A stylish electric car

Mahindra e2o is a superior city car. 

For several years for now car manufacturers world wide are working on electric car technology and many have introduced such cars with varied degree of success. Since an e-car runs on batteries and does not depend on fossil fuels like petrol, diesel or gas, it is considered a clean and operationally cheaper alternative. In India too the journey of electric car began several years ago when in 2001 the Bangalore-based Reva Electric launched Reva cars.

But Reva failed to make an impact in the market as the car was too small (it could accommodate two adults and two kids), had lower battery range and the look never excited buyers. Three years ago Reva Electric was taken over by the Mumbai-based automobile giant Mahindra & Mahindra and the new company, named Mahindra Reva, recently reintroduced the electric car with a completely new configuration. 

The new car named Mahindra e2o (energy from sun to oxygen) is a two-door four seater (it can seat four adults) fully automatic car with dent and scratch proof fibre body. To get a good feel of Mahindra e2o, I drove the car on Bangalore roads and in its outskirts for three days.

The drive

Positioned mainly as a city car, Mahindra e2o has a mileage of 100 km on a full charge of the battery that takes around 4-5 hours. In case of urgency it can be charged for one hour for a 20 km driving range. The vehicle has a maximum speed of 81 km but on congested city roads reaching that speed will be very rare. Ideally, to be on the safer side, one should plan to return to the charging point within a 80 km drive as the range drops by 20 per cent when the AC is used. The AC system, however, is very effective and will suffice in hot summer days.  Mahindra e2o is a small car (length 3280mm, width 1514 mm, height 1560 mm), it is slightly smaller than Maruti Alto but marginally bigger than Tata Nano, it is ideal for city driving. It can be manoeuvred easily in city traffic and with shorter turning radius (3.9m) it can take sharp turns.

The pick up of the car is good enough for city driving even with 4 adults inside. Since the AC draws power from the battery, it is never a drag on the pulling power of the engine. The best part of driving the car is the auto transmission. With No gear shift or clutch pressing, just shift the transmission lever to ‘F’ (it stands for forward) and drive. One needs to use only one foot for driving shifting between the accelerator and brake pedals.The ‘Hill Hold’ feature, which keeps the car stationary and prevents roll back for a few seconds after the foot is taken off from the brake pedal, makes  it is hassle free to drive up a flyover in congested traffic or roll up a steep gradient. The rear seat can comfortably accommodate two adults or three young children but the side glasses are fixed and cannot be rolled down.

The car, however, needs several improvements to create superior customer delight. The absence of power steering makes steering the car stiff, especially while parking or turning at a slow speed the job is tough. It is expected that the company will soon add power steering  to its car. The soundproofing of the cabin needs to be improved to make it quieter. The shock absorbers also need to be softer as most potholes on Bangalore roads were making their presence felt to  passengers inside Mahindra e2o. And, above all, the car’s movement is limited by the battery charge. To make things easier, the company is in the process of setting up 100 charging points in Bangalore where the  a electric car can be charged for a small fee. 

Not for the masses   

Be sure, Mahindra e2o is not a car for the mass market. Positioned mainly as a second car for the upper middle class and rich families, Mahindra e2o is suitable mainly for city driving. Most buyers will compare it  with small petrol or diesel cars only to find that Mahindra e2o is much more expensive, in some cases more than double,  than small cars like Maruti Alto, Hyundai Eon, GM Spark, etc. Priced at Rs 6.49 lakh (ex showroom) in Bangalore, the company claims it compares well with small petrol-driven compact automatic cars that also cost around the same. The company said it has entered into an arrangement with State Bank of India for a 7 year loan facility, down payment of Rs 1.5 lakh and EMI payment of Rs 9275 per month.  But despite the ‘expensive’ price tag, be sure Mahindra’s car is far cheaper than electric cars abroad where the price starts at around Rs 16 lakh. Mahindra e2o is expected to be cheaper in future as the central government’s policy on electric mobility is expected to announce a subsidy of around Rs 1.5 lakh per car. Currently it gets varied amount of subsidy and sales tax exemptions in various states and this is the reason why in Delhi it costs much cheaper at Rs 5.96. Price in Karnataka also include big discounts in taxes from the state. 

