BE 6e Review: Mahindra’s Sexy New EV

You don’t expect such an edgy design from an Indian manufacturer, do you? But while Mahindra took a comparatively conservative approach with the XEV 9e, it went completely overboard with the BE 6e.

Mahindra BE 6e Review: Design

Five concepts had been shown and at that time we were still calling it BE, that was the one that got my attention and I'll tell you what, it is this, the 6E that's getting everybody's attention now too. It's just like nothing else on the road, really cab-forward design, really maximizes the fact that it's an electric, really stubby and short in the front, massive wheels, huge, very expressive face, and then you have this air dam which of course helps with the aerodynamics, But gives you a little bit of a frunk in there as well.

Coupe roofline, because of course it's a nice sporty compact crossover, but maximizes the wheelbase again to enhance space on the inside. Very edgy styling, it's got the two tonality and it's very exaggerated, everything is exaggerated, the lines, the cuts, the muscle and these huge wheel arches. At the back too, it looks like nothing on the road. You see the LED pattern up front and it's kind of mirrored in a way back here as well and you've got a roofline that looks, or a spoiler also, that looks like nothing else on the road, fine.

Mahindra BE 6e Review: Interior & Tech

The sassiness continues on the inside. Really different cabin, especially in the driver's seat and what's nice is it emphasizes the driver's position. You've got this element that kind of wraps around the driver. It's like a grab handle but not really. It's like a fighter jet cockpit is what Mahindra says. Again, two different plastic elements here. One's one has that soft touch feel again, it's nice, it's different and the one is frosted plastic. The seat's very, very different and you know, I'll show you more about that in the back, but just the two different textures and this incongruous design, it's very, very different. Two wireless chargers both up front, a very weird, funky-looking gear shifter, again that's going to take some getting used to.

What I really love is how the key is shaped and kind of looks like a little spaceship and also the way it docks itself in the centre console, that's really nice. It is very different, and all of this will take some getting used to, including how you control the screen. This one has the two-screen layout, both 12 .3 inch, but both studded with all that connectivity and all the functionality. I like the shape of the steering, that's unconventional.

It's finished well too, it's got lots going on, but I have to say that, you know, this panel, as cool as it looks, when you're trying to access some of these buttons like mode or telephone, you sort of end up hitting the horn and so that needs maybe a little bit of fine-tuning. Last thing, this element that I was talking about, what's also different about it, the AC vent for the driver is kind of moved forward, the one for the passenger is further back. Very, very asynchronous, very, very asymmetrical and very different, again, sorry to keep using that word. Head-up display and the buttons up here, which is again different, including a little selfie camera that also allows you to, you know, access that for internal security purposes and some of the buttons, including the hazard.

Mahindra BE 6e Review: Rear Seat

But you may think there’s less space at the back. Now this is a driver's car, but you still want some room for your family and friends. That roof, again, gives you a great sense of space and you know what, when you see the car from outside, the roofline and overall size, you don't expect this much space back here.

That's the electric platform, the big advantage is the flat floor and then even when you put that up, you know, having three people in here, it might be a little bit of a squeeze, but it's not unimaginable.

The materials are what really sort of will be the big story, people aren't used to seeing this kind of a layout or these kinds of materials. It's nice, there are some thoughtful touches as well. I'm not so convinced about these door handles, but you know what, that's something different. A fabric, elastic-y door handle, yeah, well that is very different. You do have the Harman Kardon sound system and the sound quality is incredible.

You also get little USB -C charging ports at the back and that's important because you could also use this to dock a screen or an aftermarket tablet or something else that you might want to use back here because you could have kids back here and you might want to stream some video for them. There are some things which are really funky like the AC vents.

Now while that's a really funky design, it may not be practical from the point of view of the kind of dust that we have in our country, but yeah, I mean again, nothing like this that you've seen before. Just the way it opens and closes, that is kind of cool and funky and different. Seat back angle is not bad and you know, it's just that sense of space that will surprise you in the back of the BE 6e.

