Way More Practical Than The BE 6, Says Happy Mahindra XEV 9e Electric SUV Owner [Video]
Mahindra began delivering the Electric Origin SUVs- the BE 6 and XEV 9e- in mid-March. People have since been flooding the internet with user impressions and ownership reviews. Now, one of the first ones to take home an XEV 9e has come up with an in-depth ownership review in which he talks about the experience so far and why he chose the XEV 9e over the BE 6.
In a video shared on the YouTube channel RNK Autos, we get to listen to the words of Divesh, the happy XEV 9e owner. He has a YouTube channel and also owns a bunch of interesting SUVs like the Mahindra Scorpio-N and Toyota Hilux. He wanted something big and roomy enough to match his lifestyle. He considered several options before buying the XEV. He says that he chose the XEV 9e over the BE 6 because he felt it to be more practical than the BE.
Divesh says that he wanted his family to be comfortable and happy inside the new car. However, when they took a test drive of the BE 6, his family found its cabin to invoke a sense of 'having less space' inside, even when its overall dimensions ( and actual room) remain comparable to the XEV 9e. Divesh says that they found the room between the roof and their heads to be small.
He further comments that they 'felt' the cabin to be slightly less roomy than what it actually is, probably because of the dark colourway inside. Another concern was that the rear occupants found the window line to be quite high. In addition to these, the XEV 9e offered more features and equipment which gave it an upper hand in practicality.
Later in the video, he also talks about his owner experience so far, the good, bad and ugly about the XEV, and how he managed to do a 100-to-0% range test with the vehicle.
BE 6 and XEV 9e: What's Common And What' Different?
To start with, both the BE6 and XEV 9e are based on Mahindra's new INGLO electric vehicle (EV) platform- which it developed in India, adhering to global benchmarks.
In dimensions, the XEV spans 4,789 mm in length, 1,907 mm in width and 1,694 mm in height while the length, width and height of the BE 6 are 4,371 mm, 1,907 mm and 1,627 mm respectively. Both electric SUVs have the same wheelbase- 2775 mm. This small difference in dimensions translates to noticeable spikes in practicality inside the XEV 9e. We knew that this would influence sales to some extent, since when we drove both vehicles back to back.
In terms of design, the BE 6 takes a completely fresh approach. The result is a car that looks too radical for its time. the XEV on the other hand, takes a more mature, and toned-down approach, and delivers on the practicality front. It looks like an electric coupe form of the popular XUV 700, but with a catch. Unlike the XUV 700 which squeezes a third row of seats into the cabin, the XEV prefers to be a strict five-seater with generous boot space- a significant practicality boost.
Furthermore, it is the XEV that has a stronger focus on occupant comfort, and features the likes of a triple screen setup. The BE6 is for those who prefer to have a sporty driving experience. The XEV's cabin gets a familiar layout and shares some of its switchgear with the BE 6 and the rest with the XUV 700.
Both the XEV 9e and BE 6 are powered by the same set of battery packs- 59 kWh and 79kWh, and rear-mounted electric motors. The powertrain outputs stand at 282 bhp and 380 Nm of torque. The BE 6 comes in five variants while the XEV comes in four. The BE6 does the 0-100 kmph sprint in 6.7 seconds while the XEV is slightly slower at 6.8 seconds.
In pricing, the BE 6 starts at Rs. 18.90 Lakh (ex-showroom) and goes up to Rs 26.90 Lakh ( ex-showroom). The average ex-showroom prices of the XEV 9e falls in the range of Rs. 21.90- 30.50 Lakh.