Mahindra XEV 9e First Drive Review

We’ve very often called cars ‘mad’. To say that they’re ‘mad’ fast, ‘mad’ spacious, ‘mad’ on technology — tells you it’s bringing something new to the table or pushes the boundaries of what’s acceptable. By that definition, Mahindra’s XEV 9e is certifiably mad. But what really makes this package shine, is the ‘method’ to the madness. 

To BE or not to BE

Quite a few heads very surely scratched at Mahindra HQ, figuring out what to call this thing. It does not fall into their new baby brand ‘BE’. It builds on a rather familiar sounding XUV, and is an ‘XEV’. This is despite sharing practically all the running gear and gubbins with the new car. Why the XEV, then? 

It seems like Mahindra wanted to have something in store for those who wanted a sense of familiarity while making the switch to electric. The XEV’s name, the ‘Mahinda Electric’ infinity logo and the car itself bring that familiar friendly feeling. 

There’s no rocket science — in design and principle — this is a coupe-version of the Mahindra’s erstwhile ICE flagship, the XUV700. But it’s one design that’s been executed rather cleanly. It’s been decades since BMW first tried ‘normalising’ a coupe SUV, but that acceptance seems to have finally arrived to the mass market. The XEV’s large size has given the designers some crucial real estate to carve out something proportional. This is a great starting point. 

That design is nowhere close to being universally appealing. It has a sense of exuberance and extra that might just be off-putting to quite a few. But you cannot accuse it of not having a personality. The massive connecting light bars at the front and rear, the flute-detailing on the bumper, the flush-door handles, 19/20” inch wheel options — it’s textbook modern car design. Mahindra’s been gutsy with the colour options too. There’s a matte copper and olive green in there for crying out loud. 

Hello XUV!

It all begins with a flaw. I’ve found myself banging my head against the roof every second time I get into the car. The cabin feels ‘sandwiched’ between the low roof and the high floor, and it’s not easy for a tall person to get in and out. Thankfully, you’d forget about the knock on your head once you’re inside the cabin. 

The cabin design is a mish-mash of the XUV700 and the new BE 6, and it works. The third screen on the dashboard is probably the first thing that’ll get your attention, but there’s so much more here to explore. 

Take the new steering wheel for example. It gets a flat-bottom design, a twin-spoke layout, an illuminated logo and for some reason — a centre marker! There are no paddle shifters either, just a few buttons that are placed ‘around’ the hornpad. 

Something as supposedly basic as power window switches have been redesigned to look like toggle switches. Look up, and you’d find a fixed glass roof instead of a panoramic sunroof. There’s some ‘masala’ here too, with embossed Mahindra electric logos that light up in tandem with the ambient lighting. An attempt at making a ‘light-hearted’ family car was made. Success.

Not fans of the light interior though. They soil at the drop of a hat and are an absolute pain to keep clean in Indian conditions. The white/olive green colour combination is rather odd too, and we’d much rather prefer a staple tan-black, at least as an option. On a similar note, piano black finishes are used with abandon for a lot of surfaces. They’re dirt/scratch magnets, so you’d do well to have a protective film installed.

What also puzzles you a little is the variety of quality of materials. It ranges from top-shelf to budget-grade and that has the XEV fall short of delivering a consistent interior experience. The soft-touch on the dash and door pads, the leatherette on the central armrest feel great. The same can’t be said for the hard plastic that’s used in multiple places through the cabin — it feels just about acceptable for the price. 

For space, you wouldn’t be left wanting for more. There’s enough kneeroom for a six footer to sit very comfortably behind a six foot tall driver. Seating three is possible, underthigh support is acceptable and headroom is excusable. 

The 663-litre boot seems large on paper. In the real world, there are challenges. A high loading lip and a wide, long but short space makes things tricky. It’s best if you use cabin-sized trolley bags, of which the XEV 9e will very happily swallow 4-5 of, and have space to spare. A handy 60:40 split enhances versatility. Also, there’s a massive 150-litre frunk on offer, which is plenty to store ‘valuables’ away from prying eyes. 

App-liance

On the features front, Mahindra hasn’t held back one bit. The XEV 9e gets all that you think is mandatory, good to have, and great to have. For an Indian manufacturer to offer as much technology is genuinely appreciable. Here’s the highlight reel

Basics including keyless entry, seat ventilation, powered driver’s seat, powered tailgate are bundled in too. If we had to nitpick, we’d say a powered co-driver’s seat seems like a very silly miss. 

It’s a fortress

We tested the top-spec XEV 9e ‘Pack Three’. Safety features included

This is pretty much the bare minimum you expect on a vehicle these days. We had limited time to test out ADAS too. The features you want such as adaptive cruise control, auto emergency braking, lane keep assist, blind spot monitoring all function the way they’re supposed to. We’ve liked the calibration of the ADAS on the XUV700 (that’s to say it’s very India-friendly) and we’ve got no reason to believe it's better or worse on the XEV 9e. 

Float like a butterfly, sting like a BE

This giant SUV shares its underpinnings with the compact BE 6. The motors, the battery pack, the drivetrain — all of it. Mahindra’s skateboard ‘INGLO’ architecture gives them a free hand in choosing rear or all wheel drive. For the moment, the XEV9e remains an RWD SUV.

It’s rather surprising that despite a 0-100kmph time of 6.8 seconds, and a top speed of 202kmph, the XEV does not feel frantic or rushed in its nature. It’s one of those cars that masks its speed too well, and has a ‘chill, I got this’ vibe to it. Acceleration is strong and linear and there’s practically no time you’d take getting used to the throttle. It’s only in the most ferocious ‘Race’ mode (other modes: ‘Everyday’ and ‘Range’) that it might feel a little overwhelming to new drivers. But it still won’t pin you to your seat or outright scare you. 

Mahindra’s done a swell job of calibrating the brakes too. EVs usually leave you second guessing a fair bit considering there’s regenerative braking involved. Here, there’s none of that. Changing modes does not change the feel or urgency of the brakes either. Relief! 

You’d be quite relaxed inside the cabin too. The large size, big wheels, big sidewalls and a well-tuned suspension all work to give you a calming ride. It doesn’t throw you around over really rough surfaces like other EVs tend to do. There’s ample ground clearance, so you can drive to your farm house unbothered about the underbelly. In the little time we got to push the XEV 9e around corners, it felt predictable and neutral. Nothing over or underwhelming. We’d have to wait for some real world impressions to form a conclusive opinion here, however. 

We wouldn’t be surprised if the XEV’s large 79kWh version manages to clock 500km on a single charge. Mahindra claims it’s possible and that claim seems believable given we clocked 80km and lost just about 15 per cent of charge. As a vehicle that can do the daily office runs and have spare charge on the weekend for a quick getaway, the XEV’s showing a lot of promise. 

Verdict

Mahindra’s efforts in building the XEV 9e are applause-worthy. That it’s built right here in India is a matter of pride for us, and concern for global manufacturers. 

With the XEV 9e, Mahindra is asking you to ponder. Think whether you really want to spend that much more for a Korean or a German electric vehicle. Because it’s seemingly doing everything. Space, comfort, technology, real world usability — all boxes checked, at least on the surface. For now, we aren’t going to stick our necks out for reliability, there’s simply too much that’s new here. That wouldn't, however, stop us from recommending one.