Homegrown auto major Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), a pioneer in integrated and electric mobility solutions in India, is leaving no stone unturned to make the environment greener and cleaner.
The company launched e2o Plus recently, which is primarily meant for city commuting. The e2o Plus hatchback priced in the range of Rs 5.46 lakh to Rs 8.46 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), and is also looking at expanding its electric vehicle portfolio further. With the launch of the e2o Plus marked the company’s foray into the mass market electric city car segment.
The e2o Plus is an amalgamation of advancements in automotive technology, electronics and information technology. M&M’s electric vehicle portfolio includes small car and light commercial models such as e2o, eVerito and eSupro, among others. Since launching small car e2o in March 2013, it has so far sold over 3,000 units of the car in the country.
The company has marked the entry level of the e2o Plus, P2 variant of the vehicle for fleet owners. The other variants — P4, P6, and P8 — are priced at Rs 5.46 lakh, Rs 5.95 lakh and Rs 8.46 lakh, respectively.
The vehicle comes with a range of 140 km on a single charge, and achieves a top speed of 85 kmph. The company, which has already invested around Rs 800 crore on its electric vehicles business, including development of technology.
It comes with various features such as easy home charging, hill assist, reverse camera, charging ports and smartphone connectivity, among others. Compared with other normal cars on the road, what makes the Mahindra e2o Plus special is its mechanism. The electrically-operated machine will distance you from long lines in pumps. One will definitely feel the importance of the car during the hike in fuel rate and strikes in the city. All you need to have is an AEH plug-point in your parking area to charge the battery. One full charge will last for nearly two days with the planned schedule. The driver has to limit the usage of other features like AC, music system, indicator, and unnecessary honking as this will drain the battery.
Accommodating over four passengers will also be an issue, as the engine needs more power to pull the weight, which is directly dependent on battery.
The digital analogue in the car is a required feature in e-cars, where we get to know how far a car can take you. The battery’s life, estimated kilometre to travel will caution you to charge the battery so that you will not be kept in the lurch on the road.
Besides battery, the car being gearless is another plus-point that makes your city drive easy. The easy switching of the modes from neutral to forward, reverse and power drive is as simple as playing with a toy car. As the battery is the whole and soul of the car, the makers have completely avoided using any heavy substance in building the body. If a complete fibre-made body is a boon for battery (as it won’t stress it), it’s a complete drawback for passengers. A small accident or even if it comes in touch with other vehicles will cause huge damage for the vehicle, where the owner has to cough up more to fix it. The seat-belt is the minimum and the only safety aspect in the car.
Four-door offering
The modified four doors is not just an add on feature, but it has also increased the leg room in the rear seat. It can easily accommodate three people in the back seat and two in front, and makes for a complete family car. Though the charging plug will occupy little space in the hatchback, rest of the place is for utility. The fast drain of the battery with the heavy weight is the only drawback in the vehicle.
When compared to normal fuel cars, the battery-operated cars will charge you less and is effective in cost-cutting. But an individual will definitely be concerned with the cost of the vehicle, as the fuel rates in the country are fluctuating. For the future, M&M is looking for a bigger play in the electric vehicle segment, with plans to launch electric versions of its existing conventional engine models.
Efficient power
The Mahindra e2o Plus is powered by a 48V and 72V lithium-ion battery pack, latter for the top-end variant, which produces a maximum power of 26 hp and 40 hp, and churns out a peak torque of 70 Nm and 91 Nm, respectively. The car accelerates from 0 to 60 kmph in 14.1 seconds in the P4 and P6 versions, while the 72V battery-powered version takes 9.5 seconds, and has a top speed of 128 kmph. It takes around six to nine hours to fully charge the vehicle and has a fast-charging time of 75 minutes and 90 minutes in the P4 and P8 trims. While the smaller 48V electric motor has a range of 110 km, the 72V unit is good for 140 km.
The Mahindra e2o Plus is equipped with a steel frame structure, and has a wheelbase of 2,258 mm and ground clearance of 170 mm.
The exterior of the new electric vehicle gets a new grille, revised rear end and Mahindra’s signature vertical design. The top-end variant also gets alloy wheels and a Blaupunkt infotainment system that also has a reverse parking camera.
Other highlights of the Mahindra e2o Plus include REVive technology, which helps the car to gain an extra 5-10 km of range when the battery is low, and hill assist, which will prevent the car from a rollback on an incline.
DH News Service
Verdict: With a simple mechanism, and easy to drive, the Mahindra e2o plus is tailor-made for city drive.
Battery capacity 210 Ah
Battery weight 121 kg
Power 30 kW @ 3500 rpm
Technology Lithium Ion
On-board power 16 kWhr
Torque 91Nm @ 2000 rpm
PRICE Rs 9,50,586 lakh (ex-showroom Bengaluru)
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