XEV 9e Review: Mahindra’s BIG Electric Dreams Begin

You may be forgiven for thinking this is yet another new global EV from a Chinese marque. Considering they are at the forefront of the EV race that’s not a bad thing now is it? But that’s not the only way to describe the XEV 9e from Mahindra. It’s the first of many to follow on the company’s new INGLO electric platform

Mahindra XEV 9e Review: Design

Now, originally this was supposed to be the XUV brand. The electrified XUV has become XEV. And so you're not, therefore, very surprised to see that in terms of attribute, overall size and even the kind of face that the car has, kind of reminds you of the XUV 700 or the XUV family in general. And so even though it's not exactly the same signature, the lighting has a little bit of a hark back to that. Now, there's no grill, it's an electric. But there's this sense of a grill that's been given with these vertical lines. And then, of course, you've got this connected LED and the big logo. Now, that logo is interesting because it looks like it's finished in metal, like a dull or a darker chrome. But it actually lights up. So that's quite a cool little touch. I think people will love that. The bumper, the fact that you have a two-tone, you know, just kind of holds that XUV idea really close to that design. The same holds true for these huge wheel arches. And then this massive proportion that you see that's exaggerated in terms of muscle and a sense of strength because, again, no engine in here. But you do get a huge frunk, a 150-litre frunk, which is nice and different. 

Coming on to the side, you see, again, XUV 700-like handles which pop out. And again, this two-tone element with the INGLO badging, that's just kind of a way to signify that that's where the battery sits. Coupe roofline that comes down and the cute little quarter glass also where you have the handle for the rear door. Um, again, not sure why that was necessary. You could have just had regular handles. But it's just a design quirk, and I think they like it. Big wheels and what's nice is that they fill up the wheel arch quite well. Sharp LEDs at the rear, which complement the LEDs up front. And a really ample proportion at the back. I think it's this part of the car, for me, that does look a little bit stretched and does throw the proportion off just a little bit. But otherwise, in terms of stance, the car looks big because it is. 

Mahindra XEV 9e Review: Interior & Tech

And so, you’d think there’s good space on the inside too. And there is! The seats are well bolstered, there’s good knee room and under-thigh support for all occupants. So comfort is pretty good. Mahindra has gone bonkers though with the tech it offers on this one.  

Huge, huge glass roof and a palette that is light. Now, at one point, you would have criticized Mahindra for this. But after the Thar Roxx, I think anything goes. But you know what? It's nice because it's two-tone. And you've got this really interesting soft touch to the dash. It feels more high-end and more sophisticated. It's got this little padding in there as well. You do see a lot of colours though, but it's muted enough. So, even though there's Grey, there's this Greenish Grey, and then there's a Whitish cream. It all kind of comes together. The steering wheel is round and big, and I was talking about it during the drive. The gear stick looks really funky. And it's kind of got this backlit or inlit element to it. But it's not very comfortable or easy to use. I think it just takes some getting used to, perhaps. You've got this knob here to be able to navigate that screen, but it is a touch screen. 

Three massive screens, in fact. All of them are 12.3-inch, and this is going to be a game-changer. This is Pack Three, which is the top-end version. And that's why all of this is standard. Now, that's the passenger screen, and that means you have lots of different apps in here, including a whole lot of streaming apps. But yes, you could actually not just get things like YouTube or Amazon Prime or even some of the music apps that you like, but even the delivery apps like Blinkit or Big Basket. You can access some of that. You can do some of your shopping, and you can also take some of your video calls or meetings, like Zoom or Google Meet. All of that is possible through that third screen. 

The second is the touch screen which has the kind of layout and functionality that you're familiar with. So, all the connectivity and all the settings are in here. And it also, of course, lets you manipulate things like your charging and your battery information. That's the instrument cluster, same-size screen, and lots of different options on that. You've got one wireless charger at the front and one at the rear, which is nice because it's good to have that in the back, too. This one doesn't bounce around, so it's also good. And it's got a two-step sort of a thing, so that even if you just want to store your phone, again, you can just put it up there. It doesn't bounce around, and you can just close this section. So, that's a good thing. Connectivity, of course, for your smartphone is also wireless.

Mahindra XEV 9e Review: Performance

And it’s good to see Mahindra continuing with its plan of democratising tech. But it’s the battery tech too that Mahindra has managed to deliver on. Two Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery packs are on offer –  59 kWh and 79 kWh. And while I didn’t get to sample the former. I spent some time with the more powerful of the two. I did spend time with the bigger one. 

Earlier, when you had cars on the same platform, they felt very similar, but not quite the case anymore. And that's definitely true of these two as well. On this car, I've got all the ADAS suite switched on, and things like Lane Keep Assist. In fact, it even keeps you in the centre of your lane. The steering, it's a little aggressive, in fact, how it tries to auto-correct itself. But it's nice to see that it works very effectively. The big car feel is also further cemented because you've got this bigger steering wheel. But you know what, it's not exaggerated. It's very comfortable. The driving position on this car is actually really satisfying.

You've got just the right seat position, just the right amount of adjustment on all the other things that I need to have, like the mirrors and the steering wheel itself. Being telescopic and height adjusting, it's just perfect for my current comfort and what I would like as my ideal position. Now, once again, we're in sort of a congested situation with a narrow road, just a single lane with a lot of traffic. And the car's manoeuvrability once again comes into play here. Despite the fact that it's bigger, it is still pretty manoeuvrable. That's just the first impression. 

The graphics and everything else is very similar to what I saw on the BE 6e. But I guess there's no point now being in race mode, so let me get out of that. And yeah, the same problem about how you can access this menu. This needs to have a shortcut to go back to range. And then you know what, maybe it's a good idea for me to also go back to the wireless charger. 

The phone doesn't shift or bounce around like it was in the BE 6e. And once again, it only seems to work in the every day and range modes. Because that's when you need that little extra burst of power.

Mahindra XEV 9e Review: Battery & Charging

Like I said, both the XEV e9 and the BE 6e are based on the INGLO platform, so the batteries on both are the same. In fact, the two pack sizes are also identical. If you used a 175 kW super-fast charger, 20-80 per cent charge is possible in just 20 minutes. We still don’t have the data or the figures on how long the slow charging will take.   

But the big announcement from Mahindra was offering unlimited Warranty on that battery. Now that only applies to the first owner of the car. If the car gets sold, the second owner will have to settle for 10 years or 2 lakh kilometres for the warranty

Mahindra XEV 9e Review: Safety

There’s a big play on safety too, as Mahindra is extremely sure that the XEV 9e will get a 5-star crash rating, according to its internal tests. In fact, it crash-tested one just for us to see. We’ll have to wait for Global NCAP and Bharat NCAP to conduct a test and give us a rating. 

Mahindra XEV 9e Review: Price, Rivals & Verdict

Prices are only known for Pack One which is the base version, that’s announced ₹21.90 lakh (ex-showroom Chennai). But the car that I’m showing you is pack three which is the top-end version we’re expecting that to still stay under ₹30 lakh. Deliveries will begin by the end of February and by the beginning of March at the latest.

The XEV 9e is not cheap, but then again, it wasn’t ever meant to be. And while it packs in a whole lot of luxury features, it’s also not priced like a luxury car. Mahindra has packed in a lot more than I thought was possible and I would love to spend more time with it. For now, though, as far as first impressions go, I am impressed. 

The MG ZS EV will get some serious competition from this one as well as the upcoming Hyundai Creta. Mahindra has taken its time to get this product right and that shows. I’m really looking forward to spending more time with it to bring you a more detailed review.