Mahindra BE 6e Review: Performance

What doesn’t take you by surprise is the way it drives. Well, I wasn't really happy with this very early morning start and also the fact that we had to negotiate all of this morning, really bad, messy, rush hour traffic in Chennai, getting out of the city. The good part of that is that it's really given me a very mixed sort of an experience already in terms of that first impression with the B-Sexy, I'm going to say sexy, and you know what, that's what's coming out of my mouth now because B -Sexy, I think that's what they're really trying to say with this car. That said, the B-Sexy is manoeuvrable, it's compact, and its overall footprint is really something that works well in that kind of really messy traffic. You can turn it in and out of these little gaps and it's got all the proximity sensors, it's got this because of course this is the top end, so it's got the cameras with the blind spot views on both sides.

All of that really does help, there's emergency braking as well in case somebody darts in front of you. So I'm getting a chance to sort of really experience all of that first-hand without trying to experience it in a more conscious manner.

But there are a few things that are frustrating. Now, there are a few fiddly bits, I've got the car in Apple CarPlay right now, maybe this is just about getting used to or trying to understand how the system works a little bit better, but if I want to quickly access it, say the drive modes, I have a little button down here, so that's great, it takes me to this screen which straight away shows me the drive modes, but there's not like a quick way to be able to change, like I should just be able to press the same button again, instead I have to use this rotary dial, I have to press drive modes, then I have to go down and then select the mode that I want.

Now if I'm in one mode and I want to switch to another mode, I have to do this whole exercise again, that's not very intuitive, but otherwise, the graphics are wow. Now when the car was in the everyday mode, which is how we start it, which is the default, and there you go, I have to again sort of toggle down to every day, the steering felt a little bit light to me, the overall graphics are all purple and that's on the instrument cluster, and the steering like I said just felt a little bit light, it was very manoeuvrable, it was easy to use, but just felt a little bit light.

Now the thing with the steering though is, that when you're on the highway, going at higher speeds, it does stiffen up a little bit, that's nice, and then when you go into the race mode, which is like a sport mode, well then, things get pretty interesting, because that's when the steering really gets nice and taut, and everything turns red.

So I've been in race mode for the most part. There's a very slight sound when you accelerate hard, almost like a jet engine whine, it's very faint, but it's there, and it's nice to have that little artificial sound, when you accelerate especially. As you drive the car faster, there are these little lines that appear on the side of your speed indicator here, and yeah, it's kind of nice because it kind of gives you this sense of performance as it grows, or as you slow down.

All of this is just graphics, but it's really nicely done, it takes some getting used to though I have to say, and this is in any case more of a first impression, first feel.

Now down on the right side of the steering wheel, you've got this little lightning strike. I'm going to hit that button because it is a boost mode. What it does is of course it gives you a punch of power, which allows you to accelerate faster given the situation you might be in. Didn't come on just now, I'm going to try it one more time, so visually you get it.

Mahindra BE 6e Review: Variants

Now I have to clarify that the one I got was a pack three – fully loaded variant. The base is pack one and that does not get the bigger 79 kWh battery. I’ll get my hands on the 59 kWh one too, Mahindra willing. Pack one is still fairly well-loaded though. It gets dual screens with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, 6 airbags, LED headlamps, an illuminated logo, auto headlamps and wipers, fast charging and the drive modes.

Mahindra BE 6e Review: Battery & Charging

Charging times for the BE 6e are the same as the XEV 9e. 175kW super fast charger bumps power from 20-80 per cent in 20 minutes which is great but I wait to know more about the time spent on a normal charge cycle to give you a better perspective.  

Mahindra BE 6e Review: Verdict

₹18.90 lakh is the starting price and that’s ₹1.45 lakh more than the base variant of the Tata Curvv.ev. But arguably well-loaded. And has a bigger battery pack, so better performance and more range too. To be honest they are not really comparable though. So, it will be cool to see how the market reacts to being 6e.