Mahindra XUV400 EV vs Tata Nexon EV: Battle Of The Made-In-India Electric SUVs!

Tata took the first leap of faith by foraying into the electric compact SUV segment back in 2020 with the Nexon EV. It has gone on to become a hit and is the best selling EV in India, but the question is for how long? Because three years later, the Nexon EV finally has an immediate rival in the form of the Mahindra XUV400. The latter has just been launched and both fare very closely in every possible aspect. So can the Mahindra SUV grab a slice of the Nexon EV's pie? Let's compare the two on paper:

Dimensions

On the other hand, the Nexon EV is just a regular sub-4m SUV, which got its fossil-fuel powered heart replaced by an electric one. 

Performance

Considering the options at disposal, there’s definitely a steed for every need. Both the EVs get two variants – Standard and Long Range – with different battery sizes and in the case of the Nexon EV, a less powerful motor as well. 

But irrespective of the variant, the XUV400 gets a 150PS/310Nm e-motor, which packs more oomph than both the Nexon EV’s e-motors. Subsequently, the Mahindra clocks the 0-100kmph sprint quicker than the Tata. But, it’s the Nexon EV Max that pack’s the bigger 40.5kWh battery pack of the two EVs.

That said, if you compare the standard range variants, the Mahindra XUV400’s base option has a larger battery pack.  Plus, both the EVs get regenerative braking, however, it's the Tata that offers multiple levels to it, controlling the aggressiveness of the regen.   

Range and Charging 

Note: Mahindra hasn’t revealed the charging times for the 3.3kW and 7.2kW chargers

Both variants of the Mahindra XUV400 offer a better range in comparison to their corresponding Mahindra trims. The difference is considerable in the standard range variations of the two due to the Mahindra’s slightly larger battery, but thanks to the latest upgrade which Tata released, the difference between the long range variants is very minute (just 3km).

The EC trim of the Mahindra XUV400 comes with a 3.3kW charger as standard and a 7.2kW charger that can be had for extra dough. The latter is offered as standard in the EVs EL trim. The Nexon on the other hand gets a 3.3kW charger as standard throughout, which again, can be upgraded to the bigger 7.2kW charger for extra cash, but that’s only for the Max trims. Both SUVs offer very close charging times, but the XUV400’s battery gets topped by quicker using the DC fast charger. 

Features

Even though both the EVs pack a decent list of features, it’s the Nexon EV that creeps ahead. It packs additional creature comforts such as ventilated seats, a cooled glovebox, wireless phone charging, automatic AC, rear AC vents and even an air purifier. But most of these features that the Tata packs over the Mahindra are exclusive to the Max variant. However, the Mahindra XUV400 gets six airbags instead of the Nexon’s two.

Price

The Mahindra XUV400, at its introductory pricing, did come across as a mouth water proposition with decent kit onboard, zippy motor and a larger size. But just a day after that, Tata cut prices for the Nexon EV, and the entry-level pricing for both standard and long range variants undercut the Mahindra by a fair margin, making the tried and tested EV an even more value proposition. 

But how they fare in the real world is a story for another day when we compare them for a detailed comparison test. Stay tuned.