spacious and comfortable.
• Equipped with a more powerful motor.
• Faster DC charging speeds.
• Less susceptible to BMS issues due to battery chemistry.

• XUV400 Cons:

• Interiors are a sore sight.
• No option to adjust regen, it is linked to drive modes.
• Lack of long-term reviews regarding battery SOH.
• Still a gen 1 product from Mahindra.
• Facelift due for next year.

• Nexon.EV Pros:

• Modern interior and exterior design.
• Features that're actually practical like ventilated seats and 360-degree camera.
• Paddle shifters to adjust regen.
• Multiple long term reviews available of both models.

Nexon.EV Cons:

• LR variant feels cramped even in front seats.
• Multiple owners facing HV critical error.
• Ingress and egress for rear.
• Slower DC-FC speeds.

I had booked both the Nexon.EV 2023 and Mahindra XUV 400, and absolutely loved the driving dynamics of the XUV 400 but there were 2 big deterrents for me:

The way Mahindra treated the early adopters, all the early media reviews mentioned that the XUV 400 will come with ESC and other safety features in the production variant and these features were even promised by some dealers to the early buyers. After the updated variant arrived, these early buyers reached out to Mahindra to retrofit the updates, but they were straight up denied citing hardware incompatibility. They changed the stance very recently after all the early buyers started bashing them left and right on all the social media platforms.

Software updates, they're an integral part of electric vehicles. Tata is very serious and committed to EV ecosystem and is way ahead of Mahindra. Mahindra had to switch from LG chem to Farasis for their batteries due to their lazy approach towards EVs.

Here's what BHPian ferrarirules had to say on the matter:

I will recommend to go for Nexon.EV. Other have already pointed out the feature differences and Pros/Cons. But my reason is that the feeling of the product getting outdated soon.

The way technology has progressed in today's world, we are getting newer version of a product every year. Biggest example - Phones.

Now with XUV400, it is the GEN 1 of the product. There are bound to be major updates to the car soon where as Nexon EV is GEN3 of the product with a major update done recently. So Nexon EV will see incremental updates in the coming years rather than a major upgrade.

Summary - The choice is between living with a product which is outdated for minimum 5 years and living with a product which will remain relevant for at least coming 3 years.

Here's what BHPian VWAllStar had to say on the matter:

If you want to go for an EV now, take the big bang and long term economics in perspective. Spend another 3 Lakhs and get the MG ZS EV or Kona EV over Nexon or XUV 4OO. Mahindra will bring out their best EV products only in 2025. This iteration of XUV 4OO is only to keep the customers engaged and not let Tata have the whole cake. Think long term and you would find a lot of value in those additional 3 Lakhs. Or simply go for a petrol SUV which is 3 lakhs lesser than your budget and spend it on fuel cost.

Here's what BHPian EV Fan had to say on the matter:

If not in a hurry, then would suggest waiting for new gen EV platforms as they might substantially improve upon the ergonomics (across all brands).

The 400 has pretty good ground clearance and seating though. If you are desperately in need and are happy with the existing driving modes then it should be a valid choice.

I somehow felt, the modes did not suit my style and the lack of options meant i could not play around to make it suit my needs hence did not look further. Also the range & efficiency figures did not match upto the expectations.

But i guess i was also biased against them for literally screwing up their first mover advantage and then still come up with a competitively underscoring product. An existing platform, existing EV expertise yet felt they had come out with such an unfinished product.

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