The operational cost of the electric car will be much lower. The running cost on account of consumption of electricity will be just about Rs 600 per month for an average daily use of 40 km. This means an average cost of 50 paisa per km compared to around Rs 5 per km for petrol cars. Even after adding the replacement cost of the battery after four years, the cost per km will work out to around Rs 3.10 per km. Mahindra e2o owners will also save money as the car’s maintenance cost is almost zero compared to service cost of around around Rs 6,000 per annum for small petrol/ diesel cars.

Charging the car using solar panels

The technology

At the heart of Mahindra e2o is the modern electric vehicle technology, powered by the new generation 48 volt lithium-ion batteries and a 3 phase induction electric motor. Charge the battery for 5 hours for a full charge from a standard 15A power point and the car is ready for a driving range of 100 km, enough for driving in most cities. If one can set up a solar panel charging facility at home at a cost of Rs 1 lakh, the charging will be totally free.

The transmission is fully automatic with a ‘Boost’ mode for quick acceleration. The regenerative technology also charges the battery whenever the car slows down or brake is applied. If running low on battery one can remotely activate the reserve energy from the battery by using an app on the smartphone. But don’t depend on it too much as the driving can get extended only by 7-8 km.

The maintenance free battery has a life of 60,000 km (the company claims the actual life is longer). This means that at an average daily driving of 40 km a day, the battery will need replacement after around four years and the cost for the same is likely to be around Rs 1.50 lakh.

The dashboard and the multimedia display tell the user efficiency of driving, the charge remaining and the distance to empty on a real time basis. With 10 on board computers, the car also provides real time feedback of all the vehicle’s functions does a daily heart beat check of the vital systems and sends alerts if anything has to be fixed.

The Mahindra e2o comes with a 15.5 cm touch screen, with factory fitted GPS navigation system, radio, DVD, Blue tooth and I-pod connectivity. The full digital cluster, electrically operated wing mirrors, keyless entry & start/stop button, projector headlamps, LED tail lamps, reverse camera, 4JBL speakers & 2 tweeters makes the features of the Mahindra e2o comparable to most highend cars. The car is available in six colours.

The writer is a Business Journalist and car enthusiast writing test drive reports for the last ten years. Pictures by the writer. He can be contacted on dilipmaitra@gmail.com 

Tata's new Vista D90 has a re-tuned, more responsive engine.

Vista D90 is a hightech hatchback with more power.
My last week’s drive on the Bangalore-Honnavar national highway to Shimoga and Bhadravati reservoir from Bangalore was a pleasurable experience though the temperature shot up to 37 degrees during the day. What made the 650 km drive memorable were the nicely maintained roads and the cool comfort of Tata Vista D90, the new Vista from the Tata Motors’ stable. The hatchback added new excitement in the compact segment as it came with a powerful 90 PS diesel engine and a host of new features.

Of course, one of the reasons for adding Vista D90 was to regain share in the market which recently saw many new launches in the compact segment. Despite the hatchback segment being extremely price sensitive, the new Vista D90 boasts of high-tech features like navigation system, automatic climate control, touchscreen multimedia etc, which we normally see in the expensive sedan cars. By adding a sporty look in Vista D90, Tatas are also trying to attract young customers who prefer power, technology and contemporary look. The ex-showroom price of Vista D90 VX is Rs 6.09 lakh and for ZX+ is Rs 6.91 lakh.

The raw power

The most important change in the new Vista is under the hood as the old 1.25 litre Quadrajet (common rail direct injection) engine has been majorly re-tuned to deliver 90 PS of maximum power @4000rpm and 200Nm of torque @ 1750-3000rpm. (Tatas will continue to sell the earlier version of Vista that has 75 PS of max power and 190Nm of torque.)

