Mahindra e2oPlus P4

Putting electric vehicles within the reach of the masses. That is what Mahindra has done with the introduction of the e2o. In its four door avatar i.e. the e2o Plus, the car offers even more practicality and is available in 3 variants for private car buyers, i.e. P4, P6 and P8. The e2o Plus P4 is the most affordable of the range with a price of Rs 6.26 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi as of 6 May, 2017) and covers the bare basics for city usage.

On the outside, it sports full wheel caps, a chrome front grille and a standard charging socket. It also gets projector headlights and LED tail lights. For safety, the car gets kit like ISOFIX child seat mounts and hill-hold control (HHC), which prevents the car from rolling back on an incline when you release the accelerator. Airbags or ABS, unfortunately, are not available even as options.

Once inside, you do realize that the feature list is not expansive. Goodies offered include power windows, remote keyless entry, adjustable head restraints at the front and rear, along with a push button starter. Vinyl upholsters the seats and door trim, and if you want a slightly more premium feel, you will have to pay up for the higher variants. A nice touch is the remote app. This app lets you lock or unlock the doors, check the battery status or even switch on the air-conditioner remotely through your smartphone.

Of course, this is an electric car, so there is no need for a gearbox, further dropping any transmission loss, while providing the convenience of an automatic car. The e20 Plus comes with a 210 Ah lithium-ion battery. Driving the front wheels is a 3 phase AC induction electric motor, good for producing 19kW of power and 70Nm of torque. On a full charge, the car can manage a claimed range of around 110km. For most users, that is a range good enough for a few days of travel during the daily office runs.

Since the e2o Plus is the only electric car in its segment, it has no direct rivals, though, its price overlaps with popular petrol/diesel powered hatchbacks and compact sedans.