Vista D90 is also the second diesel hatchback (the other one is Punto 90) to have a Variable Geometry Turbocharger (VGT) technology, which makes the engine very peppy. The benefit of VGT as against fixed turbocharger we see in most small cars, is that the engine has a fairly good pick up even at 4^th and 5^th gears. This feature is a big advantage while driving on the highway and overtaking speeding vehicles. The only issue I faced is more-than-normal noise levels when the engine is revved up at low gears for quick acceleration. But, considering the lower price of a hatchback, one need not complain of inadequate sound proofing of the cabin. Higher torque also helps in the congested city driving condition as it allows driving without gear shift on a wide range of speed.

The company claimed an ARAI certified fuel economy of 21.12 kmpl. But I found that in a combination of city, highway and hilly terrain driving I got close to 18 kmpl of mileage, not bad considering the fact I did 120 on several stretches. The car’s ability to do 0-100 km in 15.5 seconds was also testimony of the raw power of the engine, though in actual driving one would rarely be in such a hurry. The D90 engine is also mated well to a Euro-tech 2 gearbox, for smooth and comfortable gearshifts. The power assisted steering though slightly stiffer than electronic steering, it is best suited for high speed highway driving.

High-tech edge

Tatas claim that Vista D90’s many high-tech features are firsts in the hatchback segment.  It has a touchscreen multimedia, with a multi-colour TFT interface and an inbuilt GPS system that combines the entertainment, navigation and communication needs. The touchscreen offers GPS navigation features like adjustable day & night mode, saved destination database, voice instruction guidance and optimal route mode. It also comes with a multimedia DVD player and Blue5 technology that can pair up to 5 mobile phones through Bluetooth connectivity.

The Fully Automatic Climate Control (the airconditioning system) provides 3 modes -- Normal, Auto and Economy mode. The Normal mode ensures that AC temperature in the car is as per the temperature set. The Auto mode senses the outside temperature and with the help of its sensors, automatically conditions the car below the outside temperature. The Economy mode saves fuel and increases mileage, automatically changing the AC compressor cycle to run in economy mode.

Another very useful new technology in Vista D90 is the Advanced Driver Information System and Fuel Computer. A small digital screen on the dashboard provides an instant update on mileage, average fuel consumption, distance-to-empty, ambient temperature and a digital clock. The mileage data on a realtime basis is extremely useful for drivers to get the maximum number of kilometres from every litre of petrol.     

Driver’s comfort

Since hatchbacks are mostly self-driven, the D90 has taken care to make it comfortable for the driver. It has aligned instrument cluster just behind the steering and has mounted audio controls on the steering. The 6-way height adjustable driver seat with lumbar support, intelligent rear wiper, electrically adjusted outside mirrors and all 4 power windows provide a comfortable driving experience in Vista D90. The car has good cabin space for comfortable seating for 5 persons but the boot space is just good enough for luggage for a short family vacation. 

The Tata Vista D90 has been designed for the young and trendy customer. It’s new sporty front and rear bumpers, lavish chrome pack, aerodynamic spoiler, triple barrel headlamps, infinity contrast roof and 2-tone alloy wheels, add vigour to the exteriors, making the Tata Vista D90 a sporty and stylish hatch.

Sporty look

Vista D90 has been designed keeping in mind the young and trendy customers. It’s new sporty front and rear bumpers, lavish chrome pack, aerodynamic spoiler, triple barrel headlamps and 2-tone alloy wheels, add dynamism to the exteriors.

It has also added many safety features in the top-end variant. It has a high strength steel frame for extra strength and protection. The VX and ZX+ variants have safety & security features like dual front SRS airbags, engine immobilizer and central locking system. The car comes with Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) technology as a standard fitment. This anti-skidding feature allows steering of the car in case of panic braking.

All pictures by the writer.

The writer is a business journalist writing test drive reports for the last 10 years. 

He can contacted on dilipmaitra@gmail.com